Take a photo of a barcode or cover
joshbrown 's review for:
The Magician's Land
by Lev Grossman
Quentin grows up, and Lev Grossman sticks the landing.
Quentin Coldwater started out as someone who was never satisfied with his current surroundings, always looking for his sense of purpose and assuming it was in the next place, the next adventure. But after the events of the second book, Quentin is forced to look internally and find that purpose where he is standing. Maturing the main character over the course of a series is definitely not a new thing. Harry Potter does a lot of growing up between the ages of 11 and 17. But the learning and growing up that Quentin does in this series is so incredibly naturalistic and fascinating to read. He's not maturing because he's a kid going through puberty and that's what all kids too, he's actually becoming an adult who is trying to fix his mistakes and create something that is truly good.
This newfound maturity also presents itself in Quentin's female companion for the book. Where usually he is with a peer, and someone he has at least some romantic affection for, he is put into more of a mentor role in The Magician's Land, and being able to help guide a lost magician allows us to see how much the character has truly grown. The loss Quentin has suffered, instead of turning him cold and cynical, has allowed him a perspective that turns him into a good teacher and someone striving to be a good man.
On the other side of the dimensional divide we have Eliot and Janet, two characters that have gone through interesting journeys in their own right. It was great being in both of their heads for a time, and the quick story we get of what Janet was up to in Book 2 is amazing and has a much better theme than the story of Julia's ascendence we got last time. These characters finally having the ability of internal inspection does wonders for the story, and Grossman is able to bounce around the different nooks and crannies of the plot better than he ever has before. Throw in some haunting Chatwin history and a ghost of the series' past and you have a book that not only is the best of the trilogy, but may actually make the previous two books better upon reflection. Not at all what I expected going into this final chapter, but very much appreciated.
Quentin Coldwater started out as someone who was never satisfied with his current surroundings, always looking for his sense of purpose and assuming it was in the next place, the next adventure. But after the events of the second book, Quentin is forced to look internally and find that purpose where he is standing. Maturing the main character over the course of a series is definitely not a new thing. Harry Potter does a lot of growing up between the ages of 11 and 17. But the learning and growing up that Quentin does in this series is so incredibly naturalistic and fascinating to read. He's not maturing because he's a kid going through puberty and that's what all kids too, he's actually becoming an adult who is trying to fix his mistakes and create something that is truly good.
This newfound maturity also presents itself in Quentin's female companion for the book. Where usually he is with a peer, and someone he has at least some romantic affection for, he is put into more of a mentor role in The Magician's Land, and being able to help guide a lost magician allows us to see how much the character has truly grown. The loss Quentin has suffered, instead of turning him cold and cynical, has allowed him a perspective that turns him into a good teacher and someone striving to be a good man.
On the other side of the dimensional divide we have Eliot and Janet, two characters that have gone through interesting journeys in their own right. It was great being in both of their heads for a time, and the quick story we get of what Janet was up to in Book 2 is amazing and has a much better theme than the story of Julia's ascendence we got last time. These characters finally having the ability of internal inspection does wonders for the story, and Grossman is able to bounce around the different nooks and crannies of the plot better than he ever has before. Throw in some haunting Chatwin history and a ghost of the series' past and you have a book that not only is the best of the trilogy, but may actually make the previous two books better upon reflection. Not at all what I expected going into this final chapter, but very much appreciated.