Tough Traveling: Quest Objects
Posted on August 7, 2014 16 Comments
The Thursday feature “Tough Traveling” is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I’m very excited to take part!
This week’s tour topic is: Quest Objects
QUEST OBJECTS can be various, but are quite strictly defined by the Rules. They are:
1. Material Objects. CUPS, JEWELS, ORBS, RINGS, SCEPTRES, STONES, and SWORDS.
2. Places. HIDDEN KINGDOMS, ISLANDS, OLD RUINED CITIES, POOLS of enchantment, STONES, TEMPLES, VALLEYS, and, less frequently, Fountains (which may double as Fountains of Youth)
3. Persons. See APPRENTICES, HARDSHIP, and PRINCES.
4. Knowledge. Usually for BIRTHRIGHT or MAGIC or both.
5. Most rarely of all, SELF-KNOWLEDGE
I love this week’s theme. You can’t read fantasy without tripping over a quest object, so I’m hoping today to use some titles I haven’t had a chance to feature before:
The Barrow by Mark Smylie
Swords as quest objects is a big thing in fantasy. Mark Smylie’s dark fantasy adventure novel The Barrow follows the classic quest narrative: to find the sword (not just any sword! A fabled sword which belonged to a long-dead wizard), unearth the Barrow. To unearth the Barrow, follow the map.
The Magician King by Lev Grossman
Keys are another popular quest object. Seven golden keys are at the center of Quentin’s quest in The Magician King, when he stumbles upon a fairy tale mentioning them while on a journey to the Outer Island. The tale grows more complicated and dire when he discovers grave consequences for magic and magic users everywhere if these keys aren’t found.
Heartwood by Freya Robertson
Another classic quest narrative, following a group of warriors on an epic adventure to retrieve the heart of the Arbor, the essence of the great tree that binds all the land and its people. But five nodes located in five different hallowed sites must be activated first in order for the sacred tree to heal.
Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb
Quest objects can indeed be places. The four books in this series follows a group of dragon keepers and their dragons on an extraordinary odyssey along the Rain Wild River in the hopes of rediscovering the ancient Elderling city of Kelsingra, the magical lost haven for dragons and Elderlings alike.
The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes
Hey, quest objects in heist stories are merely regular quest objects that you have to steal, along with a bunch of your lock-picking, safe-cracking, shape-shifting and acrobatically gifted friends! In this case, Loch and her team are hoping to retrieve a priceless elven manuscript that was stolen from her family. I featured this book’s sequel in my WoW yesterday, which got a bit of interest so I figured I’d take this opportunity to pimp this great book.
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Quest objects can be animals, too. 250 prized Sardian horses were gifted to Shen Tai by the Taguran empress, a former Kitan princess, as a reward for a noble task. Of course, the empress doesn’t realize that her extravagant gift has immediately made this humble man an attractive target to thieves, assassins, and politicians, not to mention other dangers (royalty, they just don’t consider such things). Shen devises a plan to keep himself alive in order to travel to the capital and deliver the valuable horses to the Kitan Empire.
Waiting on Wedneday 08/06/14
Posted on August 6, 2014 22 Comments
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick:
The Prophecy Con by Patrick Weekes: September 23, 2014 (47North)
Patrick Weekes might be better known to gamers as a BioWare writer, having worked on games like Mass Effect and the latest novel of the Dragon Age franchise. But I also loved his book The Palace Job so I was practically beside myself when I saw this. The theme, the cover style and other little factors made it seem The Prophecy Con would be a follow-up or another novel set in the same world. Either way, I WANTED IT. And now it’s been confirmed that it will indeed be the second book to the series (called Rogues of the Republic) and I’m so excited that it will feature at least some of our old friends from book one! Oh man, I hope the talking unicorn comes back too.
“Who would h
ave thought a book of naughty poems by elves could mean the difference between war and peace? But if stealing the precious volume will keep the Republic and the Empire from tearing out each other’s throats, rogue soldier Isafesira de Lochenville—“Loch” to friends and foes alike—is willing to do the dishonest honors. With her motley crew of magic-makers, law-breakers, and a talking warhammer, she’ll match wits and weapons with dutiful dwarves, mercenary knights, golems, daemons, an arrogant elf, and a sorcerous princess.
But getting their hands on the prize—while keeping their heads attached to their necks—means Loch and company must battle their way from a booby-trapped museum to a monster-infested library, and from a temple full of furious monks to a speeding train besieged by assassins. And for what? Are a few pages of bawdy verse worth waging war over? Or does something far more sinister lurk between the lines?”
