The Magician's Land: A Novel (Magicians Trilogy)

I have really liked the Magicians trilogy. There was a lot of interesting and unique interpretations about how magic is created, utilized and manipulated. I have just recently started watching the Netflix series and find it quite enjoyable as well. The two don’t overlap much except with some of the very basic concepts. Even the characters seem different to each other. There are some basic traits that each have, but the character development have turned them into very different versions, just as the plots are handled in each have more differences then similarities. I was glad to see this difference, as it allowed both to stand on their own and be enjoyed for what they are unto themselves. In this book, I liked how that flashbacks and memories were used to explain what had happened to Quentin, such as turning thief, and his other adventures after returning. It was great to see him teach a new group of students at Brakebills. Though not so surprising that he would mess it up. This return allowed the author a good way to introduce the Plum character and truly bring Fillory, the Chatwins, Earth and Quentin, full circle. I was surprised though, as he left Fillory, Josh said to take the townhome in Venice and Quentin could have easily set himself up in that role. In many ways, obeing this fixer-type character to both sides, would have allowed Quentin access to more knowledge and magics, not to mention funding for his future. It seemed odd to not have Quentin even consider taking over the townhome, if nothing else. Of course using Brakebills, it was probably easier to introduce Plum, and the return of niffin Alice. The big theft from The Couple was well handled. All the intrigue and sophistry of this portion of the novel was incredibly thought out. It reminded me of stories that immortalized other great thefts, such as Ocean 11, The Sting, and A Fish Called Wanda, but adding in a fun Magician’s twist. Each thief was unique and had a good amount of backstory and character development. Yet, keeping their air of mystery for some characters added to the intrigue and story. I wish more was known about The Couple and their motivations. Including the probability magic wielding golem truly makes this Magician’s Land very different from other magical universes in stories. It was amazing the stories from all the various characters from differing points in their histories, yet each interacted and moved towards the finalization of the trilogy. I realize all good stories do this, but this story had so many moving parts and spinning plates, it was impressive the author was able to incorporate everything as well as he did. There is plenty of history and rich diversity leftover, that the author could continue writing more stories within this world, if you ever wished to do so. Yet you aren’t disappointed either if this is the end for this set of books. The moral that one Magician with the discipline of Mending, the repair of small objects, could save a world or two with such power, It’s all in the application and motivation. I liked the ending and the rebirth of Fillory using the deaths of the gods, Ember and Umber. This gave the story a sense of an old fable being related. That the story continues after this big climax, was wonderful. The author even gives us possibilities for many characters future stories to be told.

SHORT SUMMARY: If you liked the first 2 books, then you will like this book. It's right in line with what came before. It's a funny thing, this book. Normally, when you read a trilogy, you're really anticipating that final book. The 2nd book usually sets up all kind of plot threads and leaves you hanging. But not Lev Grossman's The Magician's trilogy. Each book has been pretty much self-contained. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good, because you're not left hanging after the book, waiting desperately for 2-3 years for the next one. Bad, because you really can't get worked up about reading it. While reading, I was struck by the thought that this book wasn't really necessary. If Grossman had stopped writing after the first or second book, you wouldn't be disappointed. Each book has it's own ending. This, really, is just the continuing adventures of Quentin Coldwater and Co. The book picks up about 6 months after the ending of the 2nd book. Quentin attends a shady meeting with other fringe-magicians about a possible heist. Quentin needs the $2 million payday promised for the job because he has things he needs to do. We are then, over the next few chapters, filled in with the details about why Quentin was at the meeting and what happened in the 6 months between the end of the 2nd book and that meeting. Turns out Quentin was kind of lost after getting kicked out of Fillory for good, so he finds himself back at Brakebills, where's he's offered an adjunct professor position. That doesn't last long, of course. But Quentin has bigger things on his mind to care too much about getting kicked out. Because he discovered Brakebills was haunted. Not by a ghost...but by a niffin, a being of pure magical energy. Now, he has to find a way to bring his beloved Alice back to life. Meanwhile, in Fillory, High King Elliot finds himself dealing with a pesky invasion from a neighboring country. The situation is humorously dealt with (with some neat big of magic) but he soon finds he has bigger fish to fry. Ember, the god of Fillory, coolly informs Elliot and Queen Janet that Fillory is dying and doesn't have much time left. We learn more about Elliot, and especially Janet, and what makes them tick. They both have come to greatly love Fillory and they set out on the most epic of quests to save it. The Magician's Land quickly sets up and goes about tying up various threads. As stated before, this really is a self-contained novel, but that doesn't mean it doesn't tie into the first 2 books. In fact, we see a whole host of familiar characters and places. One notable new addition was a character by the name of Plum, a 5th year student at Brakebills that gets involved with Quentin's quest. She has some moments to shine, but sadly doesn't add a whole lot to the overall story. This book also contains far more POVs than the first two novels. In the first book, we are in Quentin's head the entire time. The 2nd book was split between Quentin and Julia. In this final volume, we get into the heads of far more characters, which may be a good thing for readers who got tired of Quentin and his depressing narrative. But Quentin really matures and shines in this final volume. It's a pleasure to see how far he has come from the first book. A fair warning to those who enjoyed the "grittiness" of this trilogy. Things get a lot more fantastical in this final volume. It's hard not to, when you have gods, demigods, and 3/4 gods walking around and playing with the powers of creation like it was nothing. To be honest, I thought it got kind of ridiculous in the end. I felt it lost it's emotional connection as vast powers started getting thrown around. It almost devalues everything the characters have struggled to achieve to this point. Magic was a grind and had to be earned. I like that. There's still some of that in this novel, but things sort of get out of hand. In conclusion, this is a worthy ending to a interesting trilogy. The ending kind of meanders and sort of ends abruptly, but most threads are neatly tied up by that point and there is nothing that leaves you hanging. I felt satisfied as I closed the cover. What more needs to be said?

