The Magician King

My rating on this may be a bit generous... Call it a 3.5. At first, I was really enjoying this book and watching Quentin grow into an actual human character. I know a lot of people hate him, but I understood a bit about why he had the attitude he had. It made a lot of sense for the academia that surrounded the first book. The sequel is much more about life after academia, about why “what happens next, when does my life start?” part of life. Quentin begins to think outside himself for the first time... ever, I think. I like his journey. I like Julia's journey. I would've liked a bit more of Eliot, but that's a personal thing.

The first book had an ending that pushed me forward. It faked out at a lame, boring ending, and then pulled you right back to the cliff's edge. The Magician King starts you off at the cliff's edge, and then drags you back to safe ground. I felt pretty dissatisfied by the whole last chapter. Every time something cool was about to happen, someone would prevent it. Not really sure why Grossman made that choice. There's definitely potential for a third book, and I do hope he writes one (The Magician Monk?), but this ending doesn't leave me excited about it like the first one did.