The Magician King, by Lev Grossman

The Magician King, the second book in Lev Grossman’s trilogy, picks up where the last left off. Quentin is ruler of Fillory, the magical Narnia-esque land from the books he read as a child. After deciding to go on an adventure, as dictated by the magical realm he inhabits, he finds himself accidentally locked out of his dimension and stuck back on Earth. As he tries to find his way back, the story of his high school crush Julia unfolds. Unlike Quentin, she failed the Brakebills entrance exam and found a glitch in the memory wiping spell, which let her know there was a magical school out there, but closed to her forever. She chases magical knowledge all across the United States and works her way up the ranks of the underground magicians, paying some heavy prices along the way, and eventually reunites with Quentin.

For a bridge between the first and last books of a trilogy, The Magician King is really quite good. It departs from the more realistic, critical attitude towards magic and fantasy present in The Magicians and becomes a full-blown fantasy book that takes place in a world perfectly suited for fantasy adventures. The concept of a fantasy, fairytale world is nothing new to me, but the story of characters from our world exploring it is. And I think Grossman pulls it off really well, especially towards the end of the book where he begins to deconstruct the very nature of magic and provide an explanation for it. It may not be the most satisfactory of explanations, but explaining the origins of the universe is a monumental task and I think it fits in well with the rest of the book. 

Reviewed by Adrian G., grade 12
Grandview Library