Another compellingly complex and involving fantasy full of interesting plot turns and memorable characters. Personally I don't find the fantasy world of Fillory all that interesting, so I was glad to see that this time around there was a lot more jumping between different worlds (speaking of which, the joke about a famous children's TV show had me laughing out loud). As in the first volume Grossman is good at teasing out the problems of what magic really is, what it's for, and how it affects the way his characters see the world.
I found the climax a little cluttered and it felt like Grossman was straining to make the plot go where he wanted it to. I thought the solution to the threat was under-explained, and the threat itself seemed to disappear in a puff of smoke once the fairly arbitrary task had been successfully completed, but it was an emotionally satisfying ending and I like the way the two main protagonists's personal stories developed and where they ended up. Some of the supporting characters were dealt with a little more peremptorily, with two in particular seemingly slotted in to a leftover plot hole, but these are small complaints when as a whole it's so entertaining.