Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Nov 28, 2011

Kemper rated it:

If Quentin Coldwater stumbled on a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, he’d constantly complain about how heavy it was and how the coins didn’t fit in any vending machines and why couldn‘t they have just put the money into a nice cashier‘s check that he could have fit neatly in his wallet and then deposited in the bank?

In the first book, Quentin was a brilliant but disillusioned teenager who found life a boring slog and desperately wished that things were more like his favorite fa More...

5 comments like (44 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2012

Stefan rated it:

(This review contains spoilers for The Magicians (book 1 in this series), but no significant spoilers for The Magician King. It was originally published on www.tor.com on 8/8/2011 and on www.fantasyliterature.com on 8/16/2011.)

At the end of Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, Brakebills graduate Quentin Coldwater abandoned a cushy but dead-end insecure job to become co-ruler of the magical land of Fillory with his former classmates Eliot and Janet and his erstwhile flame Julia. I absolutel More...

11 comments like (10 people liked it)

Aug 14, 2011

Dan rated it:

Quentin and friends are the kings and queens of Fillory and everything is marvelous. Or it is, until it becomes apparent that something is wrong. King Quentin takes it upon himself to fix things. With Julia in tow, he sails to the ends of Fillory to fix the world. Can he succeed in the quest of a lifetime and save Fillory?

If The Magicians was Lev Grossman's Harry Potter with a healthy slice of Narnia, The Magician King is Lev Grossman's Lord of the Rings. Grossman takes all the More...

13 comments like (39 people liked it)

Aug 07, 2011

Phoebe rated it:

If you're a fan of young adult literature, you've probably seen Sady Doyle's In Praise of Joanne Rowling's Hermione Granger series. Lovingly detailed, this feminist critique cut Harry Potter down to size a little. In Doyle's reimagining, he's nothing more than a privileged jock—though certainly even in our own universe charges of privilege could be leveled against him. Harry is the chosen one, special as much for reasons of birth as effort, while hardworking Hermione toils away to earn her rathe More...

10 comments like (38 people liked it)

Sep 15, 2011

Sarah Pi rated it:

When I finished The Magicians I found myself confused. Was Grossman satirizing the genre or contributing to it? I decided that he had set out to do the former, and wound up doing the latter. He somehow fell into that enviable position where his fantasy work was considered literary by the mainstream community that often scorns genre work.

A sequel, it would seem to me, is more of a declaration. Satires don't have sequels. So called literary fiction doesn't often have sequels. Grossman More...

2 comments like (16 people liked it)

Feb 05, 2012

mark rated it:

The Continuing Adventures of a Smug Magical Asshole, as written by An Asshole. and now featuring The New Adventures of a Completely Self-Absorbed Bitch.

i suppose i understand the acclaim that has been heaped on Grossman. he is playing with tropes as his characters play with magic. he has a puckish sensibility that makes reading his series a tart and spikey experience. his tone is breezily casual and entirely unsentimental. and since Snark is the New Law of the New Millenium, the snar More...

21 comments like (34 people liked it)

Sep 26, 2011

Blair rated it:

Let me begin this review by saying that I really enjoyed Lev Grossman's The Magicians. I didn't think it was perfect, by any means - I wasn't keen on Quentin, and the saga of his relationship with Alice and how he behaved about it really pissed me off - but altogether I found it to be an original, enjoyable, and gloriously escapist read. I will admit that I am not the biggest fan of all-out fantasy, but I liked the fact that The Magicians couched its fantastical elements in a recognisable versio More...

6 comments like (11 people liked it)

Aug 22, 2011

Jonathan rated it:

Book two is fulled with even more sexism then the first one, which is almost hard to imagine, but Lev Grossman manages to pull it off by writing like some kind of horny per-pubescent teenager looking for any flimsy excuse whatsoever to get his female characters topless so he can describe their breasts in feverish, obsessive, totally unnecessary and excruciating detail.

4 comments like (8 people liked it)

Oct 11, 2011

Michael rated it:

I avoided finishing this for as long as I could because I didn't want it to end. It gave me so much joy - even moreso than the first book - in all the ways that Grossman reflected stories and times and adventures that have been so special to me. I imagine that similar things were special to him growing up as well, given our nerdy leanings. The journey into the unknown. The years of toil for a glimpse of the divine. The long and dark road to power. The transition from childhood to adulthood and t More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 16, 2011

David rated it:

Quentin Coldwater is the kid that Harry Potter never was. In The Magicians, the first book in this series, Quentin is spirited off to Brakebills, a magical school on the banks of the Hudson where wizards-in-training to learn how to cast spells and hold their liquor. Quentin is a gifted student and learns to be a powerful wizard, but unlike young Harry, he is hurting for a destiny. The closest thing he's got is a yearning for the fictional world of Fillory, a magical land described in a Narnia-li More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Kristin rated it:

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/08/rel...

