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daphelba's review against another edition
4.0
So here's the thing...
I'm sort of reviewing this book as "A Review of the Series So Far".
Quentin IS too grumpy and unhappy for his own good, but he starts to address this toward the end of book two.
Quentin and other characters discuss how much they desire a world with magic, where you can wave your hands, waggle your fingers and make your dreams come true with minimal effort. They desire it so they feel they deserve it...but really, I can't think of a single person that doesn't wish they had magic at least one day a week. My house would be cleaner, I'd be smarter, and I'd find some way to make a little more money.
And then once they HAVE magic they think they are entitled to it.
I can understand this to a point. If you know something greater and easier exists, life would always seem a little grayer without the ability to have that thing, especially when you had it fully in your grasp.
I've seen the bad reviews...
...and I agree with them. Mostly.
I'm sort of reviewing this book as "A Review of the Series So Far".
Quentin IS too grumpy and unhappy for his own good, but he starts to address this toward the end of book two.
Quentin and other characters discuss how much they desire a world with magic, where you can wave your hands, waggle your fingers and make your dreams come true with minimal effort. They desire it so they feel they deserve it...but really, I can't think of a single person that doesn't wish they had magic at least one day a week. My house would be cleaner, I'd be smarter, and I'd find some way to make a little more money.
And then once they HAVE magic they think they are entitled to it.
I can understand this to a point. If you know something greater and easier exists, life would always seem a little grayer without the ability to have that thing, especially when you had it fully in your grasp.
Despite the whining, and the hard-to-like characters, I still really like this series.
Something about the way Grossman writes this fantasy world and all of his subplots like "Why?" is not an important question. The way the Fillory books were so much like C.S. Lewis' Narnia, but somehow more magical, more enticing, and I wanted them to be real so badly. The way I'm hardly sympathetic to any of his characters, yet I still want to read about them.
I'm frustrated at times. I want to smack a character. Rip out some pages. Give up. But I'm halfway through with book number three and I want to know how he pulls it all together.
lindseyannd's review against another edition
4.0
Julia’s story is what kept me going. And the ending! Such a turn of events.
fantasynovel's review against another edition
4.0
About to pick this up! Inordinately excited considering how much I liked the last book . . .
matslaurin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
peterkeep's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, I think this one is a touch better the the first book of the trilogy. They were pretty similar in style and tone, while going in very different directions with the actual plot. Grossman continues to do a nice job playing off of the ideas of some of the YA classics and twisting them and changing them until they make sense for a melancholy, angsty cast of characters.
On that note, I remember reading a lot of comments before I started the series about how the main character, Quentin, was completely unlikeable which ruined the story for readers. I haven't found that to be the case. Sure, Quentin might not be an overly righteous protagonist, but all of his flaws are pretty normal, especially given his age and his circumstances. So yes, he's selfish and a bit patronizing (among other flaws), but not any more than anyone else would be.
I really liked the development with Julia. She kind of comes (back) out of nowhere, so it was nice to fill in the blanks with her story. Really all of the characters. Everyone kind of fades in and out of Quentin's life and it's nice to be able to see them come and go with changes as they grow, too. I won't talk too much about the ending (I don't want to ruin everything), but I think it was pretty fitting for the whole cast. I guess I'll see what happens to conclude the trilogy, but it's almost guaranteed to be a clever end with the way Grossman has written everything up until now.
On that note, I remember reading a lot of comments before I started the series about how the main character, Quentin, was completely unlikeable which ruined the story for readers. I haven't found that to be the case. Sure, Quentin might not be an overly righteous protagonist, but all of his flaws are pretty normal, especially given his age and his circumstances. So yes, he's selfish and a bit patronizing (among other flaws), but not any more than anyone else would be.
I really liked the development with Julia. She kind of comes (back) out of nowhere, so it was nice to fill in the blanks with her story. Really all of the characters. Everyone kind of fades in and out of Quentin's life and it's nice to be able to see them come and go with changes as they grow, too. I won't talk too much about the ending (I don't want to ruin everything), but I think it was pretty fitting for the whole cast. I guess I'll see what happens to conclude the trilogy, but it's almost guaranteed to be a clever end with the way Grossman has written everything up until now.
em_gordon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
warden43's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
3.5
midici's review against another edition
4.0
This book starts with usual recap of the last book, but then quickly gets down to business with some action. On the one hand, it's satisfying to read something where there is fast-paced action, but it meant less world-building than the first book, and I honestly love the world-building stuff. So the switch off between what was happening with Julia and Quentin when they go in search of the seven magical keys and Julia's mysterious back story works well for me.
