Scan barcode
A review by graciegrace1178
The Magician King by Lev Grossman
4.0
I honestly didn’t think I would read this. The first book was okay. Not the best thing, not the worst. Solid writing, and interesting story/well-developed characters, but a bit too aloof for me. Apparently I put this book on digital hold when I placed my hold on the first, and it happened to become available when I wanted a fantasy book. So I read it. And dang.
What I liked
1) Better than the first. This is unusual. I liked the second book better than the first. That NEVER happens. So this book is kind of on a pedestal for me as an example of how to write a sequel.
2) Imperfect endings. The tone was aloof but the THEMES were very real and down to earth. Quentin didn’t get the storybook ending he always wanted. Devastating as that was, it definitely drew me into the next book (which I just put on hold) and made me like Quentin even more.
3) Unexpected twists. So I’ve seen the show The Magicians on Netflix. Awesome show, VERY different from the books. (Tbh I don’t remember the show all that well but from what I DO remember, the books seem pretty different.) That made reading the books basically a whole new plot of surprises! Great thing, that. It feels like a continuation of the show’s universe. (Obviously I know the books came first so it should be the other way around, but I saw the show first.)
4) *SPOILERS* Mood disorder association. Oh, Julia. Dearest Julia. Genius but emotional disturbed bean. I just love the arc of her character and her origin story. The guild of mood disorder/genius characters made me feel so warm and fuzzy. Julia found her people!!! She found her family!! Yea, they might be a little messed up, but they’re all messed up in a way that each member of the guild can (mostly) understand. Julia finally had that sense of belonging she had been searching for. And the very end with the tree...god I’m just so happy for her. Things are finally coming up Julia!!!!!
5) MYTHOLOGY!! Rick Riordan better step aside and make way for Grossman’s mythology analyses. BLESS the allusions in this book. Also I LOVE that some of the MCs (especially Troubled Julia TM) have to research mythology for the plot. Like, understanding mythology was really significant to the story!! FANTASTIC. (My time as a humanities major has strongly impacted my review for this book.)
What I didn’t like
1) Tone. This book still had that tone of aloofness, less than the first, but still there like a veil over everything. That’s great for consistency, more power to Grossman for having a very definable writing voice, but I’m not a huge fan of it. It’s starting to grow on me a bit, but I still prefer a less aloof, more *human* and lighthearted tone.
2) The beginning. Maybe I wasn’t fully paying attention (I had, like, a lot of caffeine and was touring Iceland via Google Earth while reading this part) but the beginning just didn’t resonate with me. I couldn’t get into the groove of the story until probably an hour-ish into it.
EDIT: the copy I read from the library didn’t have an orange cover, and honestly I didn’t want to finish this for fear of breaking the orange streak. SO I am VERY excited that the cover in the Goodreads log is orange. I didn’t even know this book came in orange at all!! Wonderful surprise.
What I liked
1) Better than the first. This is unusual. I liked the second book better than the first. That NEVER happens. So this book is kind of on a pedestal for me as an example of how to write a sequel.
2) Imperfect endings. The tone was aloof but the THEMES were very real and down to earth. Quentin didn’t get the storybook ending he always wanted. Devastating as that was, it definitely drew me into the next book (which I just put on hold) and made me like Quentin even more.
3) Unexpected twists. So I’ve seen the show The Magicians on Netflix. Awesome show, VERY different from the books. (Tbh I don’t remember the show all that well but from what I DO remember, the books seem pretty different.) That made reading the books basically a whole new plot of surprises! Great thing, that. It feels like a continuation of the show’s universe. (Obviously I know the books came first so it should be the other way around, but I saw the show first.)
4) *SPOILERS* Mood disorder association. Oh, Julia. Dearest Julia. Genius but emotional disturbed bean. I just love the arc of her character and her origin story. The guild of mood disorder/genius characters made me feel so warm and fuzzy. Julia found her people!!! She found her family!! Yea, they might be a little messed up, but they’re all messed up in a way that each member of the guild can (mostly) understand. Julia finally had that sense of belonging she had been searching for. And the very end with the tree...god I’m just so happy for her. Things are finally coming up Julia!!!!!
5) MYTHOLOGY!! Rick Riordan better step aside and make way for Grossman’s mythology analyses. BLESS the allusions in this book. Also I LOVE that some of the MCs (especially Troubled Julia TM) have to research mythology for the plot. Like, understanding mythology was really significant to the story!! FANTASTIC. (My time as a humanities major has strongly impacted my review for this book.)
What I didn’t like
1) Tone. This book still had that tone of aloofness, less than the first, but still there like a veil over everything. That’s great for consistency, more power to Grossman for having a very definable writing voice, but I’m not a huge fan of it. It’s starting to grow on me a bit, but I still prefer a less aloof, more *human* and lighthearted tone.
2) The beginning. Maybe I wasn’t fully paying attention (I had, like, a lot of caffeine and was touring Iceland via Google Earth while reading this part) but the beginning just didn’t resonate with me. I couldn’t get into the groove of the story until probably an hour-ish into it.
EDIT: the copy I read from the library didn’t have an orange cover, and honestly I didn’t want to finish this for fear of breaking the orange streak. SO I am VERY excited that the cover in the Goodreads log is orange. I didn’t even know this book came in orange at all!! Wonderful surprise.