The Magician King
(Book 2)
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4.2 • 40 Ratings
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
Quentin and his friends are now the kings and queens of the magical land of Fillory. But he finds himself growing restless.
So when a mystery at the heart of the kingdom is uncovered, Quentin and his old friend Julia charter a sailing ship and set off to the wild outer reaches.
But their voyage will take them much further than they imagined and leave them with a choice that could have devastating consequences - for Fillory and for magic itself.
Praise for The Magicians Trilogy
'The best fantasy trilogy of the decade.' Charles Stross
'The most entertaining and compelling fantasy I've read in a long time.' The Times
'Lev Grossman has conjured a rare creature: a trilogy that simply gets better and better as it goes along... Literary perfection.' Erin Morgenstern
'May just be the most subversive, gripping, and enchanting fantasy novel I've read this century.' Cory Doctorow
'Dark and dangerous and full of twists. Hogwarts was never like this.' George R. R. Martin
'Sad, hilarious, beautiful, and essential to anyone who cares about modern fantasy.' Joe Hill
'A darkly cunning story about the power of imagination itself.' The New Yorker
'The Magicians ought to be required reading... a terrific, at times almost painfully perceptive novel of the fantastic.' Kelly Link
'Brilliantly explores the hidden underbelly of fantasy and easy magic, taking what's simple on the surface and turning it over to show us the complicated writhing mess beneath.' Naomi Novik
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Grossman's stylish sequel to The Magicians smoothly fuses adventure fantasy, magic realism, and mythic fiction. It's been two years since Quentin, Eliot, Janet, and Julia have become kings and queens of the magical utopia of Fillory, but Quentin is becoming bored with his seemingly idyllic existence. Spurred on by a dark prophecy of the "Seeing Hare," "one of the Unique Beasts of Fillory," he and Julia decide to embark on a trip to a faraway island, but their voyage turns out to be more perilous than expected and they end up back on Earth. With no apparent means to return to their home at Castle Whitespire, they must somehow find a way back to Fillory and save their realm from imminent destruction. Grossman effortlessly injects innumerable pop culture and literary references (Monty Python, Harry Potter, Pink Floyd, the Lorax, the Teletubbies, etc.) into the fantastical storyline. Mainstream fiction and fantasy fans alike will find this fairy tale for adults rewarding. 10-city author tour.
Customer Reviews
Fun read, better than the first book
I read and enjoyed 'The Magicians' by the same author. The main character isn't your typical hero or even particularly likeable. But, fortunately, that allows room for some interesting character development.
This is another anti-Narnia series, but unlike Philip Pullman's, it doesn't take itself too seriously. The characters think things that you or I might think in the same situation and so don't appear to accept, to the usual extent, the 'rules' of the world they're confronted with. It's highly entertaining, particularly if you found yourself thinking heretical thoughts when reading CS Lewis. Thoughts such as "Oh look, Aslan is being all disappointed and patronising again. I wonder if I'm going to go to hell for thinking that?"
Grossman also isn't afraid of being particularly nasty to his characters, without going pointlessly overboard into overlong descriptions of eyeballs popping and the like - the nastiness is more psychological than "ok, I think I'm going to be sick".
I am eagerly awaiting the next book.
It just gets better.
Grossman makes you care about the most unlikable characters. He pushes you to think outside the box - what would you do if you were Quentin? I think the true success of The Magicians trilogy is that it makes you believe this world is out there, this could really be happening.
This book is such a page turner.
Dreadful rubbish
Don't know how this got published