Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Magician King

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Magician King by Lev Grossman

19 reviews

audreypalz's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It’s hard to decide how to rate this book. On the one hand, I found it really engaging and interesting, better than the first book, and Julia’s point of view was a nice refreshing change from Quentin’s POV. HOWEVER the author’s weird sexist inclinations (and yes, I say author, not character, because this stuff was present in both Quentin and Julia’s POV), which were present in the first book, felt especially bad in this one, and

then you have a culminating rape scene at the end, which made me have the thought, hey, maybe men shouldn’t be allowed to write about women being raped anymore. Maybe we need to be done with that.

. Anyway, a very interesting, very flawed book.

Content Warnings

ryrei's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

spiderelsa's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.75

I knew this one would get farther along into Julia's story. It was still Real Bad to listen to - they did it differently from the show, but anyway.

I think I'm going to take a break before getting into the next/last book in this series. If it still tracks the show, it's worth it. It's just a lot, all the way through.

Content Warnings

deathmetalheron's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Magician King starts off much slower than its predecessor. It splits the narrative between POVs of Julia and Quentin. Julia's parts are all very interesting and worth reading, and in the first quarter of the book are the real incentive to continue going. Quentin's sections in the first 100 pages are quite dull and seem to be very repetitive in regards to his stasis at the beginning of the first book--it feels very retread, and there isn't enough world-building and (necessary) characterization of Julia to continue going.
However, once Julia and Quentin and thrown back to Earth the stakes are immediately raised and they continue going farther and farther, and The Magician King ramps up the same level of introspection and satire that made the first Magicians so lovely. Gone are the Harry Potter analogues, as the group is firmly in Narnia territory. Grossman's sardonic and sarcastic prose sits very well and his consistent references make it truly powerful.
About three-quarters in this book becomes near impossible to put down--Julia joining the Free Trader Beowulf culminates in the reader's realization that just as much as Brakebills, the underground magic scene is just as conceited and loopy and will guarantee Julia nothing. The climax--while unbelievably tragic and graphic--sends home the fact of Dean Fogg's assessment that magic pretty much ruins everyone.
The ending of this book is actually chef's kiss. In a complete send-up of fantasy endings, Quentin achieves all and loses everything. It is so beautifully funny and ironic that I was literally busting up laughing.
If this book were a duology or simply an 800 page story, this ending would be succinct. I know the trilogy will continue but if it ended here--I truly think it would've been a powerful story.

Content Warnings

beefygordito's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

3ofclubs's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Magicians King takes a character who's admittedly bored and sets him up on an adventure for adventure's sake, but it manages to feel completely believable in that and not pointless, even while we the readers can feel that the journey seems to be taking Quentin further from happiness. I read this for the second time and I could still remember most of what happened, but still quite enjoyable and worth the read. Love to see Q growing up finally and I liked that we got to learn more of Julia's character arc as well, though the interwoven flashbacks didn't hold up quite as well on reread. Can't believe that

Quentin didn't get to say goodbye to Janet, smh

. Looking forward to the next book!

Content Warnings