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 … 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.
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Once again, Quentin Coldwater can’t just be happy where he is. He wakes up in his private royal quarters, being one of the 2 Kings of Fillory, and feels like he is again missing out on something. So he decides that he needs a quest.
This book interweaves the story of Quentin’s quest with the telling of what happened to Julia while Quentin was getting his Brakebills education in The Magicians.
There are lots of great characters and unexpected twists. I really like this series. It is very different from the TV series, but I love them both.
Oh, Lev. You made me cry so many times but then there were whales and I sobbed.
This series finally hit its stride in book 3.
Too much like Narnia. No originality
Loved this whole series
The characters all experience real searches for self through challenges and do it mostly juxtaposed against the happy fantasy land of Fillory. Julia’s journey is so much darker and twistier than the others, and she has far less snark for comic relief. As with many middle books of trilogies, this one is harder to love, but so much develops and then sets up the third book in the series. I saw someone comment that s/he found this one depressing…and much of it is…but there is much self discovery and achievement as well.
This was my favorite novel of the series; but it gets too depressing for me after this novel. I can’t recommend it.
Series is a grown up version of Harry Potter meets Narnia, replete with love, sex and drugs. Great story. Well done
Lev Grossman is an incredible author! I particularly like his descriptions, which are often funny, but convey the perfect picture!
I thought this book was full of witticisms about growing up, life, love and our world. The world building was tied to our world just enough to make me look at our world a bit differently. The protagonist has a comment for just about everything that he processes that made me take note – laugh often and much – and isn’t that part of the definition of success? I ended up reading all three books and finding them to be a thoroughly great ride! So sad they are over that I may wait a year and re-read them, something I rarely do. Yes, they were that full of fun with a hint of both snark and sarcasm…need I say more?
This is not Hogwarts. It’s world with magic that is our world with a bit more to it then we know.
A good time. The magic in these books felt real, like by the end of the book you’d know how to do magic. Just a little too teen angsty but not horrible. It’s appropriate for the characters.
It’s rare that a sequel is better than the first book in the series, but that is absolutely the case with the Magician King. As the characters grow and mature, they are more intriguing and engaging. The story is fantastic, surprising and perfect. It was a wonderful read.
Great book an fun first 3.5…….but holy cow….I doubt he will ever finish the story
watch the TV Show it is better than the books
I loved this series. It was popular enough that it became a series on the syfy channel which I also watched. The books are extremely original and do not just go over old ground used in other novels. Fillory is a unique world with two Gods and magic is real in our time and Quentin, our main character, has been to college at the premiere school for magic. His oldest friend, Julia, is a hedge witch, someone who has found spells and practices them without any formal education in magic. She had a chance to go to school with Quentin, but didn’t pass the entrance exam. Her memory of the event was supposed to be erased but it didn’t work properly. Quentin has a depressive nature and Julia also goes through a deep depression because she’s been denied magic. They both want to be in Fillory which they initially thought was fictious because they grew up reading children’s books about it. But, as adults, they have discovered that Fillory is real. Quentin is a king of Fillory and theyare trying to find their way back. These books are not a cheery read. But, a fascinating one nevertheless.
loved this book! oh if only there could be several more…though different from the syfy series it’s still a great read
All the Magician series books are incredible. No real let-down from one to the other. If someone twisted my arm, then this would be the worst of the three. Quentin is a hard character to love, and the “copying” of Narnia/Fillory bothered me some. But still good.
Page turner. Loved everything about it!
A masterful world with believable characters and fabulous storyline.