Comic Review: Banshee Origins by Jonathan Tropper
Posted on August 6, 2014 1 Comment
Banshee Origins by Jonathan Tropper
Genre: Crime, Drama
Publisher: IDW Publishing (January 2013)
Wendy’s Rating – 2 of 5 stars
Banshee is a television show about a criminal, recently released from prison, who, after a series of unfortunate events, takes on the guise of a new sheriff and makes himself comfortable in the titular town. The love of his life and former partner in crime also happens to live there, but she has changed her identity and is now living happily with her husband and two children. But the threat of her father, the Ukrainian mob boss, Rabbit, still looms over both of them, along with the problem of some stolen diamonds.
If this description is enough to entice you to watch it, then I am happy. Because I love Banshee for so many reasons. And if you watch it, then I will tell you to skip this comic, because it is entirely unnecessary—which is often the trouble with origin stories. They either tell you stuff you’ve already figured out, or you learn things you don’t want or need to know.
The thing is, Banshee already has origin stories. These come in the form of vignettes, barely five minutes long, that tease just enough…
The beauty of the TV show is that it is mired in mystery. It doesn’t feel the need to give you context for every single thing, but if you pay attention, you’ll be able to put all the pieces together just fine. As a result, this comic serves only to tie those pieces up in a single, neat package, but it reveals nothing you wouldn’t have already figured out already.
I suppose if you haven’t watched the show and are curious, this comic might work, but then, it really just tells a very basic story that is not likely to impress. A huge part of the magic of Banshee is in the storytelling choices. The way its scenes are intercut and juxtaposed in such meaningful ways that blend the past and the present, the actual and the desired. And it is acted with such depth of raw emotion, with a strong understanding of the power of silence. A look. A touch. A moment.
None of that comes across in this very linear and simplistic story. And worse, it gives you very two-dimensional characters that you’ll probably recognize from a million other stories. All of which simply does not do any justice to the show.
So my final verdict is this: If you watch and love Banshee, this comic is a waste of your time. If you want to know about Banshee, don’t read this comic—just watch the show and love it or hate it for what the show truly is.
{UPDATE: Since originally writing this review, I have watched the second season finale and discovered that this entire episode is based, almost panel perfect, on this origin comic. Since the show moves much like a comic, it does an excellent job and then some. This origin story was actually written to coincide with the pilot of the series, which aired in January 2013. I still hold to my belief that the comic was an unnecessary accompaniment. The show’s method of carefully handing out details on a need to know basis, saving all of this for this origin story for the finale, when it really, really counts.]
Book Review: The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman
Posted on August 5, 2014 19 Comments
The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 3 of The Magicians
Publisher: Viking (August 5, 2014)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I practically binge read this series, which is unusual for me. But truly, it is a rare pleasure indeed when subsequent books in a series just get better and better. I’ve had such a change of heart about this trilogy from the first book to the last book, that I am actually floored with amazement. I certainly don’t take back my thoughts in my review of The Magicians – I liked the book but I also had some very real issues with it and those still stand – but by God, it’s hard to believe how The Magician King and now The Magician’s Land have managed to completely revive this series for me.
We’re at the third and final book at this point, so it’s going to be hard to summarize it without giving away spoilers. Suffice to say, protagonist Quentin Coldwater has been through a lot since finding out the magical world of Fillory from his beloved childhood fantasy novels is actually real. He has been its king, explored the farthest reaches of its borders, been ejected unceremoniously from the realm by its god, but through it all Quentin has always had his magic. We return to Brakebills College where he takes on a position as a junior faculty member, but when that falls through, Quentin’s going to need to find another way to make money and make it real fast, especially for the plans he has in mind.
For you see, Quentin has never truly forgotten Alice, whose fate still haunts him daily. She was my favorite character in The Magicians, and to my dismay, I thought we had heard the last of her by the end of that book. So yes, it was invigorating to discover that her story might not be over yet. When it comes to the first book, saying that Quentin had an attitude problem is a massive understatement; I believe I wrote that the only cure for his malaise was a few years of growing up and possibly a swift kick to the seat of his pants – except what happened to Alice was more like a knife through his heart. What happened to Alice defined and transformed his character, so I was also happy to see things come full circle.
The book also has two very distinct parts. In the first half, we have an exciting heist which, departing from convention, doesn’t go well at all – but everyone who knows me know how much I love a good heist story. And trust me, you wouldn’t want to miss how spectacularly disastrous it goes for Quentin and his partners in crime. The action and the dry humor in this book is ramped up to a whole other level, which is something readers have always loved about this series.