Lev Grossman's Magicians trilogy is a fascinating fantasy series, in some ways, for all the things it doesn't do. It doesn't follow the usual Joseph Campbell-inspired hero's journey, for one thing; indeed, much of the book's power comes from Quentin's being forced to realize that he's not anyone special - that just because he can do magic, he's still himself, and that won't change. Moreover, it's a fantasy series that's not explicitly plot-driven in the way so many fantasy series are. Each book has been its own independent tale, and while elements - mainly the characters, but some details - overlap from book to book, it's always been a series more driven by its characters and their pain than by any story or mythology. And The Magician's Land follows through on that perfectly, ending the trilogy in a way that may not satisfy those who want more details as to the lives of the gods or the truth about magic, but will satisfy those who are invested in the growth of Quentin and his friends. If The Magicians was about the way our dreams fade in the harsh light of reality, and The Magician King was about what we're willing to pay to make our dreams come true, The Magician's Land is about learning to grow up once we realize that our dreams may not happen. That sounds harsh, and Grossman's series has always had an undercurrent of melancholy and depression underlying its fantasy elements. But in many ways, The Magician's Land is the most optimistic book of the series, finding a way to rebuild and grow, to say nothing of finding meaning in our lives beyond selfish wish-fulfillment. In some ways, it's the logical culmination of Quentin's arrested adolescence that filled the first book; The Magician's Land finally finds Quentin at a sort of peace, figuring out who he really is and trying to atone for his past sins. Of course, this being Grossman, all of this is wrapped in an exciting, involving adventure that finds Fillory in danger, Quentin involved in a magical heist, and some old characters coming back into play. It's fun, wonderful stuff, and Grossman continues his knack for making magic truly wondrous in the truest sense of the word, as though we're seeing things we may never understand, but that inspire awe and wonder from us. And it all culminates in some final chapters that are absolutely perfect, ending the series in a moment of transcendent beauty that I never quite expected. The Magician's Land brings the series together wonderfully, ending Quentin's story in a rich, satisfying way that makes the series into something that's equal parts post-modern meditation on Harry Potter, coming of age story, and literary portrait of our modern age and the post-school life many of us face. It's absolutely wonderful, and it's saying something that it just might be my favorite book of the series - no small praise at all, considering how great the first two are.

