Reviews

The Magician King by Lev Grossman

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las2912's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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

4.25

apaulson99's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This had a much better story structure than the first and Quentin was not as insufferable. Thank goodness for that.

However, this has a very unnecessarily graphic r*pe scene in chapter 25 that is maybe all I’ll remember from this book because of how terrible it is. To be clear, I can see why this incident needed to be in the story to complete the character’s arc. But I see no reason why it needed to be depicted in this way and for that many pages. Ugh it just leaves the worst taste in my mouth and makes me never want to pick up another Lev Grossman novel again.

Content Warnings

bzegers's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-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? Yes

4.0

gracenextdoor's review against another edition

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3.0

Quentin is finally living the dream. He's a king of Fillory, lives in the Castle Whitespire, and wants for nothing. Except adventure. In the great wide somewhere. Content and bored with no real responsibilities, Quentin seeks out a quest and gets more than he bargained for. He gets the band back together (regrettably, minus Janet/Margo) and seeks out seven golden keys that will hopefully fix the strange oddities that have been popping up around the land he now calls home.

After blitzing through the first in the series in a mere four days, this sequel took me a month to get through. And it was definitely a slog. While the story line is interesting, it's completely wrecked by the back-and-forth between present Quentin and before Julia. Just when Quentin's adventure is picking up, we're resigned to a long stretch of emo, annoying, insufferable Julia. As my least favorite character in the book (and tv series), I'd hoped her story would be put in a well-placed, Snape-esque chapter that would either redeem her, or at least explain her insufferable-ness. Alas, every other chapter returns to her gloom, recounting exactly what she was up to during the first book.

Which turns out, unsurprisingly, to be a lot of nothing. She's basically terrible to her boyfriend, her family, and pretty much everyone she encounters. Especially Quentin. He got into Brakebills, she didn't, and that's unfathomable to her because she deserves magic and he doesn't. She's better than him--and everyone else--and how could the universe not reward her for that? I hate her self-righteousness, her superiority, and most of all, how she's too good to use contractions. "Let us stay together." NOBODY talks like that. Unless you're a snobby, pretentious

Spoiler

demigoddess

who uses people to get what you think you deserve.

The finally slap in the face is

Spoiler

how Quentin gets kicked out of Fillory for trying do a good thing for Julia (which is ironic but more importantly, annoying)

. It left me sad and disappointed, and feeling like if this book had 100% less Julia and 100% more Janet/Margo, then it wouldn't have ended up like this.

victorianicole's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

thedekya's review against another edition

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It's better written than the first book. It's still a difficult read.

emilyb_chicago's review against another edition

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1.0

I just was not ever really into this book. Quentin was whiny and never happy with anything that was happening to him. In general he was an angry grouch. I like my books to have likable or at least charismatic characters and this one just was hollow. I really am not sure why I finished it.