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ysengrinFinished recently: The Magician King, by Lev Grossman, sequel to The Magicians. I liked the first book, it's unexpectedly dark, and it set a high bar for a sequel.
The Magician King mostly clears that bar, though honestly I was far more interested in Julia's past, delivered a little at a time, than I was in the main quest or in the main character. Points for a walk-in by Reynard the Fox that manages to stay pretty true to his nature. Not so good: a lot of the story feels scripted, moving along very well oiled tracks. I think this is intentional, given the look at the powers-that-be at the ending (no spoilers), but it does keep the story from being quite as engrossing as The Magicians was. Also without giving anything away, the end of this book is an obvious setup for another sequel.
Absolutely read The Magicians before reading The Magician King. The main story here is mostly bland, but it's worth reading through for Julia's story.
The Magician King mostly clears that bar, though honestly I was far more interested in Julia's past, delivered a little at a time, than I was in the main quest or in the main character. Points for a walk-in by Reynard the Fox that manages to stay pretty true to his nature. Not so good: a lot of the story feels scripted, moving along very well oiled tracks. I think this is intentional, given the look at the powers-that-be at the ending (no spoilers), but it does keep the story from being quite as engrossing as The Magicians was. Also without giving anything away, the end of this book is an obvious setup for another sequel.
Absolutely read The Magicians before reading The Magician King. The main story here is mostly bland, but it's worth reading through for Julia's story.
