The Magician King: A Novel

Lev Grossman

Aug 2011 · Magicians Trilogy Book 2 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

Lev Grossman’s new novel THE BRIGHT SWORD will be on sale July 2024

Return to Fillory in the riveting sequel to the New York Times bestseller and literary phenomenon, The Magicians, now an original series on SYFY, from the author of the #1 bestselling The Magician’s Land.

Quentin Coldwater should be happy. He escaped a miserable Brooklyn childhood, matriculated at a secret college for magic, and graduated to discover that Fillory—a fictional utopia—was actually real. But even as a Fillorian king, Quentin finds little peace. His old restlessness returns, and he longs for the thrills a heroic quest can bring.

Accompanied by his oldest friend, Julia, Quentin sets off—only to somehow wind up back in the real world and not in Fillory, as they’d hoped. As the pair struggle to find their way back to their lost kingdom, Quentin is forced to rely on Julia’s illicitly learned sorcery as they face a sinister threat in a world very far from the beloved fantasy novels of their youth.

Ratings and reviews

The first book hooked me. The second one left me flopping in the deck just wanting to return to the water. The secondary plot with Julia was pretty interesting but the rest of it (the current story) felt like filler. By the end the dialog and story seemed flat and thrown together. It was like the author was just bored and ready to end it. Anyway I'll be reading the next one out of obligation when I run into it at a public library or on sale 50% off at walmart.

It's really quite a shame: the story's marred by the way the author uses the name Jesus Christ (regardless of being in reality or in Fillory) as just another swear word, but as sort of, 'How cute! See how the Fillorians misuse OUR swear/curse word again and again,' without having the knowledge of the person, Jesus (who is actually God in a human body, as well as the only Savior of all mankind and thus who should be the last name called out in a derogatory manner. While we're at it, let's use 'Mohammed' for a Non-profit organization's name, but we can call the manager the Non-Prophet 'No Ham Blood', and we can draw a picture of a silly stick figure guy who gets pummeled for not knowing a Prophecy that the main character needed, who will say, "Look, pork boy!" Good idea, right? NO? Then how do you think Christians feel with, 'Jesus Christ this! Jesus Christ that'? Anyway, the first book was barely tolerable. This I put down before Chapter 3's end. And I hate doing that once invested!

Contrary to what a lot of people have had to say about this book, I actually quite enjoyed it. It was a much more fluid read than its predecessor. Were there a few over the top moments? Absolutely! I do, however, still recall being a young adult and can't deny the fact that some of the questionable inner monologues of various characters throughout the book bear a striking resemblance to the way I processed life and expressed myself at the time. As for the ending, I wasn't nearly as shocked or disappointed as I would have expected from some of the other posts. I actually thought it was a wonderfully nuanced conclusion. In other words....read it, its worth it!!!

About the author

LEV GROSSMAN is the book critic for Time magazine and author of five novels, including the international bestseller Codex and the #1 New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three children.