The Magician King (The Magicians #2) by Lev Grossman

"Quentin is living his best life as a king of Fillory, but he finds himself craving adventure and excitement again. He gets it and more. Sadly, the characters, especially Julia, were obnoxiously pretentious, and I eventually just wanted the book to be done. This was a massive disappointment."

⭐⭐

Pros: It was Interesting to find out how Julia learned magic.

Cons: Julia was arrogant, conceited, and obnoxious/The end was painfully anti-climactic and unnecessarily drawn out.

Full Review:***Disclaimer - If you’ve not read The Magicians by Grossman please do so and then come back and read this at your leisure. That way you’ll know what I’m talking about.***

Quentin, Eliot, Janet and a very distant /barely human Julia are living as the Kings and Queens of Fillory. It’s all Quentin ever wanted, and yet, he finds himself at loose ends, desperate for some excitement.

When they find a clock tree acting strangely in the Queenswood, he thinks perhaps this is it, his chance at an adventure, but the others tell him to leave it alone. And he does.

Later, while discussing matters of state with the others, he learns that a small island near the edge of Fillory hasn’t paid taxes in years, and so he decides to go there and collect, hoping it’ll add a bit of spice to his life. Julia goes with him.

He does end up having an adventure, one so huge that the fate of Fillory and all of Magic hangs in the balance, and as usual, Quentin realizes he’s in way over his head.

We also learn how Julia started practicing magic even though she failed the test at Brakebills. An underground Magic scene exists, and Julia rises quickly through the ranks. It’s not a pleasant or easy journey, and she makes some startling sacrifices, thus explaining why she’s so different now.

Though I read this book quickly because I just wanted it to be over. All the characters, especially Julia, were pretentious, arrogant, and rubbed me completely the wrong way. I was glad when the book was done, and though I’ll read The Magicians Land to see how Grossman finishes the series, I don’t have high hopes. This was a massive disappointment.

Comments

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