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nikread84's review against another edition
4.0
A great sequel. I started watching The Magicians the SyFy TV series when I started this book, and I think if you intend on watching the TV show it’s a good idea to read the first two books in the trilogy first. In the second book, you find out what Julia was doing the whole time that Quentin and his friends were at Brakebills, but the first season combines those storylines and goes back-and-forth between Julia and the Brakebills kids.
The TV show from what I’ve seen has the same general outline of the book, but for example, I believe Josh opened the black hole in the first book and in the TV show Quentin opened the black hole. Anyway...
Generally, The Magicians is a good read for those people that like magical realism - this book just steps further into the magical world, but does have some ‘realism’ time spent in France and Italy.
The TV show from what I’ve seen has the same general outline of the book, but for example, I believe Josh opened the black hole in the first book and in the TV show Quentin opened the black hole. Anyway...
Generally, The Magicians is a good read for those people that like magical realism - this book just steps further into the magical world, but does have some ‘realism’ time spent in France and Italy.
ellipsiscool's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book even more than "The Magicians"! It's more magical and Quentin is less of a self-centered jerk. The whole series is all at once a parody of children's fantasy books such as Harry Potter and Narnia and a new spin on a genre that has been done to death. The world-building in this second installment is fascinating.
notquiterockstar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
timinbc's review against another edition
3.0
OK, 3.5 stars. We have a good base from the previous book. At the high level, we have two pretty good themes about two paths to maturity (Julia and Quentin). At the low level, we have a lot of interesting ideas and situations. It's in between that I didn't like this book as much as I would have liked to.
It's almost as if Grossman had the two big themes, and a wall covered in Post-It notes with the small scenes, and then the Big Mean Publisher came as said, "I need the manuscript by next Friday!"
Time after time, things are developing as they should given the situation, and then with a mighty leap the plot takes a sharp turn and we abandon the previous scene as if it hadn't happened.
Magic is taken seriously, then for fun, then seriously again. At one point they even admit that it doesn't matter where they go because, hey, it's a Quest, dude, the action will find us. Ha, ha, funny, then thwack, someone's dead. The characters flicker back and forth from being children to Young Adults to serious grownups. Arguably, young adults DO that, so I can live with it.
I have no big problem with what happens to the characters in the end. Authors get to decide that. But the rest of the ending blows.
(1) Big nasty red god says, "Worse gods are coming, be very afraid." several other characters explain that it's all going to end badly. We actually see Mega-Mechanics working on the world. But our hero turns a few keys and there, it's all better - without anything having actually happened!
(2) Quentin attacks the castle with a firework show of magic that would make Gandalf blush. Then at the end a minor character from earlier raises an eyebrow, says, "nuh-uh," and SuperWizard haz a sad and sits down, defeated. Come ON!
All in all, a fairly good book that had a chance to be great but didn't make it.
It's almost as if Grossman had the two big themes, and a wall covered in Post-It notes with the small scenes, and then the Big Mean Publisher came as said, "I need the manuscript by next Friday!"
Time after time, things are developing as they should given the situation, and then with a mighty leap the plot takes a sharp turn and we abandon the previous scene as if it hadn't happened.
Magic is taken seriously, then for fun, then seriously again. At one point they even admit that it doesn't matter where they go because, hey, it's a Quest, dude, the action will find us. Ha, ha, funny, then thwack, someone's dead. The characters flicker back and forth from being children to Young Adults to serious grownups. Arguably, young adults DO that, so I can live with it.
I have no big problem with what happens to the characters in the end. Authors get to decide that. But the rest of the ending blows.
Spoiler
(1) Big nasty red god says, "Worse gods are coming, be very afraid." several other characters explain that it's all going to end badly. We actually see Mega-Mechanics working on the world. But our hero turns a few keys and there, it's all better - without anything having actually happened!
(2) Quentin attacks the castle with a firework show of magic that would make Gandalf blush. Then at the end a minor character from earlier raises an eyebrow, says, "nuh-uh," and SuperWizard haz a sad and sits down, defeated. Come ON!
All in all, a fairly good book that had a chance to be great but didn't make it.
p_wong's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
beachybookstack's review against another edition
3.0
Just finished, and all I can think is, "wow are you kidding me?" That's the end? Thanks for the continuous plot speed bumps, Grossman. The feel of the book was so different from The Magicians. The tragedy and whimsy were gone. I felt like the author just liked torturing Quentin. Bad bad pacing. The only bright spots were the sections focusing on Julia's long journey to magic.
I don't think I will be continuing the series if there's a third book written. It took me forever to read it and disappointed me in the end. I loved the first book, how did this happen? Shitty.
I don't think I will be continuing the series if there's a third book written. It took me forever to read it and disappointed me in the end. I loved the first book, how did this happen? Shitty.
knittingchaos's review against another edition
3.0
I am reading this on my Hub's Kindle. It is the 1st time I have read a book on there. We will see how it goes.
I do not really like reading on the Kindle, but I made it through.
As far as this book goes, it is a lot like the 1st one... not in Filory, in Filory, not etc. I think it could have use some major editing. Plus, I think it would have been better if they just left a bunch of the crap out and merged it with the third book. I have to say that sometimes the trilogy thing is overrated and the author adds stuff just to pad out the story so he can get 3 books out of 2 books worth of ideas. Grossman is not the only one guilty of doing this.
there are some interesting passages and ideas, but they are watered down with a lot of repetition.
I do not really like reading on the Kindle, but I made it through.
As far as this book goes, it is a lot like the 1st one... not in Filory, in Filory, not etc. I think it could have use some major editing. Plus, I think it would have been better if they just left a bunch of the crap out and merged it with the third book. I have to say that sometimes the trilogy thing is overrated and the author adds stuff just to pad out the story so he can get 3 books out of 2 books worth of ideas. Grossman is not the only one guilty of doing this.
there are some interesting passages and ideas, but they are watered down with a lot of repetition.
charlesc_n's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75