Reviews

The Magician King by Lev Grossman

polythenesam's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

tedhekman's review against another edition

5.0

Having just finished my second readthrough - this time on audio - yup, still slaps.
I'm a big fan of this world and it's characters. Lev Grossman has created an epic fantasy with fairy tale vibes and given it a bitter, real world twist of lemon. I'm glad I took the time to reread this and I look forward to closing out the series soon.

frisby0's review against another edition

5.0

I really was disappointed in the ending of The Magicians-the 1st book in this Lev Grossman series,So I didn't have plans to read the 2nd one, but enough tme had passed & being a lover of the genre pushed me into giving it a chance. I'm glad I did because I loved it. This second book was so much better and had a better ending and overall so much more satisfying in the end than the first one but now I just can't wait to read the third one in the set.

jrosenstein's review against another edition

3.0

This book is the sequel to The Magicians , which I really liked. I found this one to be rather too similar to the first in theme and tone. Lots of magical adventures, with very real consequences for the protagonists, but overall I found it boiled down to the idea that you have to learn to be a grown-up and accept your life for what it is, and not even magic can save you from the ordinary realities of being an adult and trying to have adult relationships.

janiel69's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

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

4.25

medusa89's review against another edition

4.0

Quintin embarks on the adventure to find himself; to find purpose. Living full time in Fillory, seeking out a quest among the mundane-ness in being a ruler. Quinten tracks the stag, watches a friend die, hosts a tournament to head out on the high seas--and inevitably gets "kicked out". Walks out, rather. Struggling back in the real world, Julia and Him are chaotically trying to find a way back to their magical home. Finding old friends, making new ones, and trying to figure out the enigma that Julia has become--they eventually find their way back to the lovely world of Fillory. Only to float directly back into a grand adventure, an adventure that started way before any of them knew it was happening. Losing friends, and making new ones, the end of this one comes with a twist--Julia, his first love, becoming something unearthly and him showing the ultimate act by taking the punishment so Julia could ascend. What Q didn't know... is where THAT would take him... back to boring ole Earth.

ziagouel's review against another edition

3.0

Druhý díl se neubránil prokletí druhých dílů. Nemám nic proti tomu, když se děj táhne jako snopel, ale musí to mít nějakou koherenci, něco, co to drží pohromadě, což se v Quentinově části příběhu nestalo. Navzdory drsným událostem prvního dílu je z něj zase do sebe zahleděný debil, jako kdyby se ta zásadní změna na konci prvního dílu resetovala; to by samo o sobě nevadilo, ale to, co dělá nebo čím do cca druhé třetiny knihy prochází, vypadá jako soubor random událostí, jež by se daly shrnout do cca čtyř kapitol max. Jasně, že život není pečlivě naplánovaný děj, kde všechno dává perfektní smysl, ale taky vás zrovna nebaví, když vám někdo popisuje hodinu po hodině, co který den dělal, že ano. Čekala jsem, že v tomto díle dostaneme lepší prokreslení Quentinovy postavy, ale byla jsem zklamaná.
Oproti tomu Juliin příběh je zajímavější a klidně by se na něm dala celá kniha postavit, což se vlastně stalo vzhledem k výše řečenému. Z Julie dýchá opravdovost, věřila jsem jí, proč dělá, co dělá. Doufám, že to není naposledy, co ji vidíme, protože jestli se sebou Quentin něco neudělá, asi umřu u třetího dílu nudou.
Jinak tady více než předtím šlo vidět, jak je snaha vzít dva velmi známé světy (Harry Potter a Narnie), spojit je dohromady a věnovat se tomu, co v nich chybělo, málo. Ovšemže se autor pokouší vytvořit něco svébytného a je tam potenciál - vím, že se k Mágům budu vracet - ale na budování opravdu přesvědčivého, nového světa s vlastním kouzlem prostě měl vynaložit víc úsilí a času.

theplanthouse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

raspberrycordial's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

prufrockcoat's review against another edition

4.0

This book made a bad first impression on me. The beginning felt like it was horribly tacked on to the end of the last, and Quentin seemed extra-frustrating in the same way that Holden Caulfield frustrates me (though it says something about me that I related strongly to Quentin's what-the-hell-do-I-do-now ennui in the middleparts of The Magicians, particularly now that I am finished with my undergraduate education).

At some point I might give this a longer review.