Finishing this book last night I felt sadness. Sadness because the trilogy had come to an end and my time with these characters and this land had come to an end. And that feeling of sadness is the highest compliment I could pay to this book because that means that the story truly touched me. That's rare for a book to do and speaks highly of how magnificent this story is. I think the last time I felt that feeling was when I finished Deathly Hallows back in '07. Quentin was no longer a King of Fillory. Much like his antecedents of the Narnia books, he was no longer allowed to remain in Fillory and had to make his way in The Real World (no, not on that MTV show. Is it still even on?). But now he was back at Brakebills and was exploring what it meant to be an adult in the non-Fillory world. For those of you who would have wished for more writing about HP post his school years, then you will find much to make you happy here. Especially if you were a fan of Ocean's Eleven. And here we meet Plum and discover other old friends interacting with Quentin. The first half of the book is a crime caper on the Quentin side of things. But that's just half of the first half. The other half explores the goings on of Elliot and Janet and the rest of the Scooby Gang in Fillory. As an aside, the story of how Janet gets her new axes is one of the highlights of the book. And there we are also treated to a modern version of Narnia's 'The Last Battle'. Think about that for a moment. Let it settle in. You know what that means. There is a certain sense of irreverence and whimsy permeating the book. There are amusing lines with wink winks to various Fantasy series's fan bases. Things like there being no female dwarfs because they don't exist. The book rewards those who are well read. Or at least culturally aware. Things like there are turtles all the way down is a neat reference to Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. Overtones of season 5 of Buffy. A reference to Yeat's 'The Second Coming'. I am sure I missed tons of things. Makes me wish there were a bibliography at the end so I could see all the things that influenced Grossman's writings. All throughout the book Grossman uses modern vernacular; this is how people actually talk. Grossman is insightful about the human condition. He has a keen eye for the world around him. An eye that lets him suffuse his books with delights that surprise you at every twist and turn because they both enchant and cause you delve deep into possible truths. This is especially true of the Quentin chapters. And the story itself gets more wonderful and wonderful. And just when you can't stand how awesome it all is, it gets more awesome and you must continue to somehow brave through the book. And now the book is over and the review is done. But more adventures await in other worlds.

If you enjoyed Narnia and Harry Potter and you have little bit of religious background, a Torah here and a Bible there, you may have as much fun as I did with this twisted and modern version of those two series. It’s all there, magic, talking animals, angry Gods, war, fantastic journeys to faraway lands, sometimes being transformed into geese or even whales, with normal humans, sometimes kids, placed into high positions in these lands, even as kings and queens. It’s amazing that such nonsense can have real meaning and sometimes pierce your heart and teach you a little bit more about love, life and relationships. But the story really got to me here and there and as these young, sometimes nerdy smart misfits grow, and their personalities unfold over 12 or so years, a very real and sometimes harsh coming of age story is told. In this regard, it’s less a fairytale and more of an up close and personal view of kids growing awkwardly into adults with all of the mistakes they make along the way. And there are several very touching and sometimes disappointing and horrible things which happen, some of which get solved, others of which remain unsolved and almost too real. There is swashbuckling, hands severed, unfit Gods, loving Gods, moments of real and excellent magic, creations of new earths that are entered through a simple door in the side of an apartment and finally, the maturing of the characters and the final climax formed by years of planning, practice, schooling and magical demonstrations to save a beloved world, perhaps a bit of Frodo and Bilbo thrown in here. Compelling and excellent story that I will always love. I’d go to five stars, but the last book sometimes seemed too edited down, the storylines weren’t always told well enough and there was a little too much kidding around here and there that sometimes took me out of the story into the office of the author who is obviously a clever jokester. So, again, if you love this type of story, give this series a shot. I was entertained and hope there are more books coming. I can think of a dozen side plots that could easily be developed. Thanks to Caroline and other Goodreads friends for inviting me to enjoy the adventure. (less)

