In my sickness-induced Amanda-free weekend, I had the time to re-read two of my favorite books that were published in the past few years: The Magicians and The Magician King, both by Lev Grossman. It occurred to me that we haven't written a restaurant review in a while (we missed a good chance to do so last weekend), so I decided to write a book review to fill the gap!
I stumbled into The Magicians by chance when we ordered it at the library. The book looked interesting, and I gave it a try.
It was amazing. The Magicians follows a boy named Quentin who stumbles into a magical college. His life there is everything he hoped for... at least for a while. But he makes a mistake that proves that magical life isn't perfect. And then another. Finally he thinks he's found what will bring him true happiness, a trip to a fantasy world he'd read and dreamed about since he was a child.
The book is interesting and is great to read as a counterpoint to Harry Potter's magical world where everything is black or white. It feels less magical and more real, especially in how the main characters are portrayed.
The sequel, The Magician King, takes things even further. It starts off as a fairly light hearted romp and becomes darker as the book progresses. Quentin and his friends learn the price of seeking power and adventure, and the ending was very approriate. The two books stand on their own fantastically, but if Grossman ever decides to write a third, he's certainly left enough room in the world he's created to finish a trilogy.
No comments:
Post a Comment