The Magician King

A Novel

By: Lev Grossman

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 15 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Return to Fillory in the riveting sequel to The New York Times best-seller and literary phenomenon of 2009: The Magicians.

The Magicians was praised as a triumph by readers and critics of both mainstream and fantasy literature. Now Grossman takes us back to Fillory, where the Brakebills graduates have fled the sorrows of the mundane world, only to face terrifying new challenges.

Quentin and his friends are now the kings and queens of Fillory, but the days and nights of royal luxury are starting to pall. After a morning hunt takes a sinister turn, Quentin and his old friend Julia charter a magical sailing ship and set out on an errand to the wild outer reaches of their kingdom. Their pleasure cruise becomes an adventure when the two are unceremoniously dumped back into the last place Quentin ever wants to see: his parent's house in Chesterton, Massachusetts. And only the black, twisted magic that Julia learned on the streets can save them.

The Magician King is a grand voyage into the dark, glittering heart of magic, an epic quest for the Harry Potter generation. It also introduces a powerful new voice, that of Julia, whose angry genius is thrilling. Once again Grossman proves that he is the modern heir to C.S. Lewis and at the cutting edge of literary fantasy.

©2011 Lev Grossman (P)2011 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“[A] serious, heartfelt novel [that] turns the machinery of fantasy inside out.” (The New York Times [Editor’s Choice])

“[The Magician King] is The Catcher in the Rye for devotees of alternative universes. It’s dazzling and devil-may-care.... Grossman has created a rare, strange, and scintillating novel.” (Chicago Tribune)

“Fabulous fantasy spiked with bitter adult wisdom—not to be missed.” (Kirkus Reviews [starred review])

good book

this book is a great continuation of the story I really enjoyed the book as a whole but the ending is extremely gut wrenching

XspiracyX

loved it great read got hooked after book one now on to book three awesome

Great Listen

Can't wait to read the third book, Grossman is a master of storytelling! Truly well done, I'll be sad when I'm done with the series.

Bramhall Shines, A Fun Fantasy Romp

If you're coming to The Magician King without having read/listened to The Magicians it will be a difficult read. It depends on a lot of context and information from the other book.

That said, I so enjoyed this installment of the series! Bramhall was the real star again; his narration and ability to bring characters to life and make sometimes dull exposition pop was truly a pleasure to listen to.

Grossman's pacing remains an issue for me, though less of one in this story than in the first book. The novel starts slow but picks up and in Quentin's story stays at a consistent pace that feels appropriate and comfortable. On the flip side, the occasional interludes of Julia's story make it difficult to enjoy the pace for long. While I loved finally hearing about Julia and what she went through, the interspersed flashbacks felt more like obscene and random interruptions than a coherent part of the narrative. I would have loved to have read about Julia's past... all in a piece, and if it were a paper book I would have purposefully done that and skipped those sections afterward which would have served me as a reader better. Likewise, the same issues I had with the tone toward certain characters cropped back up, but they were more manageable.

All in all, this was a great listen. I love Fillory, and while I'm not sure if I'll pick up the next installment or not, I really enjoyed this book.

Very good but uneven sequel

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It both plays on our expectations of fantasy and critically upends them.

What did you like best about this story?

One of the main characters, Quentin, only barely achieves maturity as a person and interest as a character, and the sections of the book that focus on him just aren't as good as the writing in the first book. But Julia really comes into her own in this sequel. She is an arresting character and the things that happen to her are startlingly unpredictable and unforgettable. Through Julia, Grossman pushes to the limit the questions these books raise: What is magic? Is it what fantasy fiction leads us to believe? Why do we want so badly to believe it is, and what comes of our expectations? and most important, What are the consequences of pursuing magical power to its limits?

Did Mark Bramhall do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes, he changes genders and accents easily and well.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

What happens to Julia when she and her friends try to summon an ancient goddess-- though to say more would spoil the story.

Any additional comments?

Mark Bramhall is a good narrator, but has a tendency to lower his voice at the ends of words so that he sounds somewhat glum at times.

expertly performed, stunningly written.

loved it, start to finish. about to start reading the third book. I know it will be as great.

love this book

this book was amazing. the story, the characters were so well put together. the villains we amazing and dark and light

Fantastic but doesn't answer a couple questions

I loved the story, like the first book the author does a great job painting each scene in a beautiful way, allowing me to fully picture each enviroment, and the emotions of the characters. Unlike the first book the author is better about saying charicter names more frequently which helps a lot with association of more then 4-5 characters.
my only complaint is that the author does not answer questions or situations using information at the end of the last book, and to me this is a painful error on keeping the story consistent.

A superior sequel

The story in The Magician King is much stronger than its predecessor. If you liked The Magicians well enough but didn't fall in love, I'd definitely recommend trying out the sequel. Julia's story in particular is worth the price of admission alone. Great stuff.

As far as the narrator is concerned, he does well enough. His performance is solid and his accent work is serviceable (the major exception being his Australian accent which seems to get away from him more often than it doesn't). While his pronunciation of foreign places and items seem to be spot-on, the book's pop-culture references seem to slip him up nearly every time. There are also several retakes and line flubs that are left in the final product, as well as obvious edit points that weren't bothered to be equalized. So if that's something that will bother you, be warned.

All in all, though, I found the audiobook very enjoyable.

Such an amazing world!

this book answered (almost) all of my questions that burned in me after the wonders introduced in the first! I can't wait to listen to the third! Bramhall's voice is great (some of the women's voices were a little overshot but not unbearably so).