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A review by peterkeep
The Magician King by Lev Grossman
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.