A review by enbyglitch
The Magician King by Lev Grossman
4.0
A very strong follow-up, though I don't think it quite hit the same highs as the first book. Continued to love (most of) the gritty realism on display and was impressed by how the magic system, characters and world were expanded upon.
There is a brutal, graphic scene toward the end of this book that really left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I'm learning that sometimes depictions of this sort can be overall positive, but I think it's fair to be very skeptical when it comes to male authors attempting it. In her article from 2011, Alyssa Rosenberg criticizes the scene for the fact that ultimately it only serves as a moral push for Quentin. I utterly agree with this, and while I enjoyed the rest of Julia's story I think this would be better changed/omitted/placed in a book entirely focused on her story.
Otherwise my thoughts are mostly the same as for the first book. The fact that the male gaze continues uninterrupted into Julia's chapters is pretty damning for any defense about Quentin's young male POV. I'm also getting the sense that while the author is clearly able to write fascinating scenes, he sometimes struggles to follow through on tying them into the narrative as a whole.
Cautiously excited to see where the finale goes!
There is a brutal, graphic scene toward the end of this book that really left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I'm learning that sometimes depictions of this sort can be overall positive, but I think it's fair to be very skeptical when it comes to male authors attempting it. In her article from 2011, Alyssa Rosenberg criticizes the scene for the fact that ultimately it only serves as a moral push for Quentin. I utterly agree with this, and while I enjoyed the rest of Julia's story I think this would be better changed/omitted/placed in a book entirely focused on her story.
Otherwise my thoughts are mostly the same as for the first book. The fact that the male gaze continues uninterrupted into Julia's chapters is pretty damning for any defense about Quentin's young male POV. I'm also getting the sense that while the author is clearly able to write fascinating scenes, he sometimes struggles to follow through on tying them into the narrative as a whole.
Cautiously excited to see where the finale goes!