The Magician King picks up 5 years after the events of The Magicians,and Quentin is finally a King of Fillory. Well,one of them. Along with Eliot (the High King),Janet,and Julia,he rules Fillory and its inhabitants. The days are full of pleasure and peace,yet Quentin is still a bit restless. Truth is,he’s rather bored. Fillory is filled with wonder and magic,but it isn’t particularly filled with strife,and its More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 20, 2012

Vanessa rated it:

I had some complaints with style and pacing, but basically I really enjoyed the predecessor to this book, The Magicians. This one had a good storyline when it comes right down to it but it took at least 100 pages too many to tell it.

When last we saw Quentin Coldwater and his friends (fellow magic school grads Eliot and Janet plus his high school crush Julia who acquired her magic through mysterious means-trust me, we'll delve into that in excruciating detail), they were off to the N More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 18, 2011

Emily rated it:

So okay, I generally enjoyed it.

The first book was all about Quentin and his friends at the fabulous magical college of Brakebills and them generally floundering around afterward to find some sort of purpose. But now Quentin has it all -- he's King of Fillory, his wonderful magical Narnia-like world. He lives in a big castle with his friends. And he's bored. He wants Adventure. He decides to build a ship and sail off to the furthest Eastern reach of his Kingdom to, of all things, More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 11, 2011

Ryan rated it:

Lately, I've felt like we're living in a golden age for SFF.

Maybe this is just because I can't keep up with my "to read" list. I still haven't gotten to Scott Lynch or Joe Abercrombie at all, though I've heard both are great. I haven't read new books from George RR Martin and Patrick Rothfuss, even though I've heard good things. I manage to keep up with China Mieville, but I'm way behind on my Neal Stephenson, Robert Charles Wilson, and ... the list just keeps going.

More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2012

Lori rated it:

Although I LOVED loved The Magicians, apparently it didn't stick with me. And I didn't realize how little until I picked up The Magician King that I could remember nary a plot point (OK, maybe the big ones) from its predecessor.

But did that stop me? Send me back to the library to reread the original first? Nope. Possibly it should've.

Because the sequel just didn't click with me in the same way. (And I did reread my review. See, I loved it.)

Maybe it was that the char More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 06, 2012

Elizabeth rated it:

Wow, I didn't think I could like Quentin Coldwater *less* than I did in The Magicians, but it is, in fact, possible. There is no moment in this book when I do not despise the protagonist.

At least in this one, we got Julia's story, which had some interesting moments, especially the scenes in the safe houses. It also had some really bad moments. In no particular order: I am insulted on behalf of us non-magical scholars that the Murs magicians come up with a system that ties together all More...

1 comment like

Feb 04, 2012

Alan rated it:

What does it take? Just how much does it take to make some people wise up? For some, just coming out of the womb suffices; for others, the simple passage of time seems to be enough. But for some, like Quentin Coldwater—once of Brooklyn, New York, more recently matriculating at Brakebills, the foremost magical academy, and most recently crowned king (okay, one of four monarchs) of the magical land of Fillory—ruler of all he surveys, and a powerful sorceror to boot—an entire previous book still is More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 30, 2012

Nick rated it:

Joint review w/ The Magicians.

What to even say about these books.

First, most of the shit people talk about them is true, may as well lay that out there now. These books have got all kinds of problems, problems coming out the wazoo. But they were still some of the most enjoyable reading I did this year.

I should go into more detail about these, but I've been trying and don't seem to have the juice for it. Imagine I said something clear and non-confusing about how, f

More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Brandon rated it:

Very minor, general The Magicians spoilers ahead.

Lev Grossman wraps his fingers of gripping characters, startling environments, superb pacing, and beautiful writing around your heart and rips it out with agony. The The Magician King wasn't as heart wrenching as the first, but you can't help but feel and hurt for Quentin and the gang.

Grossman does a great job of recreating his world and changing the form of the story in the sequel. We come back to a world and characters we More...

0 comments like

Jan 20, 2012

Marleen rated it:

Quentin Goldwater and his friends Eliot, Janet and Julia are living in the magical land of Fillory where they are kings and queens. Their lives are filled with luxury and comfort, but for Quentin that isn’t enough after a while. And when a footman is killed it gives Quentin the opportunity to go on a journey, a quest Julia decides to join him on.
What should have been a simple cure to boredom and fun adventure soon turns sour when Quentin and Julia suddenly and unexpectedly find themselves i More...