The present story is told from Quentin's point of view as we get his impression of being a king of Fillory. Quentin likes being a king, but he wants to do some actual good in the world, and living in a fairly utopian fantasy-land surprisingly doesn't provide a lot of opportunities. His decision to take a day trip out to a little island sets him off on a quest to find seven keys. What started out as an amusing way to pass the time becomes much more serious when Quentin and Julia accidentally fall back to Earth, with no way to return to Fillory.
In the first book we got a good view of the magical elite: genius level students, accomplished magicians, all attending Brakebills (or other accredited schools), learning magic in a fairly structured way. The return to Earth brings about a discovery of how the other half lives. Julia's life spiraled out of control when she first failed the Brakebills exam. She eventually finds her way back to magic in a fashion that Quentin wasn't aware existed. Across the continent hedge witches gathered in safe houses to teach ech other whatever magic they could get a hold of. While most were content with doing magic on the side, Julia dropped everything to learn as much as possible. The more she learned the more frustrated she became - unlike Brakebills, most of the hedge witches were playing around with magic, and as Julia quickly became the most accomplished around her she struggled with the knowledge that others were better, with better access to what she wanted to know and she couldn't find a way to get what she wanted.
Julia doesn't learn until later that her progress is being watched by a group of magicians who were exactly like her. They failed the exam, but were determined to become magicians. When she learns enough, they invite her to stay with them and explore magic. Specifically, they want to know where magic comes from and if it's possible to "level-up" their own abilities.
Julia is a vicious character. She's unpleasant, competitive, and unsympatetic in many ways. She considers the Brakebill kids soft for learning the 'easy' way. But the Brakebill kids, including Quentin, know better than to delve into the sort of thing Julia and her group got caught up in specifically because of their education. Their encounter with the Beast taught them that there were many beings more powerful than them, and their teachers warned them that trying to get to the root of magic would lead to disaster. The disaster that falls on Julia and her group not only leaves most of them dead and Julia stripped of her humanity, but brings unwanted attention to Earth.
As the Dean speculated in book one, magic is a cheat. It's available on Earth, but Earth itself isn't magic. Magic leaks into Earth from other realms, Fillory specifically. Julia's actions led to the actual gods, beings of immense power, to start correcting the "mistake" and removing magic from the places it "shouldn't" be.
While Quentin still has moments of being unbelievably stupid and selfish, he grows up a lot in this book, almost as much in the first. He's able to keep himself together in the crises, he is determined to try and do the right things for his friends, even if he isn't always certain of what that may be. While Eliot seems to have flourished as High King, and Julia finds peace within herself through her transformation into a dryad, Quentin is starting to learn to use his own traits as a means of strength and stability, and satisfaction. Which he is going to need now that he's been kicked out of Fillory, the price for allowing Julia to be absolved of her part in the catastrophe that almost allowed for the destruction of Fillory, the Neitherlands, and all magic on Earth.
The present story is told from Quentin's point of view as we get his impression of being a king of Fillory. Quentin likes being a king, but he wants to do some actual good in the world, and living in a fairly utopian fantasy-land surprisingly doesn't provide a lot of opportunities. His decision to take a day trip out to a little island sets him off on a quest to find seven keys. What started out as an amusing way to pass the time becomes much more serious when Quentin and Julia accidentally fall back to Earth, with no way to return to Fillory.
In the first book we got a good view of the magical elite: genius level students, accomplished magicians, all attending Brakebills (or other accredited schools), learning magic in a fairly structured way. The return to Earth brings about a discovery of how the other half lives. Julia's life spiraled out of control when she first failed the Brakebills exam. She eventually finds her way back to magic in a fashion that Quentin wasn't aware existed. Across the continent hedge witches gathered in safe houses to teach ech other whatever magic they could get a hold of. While most were content with doing magic on the side, Julia dropped everything to learn as much as possible. The more she learned the more frustrated she became - unlike Brakebills, most of the hedge witches were playing around with magic, and as Julia quickly became the most accomplished around her she struggled with the knowledge that others were better, with better access to what she wanted to know and she couldn't find a way to get what she wanted.
