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Harry Potter for adults. That’s how Lev Grossman’s first fantasy novel “The Magicians” (2009) was described to me... and it didn’t disappoint. Amidst all the Narnia-like adventures, Quentin, Julia, and their friends learn that growing up is hard, no matter how much magic you possess. In this sequel, Grossman shows that becoming an adult involves much more than achieving a certain numerical age as his young hero battles his way through a flawed world of magic and learns what it really means to be a hero. 

Having become one of the four high kings and queens of Fillory at the end of “The Magicians,” Quentin finds the role a bit too tame and predictable. He eagerly takes on a quest with Julia, but the adventure doesn’t turn out the way he had imagined as they find themselves back in the depressingly real world of Chesterton, Massachusetts. Desperate to return to Fillory and set the magical world to rights, they enlist the help of hedge witches, dragons and an Australian dragon expert, and a small boy named Thomas to find their way back. Interspersed with this adventure is the backstory of how Julia (who had been rejected by the magician college Brakebills) came to be such a talented and tormented magician. Her story, involving the search for Our Lady Underground, an earth mother-type deity, resonates the strongest, probably because of her underdog, outsider status.   

“The Magician King” is destined to be the middle book in a trilogy (the ending leaves Quentin, literally, out in the cold!) of dark, sarcastic adult novels that both criticize and celebrate our deep desire for fantasy. It is an entertaining literary adventure that takes on the subjects of privilege, power, and the limits of being human—even when humans can work magic. 

Review by Shirley Wells 

The Magician King (Hardcover)

By Lev Grossman

$26.95

ISBN-13: 9780670022311
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Viking Adult, 8/2011

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