0 comments like

Jan 13, 2012

Jill rated it:

I described the original book to friends as Holden CaulfIeld goes to Hogwarts. This one doesn't feature Brakebills so it's full on Narnia/Fillory. I was surprised that I'd forgotten so much from the first book...maybe should have reread it. I think this one was faster paced or maybe just had more action, because I don't recall reading through the first one so quickly.
So many people don't like Quentin, but I found him more likeable this time around. Maybe as contrast, because Julia More...

0 comments like

Jan 12, 2012

Ms. Library rated it:

Plot: (Spoilers for The Magicians). So, Quentin and company are back in Fillory living like Kings and Queens. Quentin gets antsy, and decides it is time for another adventure. But where does this one take him?

Negatives: So, its still about Quentin, so therefore, the main character is still going to be annoying. Though he grows slightly better in this novel, he is still so full of ennui and arrogance, it can be trying. There’s also the same air of better-than-thou pretension runn More...

3 comments like

Jan 04, 2012

Ori rated it:

Glimmer of hope, followed by misery, immaturity, disappointment, anguish, relief, and more misery.

After *loving* The Magicians I was very excited to read the Magician King. I devoured this book in one devastating afternoon, and initially had very mixed feelings about it. After rereading it, sadly, I don't think it comes close to the first book. The Magician King is as predictable as it is devastating, the references do not feel clever as they did in The Magicians, but instead fanboy More...

0 comments like

Jan 04, 2012

Erin rated it:

This is the sequel to Lev Grossman's book The Magicians. This one details what happens after the characters become Kings and Queens of Fillory. After the four royals find the Seeing Hare in a forest, Quentin (the main character, for all intents and purposes) decides to go on an adventure.

This series has been credited as Harry Potter for grown-ups, and while I will say this series is wonderful, it provides none of the whimsy and wonder for which I read Harry Potter.

The P More...

0 comments like

Jan 03, 2012

Andrew rated it:

The Magician King by Lev Grossman (New York: Viking Press, 2010. 400 pp.)

Born in 1969, Lev Grossman has a degree in literature from Harvard, and spent three years at Yale in the Ph.D. program in comparative literature. He writes for TIME as their book reviewer and as one of its technology writers. Codex (2004) became an international bestseller, and The Magicians (2009) was named one of the best books of 2009 by The New Yorker. In August of 2001, he won the John W. Campbell Award for B More...

0 comments like

Jan 01, 2012

Jen rated it:

Spoiler Alert: Loved it! (Though perhaps not quite as much as The Magicians). In the first book, The Magicians, magic is a metaphor for writing-- using words to create or influence. And in that book, the characters are faced with the daunting task of dealing with how to create post-modern Western narratives now that "God is dead," and they can no longer rely on a ready lexicon of biblical references to convey meaning (the patience of Job, the return of a prodigal son, the renewal of a More...

0 comments like

Dec 26, 2011

Madeline rated it:

The Magician King is the sequel to Grossman's novel The Magicians. Both novels are about the relationship between over-achieverdom and depression, as viewed through the lens of magic. But whereas the former novel is a deliberate humiliation of fantasy tropes, especially schools of magic and parallel worlds, the second is a deeper exploration of the idea that real life can be just as magical as what we imagine, if we are willing to see the beauty and wonder that surrounds us on a daily basis, and More...

0 comments like

Dec 26, 2011

drey rated it:

drey’s thoughts:
I hate to say it, but I really didn’t care for The Magician King… I’ve picked it up at least a dozen times, and every time I do, I get through about 10-15 pages and I put it down again.

Why? Because I got bored (sorry). The only part that was remotely interesting to me was Julia’s story. She is one messed up Queen of Fillory, and The Magician King explains why. Quentin is still sometimes a brat–and a king to boot–and still a bit annoying.

As for plot–The M More...

0 comments like

Dec 06, 2011

Alex rated it:

This book continues the story, from “The Magicians” of the amazingly named Brooklyn native Quentin Coldwater and his friends, who at the start of the novel are kings of the land of Fillory. All is well, and all is luxurious, but Quentin is restless. He thinks that there must be something more to life than just lounging around, and he goes in search of another hero’s quest. He brings along fellow ruler Julia, whose mysterious path to magic is revealed as the book goes on, as they eventually disco More...

0 comments like

Dec 04, 2011

Katie rated it:

This is the second in a series that I'm really loving. The first book was shocking in it's "this isn't the Harry Potter world anymore" kind of audacity; turning the students into brilliant, jaded, and troubled magicians attending a college where magic is very dangerous and very difficult to master. I mean, it involves solving ridiculous mathematical equations that would look like gibberish to me. It was an interesting choice because to the average reader (maybe 1 out of 500 could do More...

0 comments like

reviews