Julia doesn't learn until later that her progress is being watched by a group of magicians who were exactly like her. They failed the exam, but were determined to become magicians. When she learns enough, they invite her to stay with them and explore magic. Specifically, they want to know where magic comes from and if it's possible to "level-up" their own abilities.
Julia is a vicious character. She's unpleasant, competitive, and unsympatetic in many ways. She considers the Brakebill kids soft for learning the 'easy' way. But the Brakebill kids, including Quentin, know better than to delve into the sort of thing Julia and her group got caught up in specifically because of their education. Their encounter with the Beast taught them that there were many beings more powerful than them, and their teachers warned them that trying to get to the root of magic would lead to disaster. The disaster that falls on Julia and her group not only leaves most of them dead and Julia stripped of her humanity, but brings unwanted attention to Earth.
As the Dean speculated in book one, magic is a cheat. It's available on Earth, but Earth itself isn't magic. Magic leaks into Earth from other realms, Fillory specifically. Julia's actions led to the actual gods, beings of immense power, to start correcting the "mistake" and removing magic from the places it "shouldn't" be.
While Quentin still has moments of being unbelievably stupid and selfish, he grows up a lot in this book, almost as much in the first. He's able to keep himself together in the crises, he is determined to try and do the right things for his friends, even if he isn't always certain of what that may be. While Eliot seems to have flourished as High King, and Julia finds peace within herself through her transformation into a dryad, Quentin is starting to learn to use his own traits as a means of strength and stability, and satisfaction. Which he is going to need now that he's been kicked out of Fillory, the price for allowing Julia to be absolved of her part in the catastrophe that almost allowed for the destruction of Fillory, the Neitherlands, and all magic on Earth.
canaanmerchant's review against another edition
4.0
This book is able to build on the strengths of The Magicians while completely adding in a new story at the same time about the sacrifices others have made just to feel whole.
Part of Quentin's problem in the magicians is that he is never satisfied with what's in front of him even as he is threatened with losing everything in TMK he still struggles with this but he is at least more aware of the costs. Meanwhile we learn about the price Julia had to play as she learned magic not in the academic confines of Brakebills but rather on her own and often without guidance. Julia's schooling is much more intense and visceral than anyone at Brakebills but this allows Grossman to tell a much more compelling story and allows him to simultaneously build the magical and fantastic world on earth while as fillory becomes more mundane to the characters as they learn more about their new home. In this novel there are more talking animals featured on earth than fillory.
Much like The Magicians the real quest isn't revealed until well into the book but it works better here as it gives time for Quentin to really work out what it is that he wants. In the magicians he never really finds out because of the price he pays for his mistakes but TMK allows him the maturity to see and plan what it is he means to do and by the end of the book he is able to reflect more clearly. It's the same for Grossman who was able to write a book that does an excellent job deconstructing how we typically view fantasy and narrative at large while writing an even more compelling story that is able to show real growth in its returning characters.
Part of Quentin's problem in the magicians is that he is never satisfied with what's in front of him even as he is threatened with losing everything in TMK he still struggles with this but he is at least more aware of the costs. Meanwhile we learn about the price Julia had to play as she learned magic not in the academic confines of Brakebills but rather on her own and often without guidance. Julia's schooling is much more intense and visceral than anyone at Brakebills but this allows Grossman to tell a much more compelling story and allows him to simultaneously build the magical and fantastic world on earth while as fillory becomes more mundane to the characters as they learn more about their new home. In this novel there are more talking animals featured on earth than fillory.
Much like The Magicians the real quest isn't revealed until well into the book but it works better here as it gives time for Quentin to really work out what it is that he wants. In the magicians he never really finds out because of the price he pays for his mistakes but TMK allows him the maturity to see and plan what it is he means to do and by the end of the book he is able to reflect more clearly. It's the same for Grossman who was able to write a book that does an excellent job deconstructing how we typically view fantasy and narrative at large while writing an even more compelling story that is able to show real growth in its returning characters.
rafaglz18's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5