The Magician’s Land is the third and final installment of Grossman’s superb fantasy tale of magician-with-angst Quentin Coldwater and his friends, most but not al l of whom attended or graduated from the magically camouflaged Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. Quentin has been the lead character in all three novels, a man growing up but always faintly out of his proper place. That indeed has been the dominant theme of these wondrous novels: Quentin’s exceptionally slow growth to maturity. And part of the reason that these books resonate so strongly with readers is that Quentin’s dilemma isn’t so far different from most of ours: everyone thinks him(her)self special but the world doesn’t always realize our specialness and the adjustment between uncaring world and self deeply caring about its own trajectory is all too common to our own experience of living. That’s one of the reason these nooks are so affecting: they tap into our personally felt experiences and feelings. Join that with a glorious fantasy adventure and you have a recipe for success unequalled since Philip Pullman’s somewhat similar His Dark Materials trilogy. Neither Pullman nor Grossman espouses a world where bravery, virtue and a positive outlook resolve all. Rather, they appropriate the materials of epic adventure and the excitement of magic to write high adventures that feature heroes and heroines we could conceivably see as us, though more magicked of course. All of the characters of the first two books come back in this one. Eliot, now High King of the magical kingdom of Fillory, formerly gay but more than that snide, is now responsible and much more human: he truly cares about the fate of Fillory, which is going through a crisis –well, not a crisis, more like Armageddon, the End, the alt-world’s final Running Down. Janet, bitchy as ever, is there to help him, but so are Poppy and Josh, and Julia, always problematic, hovers around the edge for part of the story. There are new characters as swell, most notably Plum, about whom I won’t say more than that there are surprises in her past that feed directly into the story and history of Fillory. There is an even more startling twist to this story but you’ll have to read it to find out what it is. There is a lovely but almost throwaway paragraph forty pages into the book that captures its essence: Quentin is back in Brakebills, ten years older and no longer king of Fillory, just a very junior and temporary junior instructor there. "Pacing the aisles of a silent classroom, surveying the exposed napes of rows and rows of students bent over their fall exams, he realized he’d lost his old double vision, the one that was always looking for something more, somewhere else, the world behind the world. It was his oldest possession, and he’d let it slip away without even noticing it was gone. He was becoming someone else, someone new." That’s what this book is about ultimately, growing up and becoming someone else, someone new. But en route the author tells us a rousing good story. These three novels are among the very best fantasy novels and also among the most grown up.

Huh, what to say about this book. This is the third installment of Lev Grossman's "Magicians" series about a coming of age then coming into his own story of a wizard. The first two are terrific reads and you can not read this book without reading the first two, so this review and book are purely for the fans. So first things first, this book did not need to happen. From the outset to the first couple of chapters this is abundantly clear. There were no loose threads from the first two books, all the stories had satisfying placeholders. Both books had somewhat unique, bittersweet endings that suited the tone and theme of the books. This third installment is just superfluous, BUT, as the world created in the first two "Magicians" is a pretty strong world with several plot threads ripe for revisiting, this third book is not a stifling thing. It starts with a heist that leads pretty quickly into another strong quest plot. All the old gang and elements of the first two books are present and unabashedly referenced. Going in I was afraid this third book would be a departure that might leave elements of the first two books out, there was a certain finality present in the end of the second book that made this possible. I was heartened to see that the writer did not shy away from anything. One of the things I like about Quentin is his questing attitude in asking for help from all he sources he knows of. This however did not turn out to be a good thing. This third book is a short thing and the plot quickly starts to shift into a checklist of sorts to get to all the elements of the first two books, honestly there are maybe a handful of characters and places from the first two books not mentioned. That rushes the plot along a bit too fast and any chance of the plot exposing a tantalizing mystery or sense of great things falling into place is put to the side to make way for more checks. A new character is introduced and she is denied some really deserved reaction time and development. Then, before we know it there is an ending. A... pleasing ending. I don't mean that from my point of view but instead as a slight admonishment. What is this? Why are you here pleasing ending? Are you at least going to blush for flopping about at the end of this story? I'm not trying to spoil anything, it's not some cookie cutter happy ending, it shows it's work. But it is a stark contrast to the endings of the first two, it ties it's threads too tightly and ruins the shape of the pattern they make. But that's the problem with this book, that's why it has 3 stars and a lackluster title. It wasn't a necessary book so it's ending feels unnecessary. Unnecessary is not bad though, and I must stress this point. I crave more books from this universe and I will take whatever I can get. Hunger Games? I would pay to stop any more books coming from that universe. I liked this book and if you liked the first two, I mean, you have to read this one too. How could you not? So this review is for the people who read the book and then go to Amazon to read the lower starred reviews trying to find another person who was troubled by it in a similar way. Here is an odd aside, the caper aspect of this book did not work at all, and Lev Grossman wrote another book with a caper called Codex. Codex was pretty bad, it's his first (second?) book and it's way better than my first book would be, but he bumbles the story in a similar, but much worse way. You may get a sense of closure by reading it. There were great parts though! We get to see someone we really wanted to see and the story teased that revelation splendidly. We get closure for a character that really needed it, after all it's a world where magic is a very possible bridge to address these things and it's absence would have been lame. We finally get some Janet time! Nothing is TOO absurd and that is a pretty great thing, it never went off the rails. I still want more, and I would say I feel about as contented as the second book left me.

This is an awesome ending to the Magician's Trilogy. The writing is phenomenal and the story is full and emotional and satisfying. I was sad for the book to end because I didn't want to say goodbye to the characters.