The second part of this novel focuses on Quentin and his old friends’ quest to save Fillory. Like all good things, it must come to an end, but not if the old Brakebills gang has anything to say about it. The Magician’s Land was at times thrilling, at others touching, but always it was full of wild magic and fantastic imagination. My only complaint? The link between the two story threads was tenuous at best and the transition between them was very abrupt (whatever happened to the others involved with the heist? “Betsy” got a throwaway mention at best towards the end of the book, and I wouldn’t have minded more Stoppard, I liked him a lot!) but despite this, I have to say the story never faltered in engaging me and holding my attention.
In essence, The Magician’s Land achieved something that all series-enders should strive for. Not only does Grossman tie everything together, he does it in a way that makes you think back to the earlier books and it suddenly occurs to you: Oh, so THAT’S what he was setting up for. The first book The Magicians was a coming-of-age tale which felt rather aimless at times, if I’m to be honest. But somewhere between its last hundred pages and the first hundred pages of the book two, I think the series finally found its direction. From then on out the story took off, straight and steady, and as a result, this last book is marked by a certain cohesiveness that makes sense – that just feels right.
And Quentin. Quentin, Quentin, Quentin. If it is possible to feel proud of a fictional character, it is the feeling I get for him after reading this book. What a far cry from when I wanted to wring his spoiled, whiny neck and throttle the life out of him in The Magicians. He grew up. He grew up a lot. He became someone I liked and admired, and as infuriatingly annoying as he was in the first book, I don’t know if I would have appreciated his growth and character development this much if he hadn’t been so unappealing to begin with. He was a shallow, self-absorbed child who ultimately became an adult worthy of his magical gifts, and it is a testament to the author’s pacing and writing style that it was a journey that didn’t feel forced or contrived.
My final thoughts: I may have stumbled a bit with the first book of this series, but the way I see it, it’s always better to read a series that gets stronger than to read one that goes downhill after book one. And so, I tentatively recommend the first book The Magicians; after all, it’s one of the most polarizing books I’ve ever read. It seemed as many readers loved it as hated it, while some others like me fell somewhere in between. But I felt a lot more positive towards the series with The Magician King, and as the last book of the trilogy, The Magician’s Land was a solid finale. My thoughts on book one aside, I think the trilogy as a whole is fantastic and absolutely worth experiencing. What an adventure it has been.
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Viking Books!
The Generation V Livetweet begins today at #MLBGENV with author ML Brennan
Posted on August 4, 2014 2 Comments
Generation V author M.L. Brennan will be joining me as I read through the first book in her American Vampire urban fantasy series! Grab a copy of Generation V and join the fun with questions, quotes and quomments on Twitter using the hashtag #MLBGenV. Stay tuned at the end of the event for a surprise!
Reality Bites
Fortitude Scott’s life is a mess. A degree in film theory has left him with zero marketable skills, his job revolves around pouring coffee, his roommate hasn’t paid rent in four months, and he’s also a vampire. Well, sort of. He’s still mostly human. But when a new vampire comes into his family’s territory and young girls start going missing, Fort can’t ignore his heritage anymore. His mother and his older, stronger siblings think he’s crazy for wanting to get involved. So it’s up to Fort to take action, with the assistance of Suzume Hollis, a dangerous and sexy shape-shifter. Fort is determined to find a way to outsmart the deadly vamp, even if he isn’t quite sure how. But without having matured into full vampirehood and with Suzume ready to split if things get too risky, Fort’s rescue mission might just kill him.… Check out Mogsy’s review of Generation V here or her interview with M.L. Brennan here!
Graphic Novel Review: A Voice in the Dark Volume 1 by Larime Taylor
Posted on August 4, 2014 12 Comments
A Voice in the Dark, Volume 1 by Larime Taylor
Genre: Horror, Crime
Publisher: image Comics (July 2014)
Author/Artist Info: www.larimetaylor.com
Wendy’s Rating – 5 of 5 stars
Taylor’s crisp lines and style–all drawn by mouth–are wonderfully detailed in their simplicity, and I love how well he brings the characters to life in both art and dialogue.
The striking cover caught my eye first, but when I watched the trailer, I wasn’t quite sure what to think. With tongue firmly in cheek, the trailer informed me that A Voice in the Dark fulfilled all the important criteria I want in my modern day comics, from the Strong Female ProtagonistTM to racial and sexual inclusivity. Which ought to have made me happy, right? But instead, it made me a little angry. Yes, I want those things, but dammit, I don’t want them turned into an advertising gimmick. With these conflicty emotions in place, I decided to grab the first issue. Read it. Bought the next six issues.
A Voice In the Dark is the name of Zoey Aarons’ radio call-in show where she invites people to anonymously share their darker side. Through this, Zoey hopes to find out that she is actually quite normal. That the darkness within her isn’t that unusual, even when it demands that she commit murder.
But who doesn’t think about some satisfying violence once in a while if someone really, really deserves it. Are any of us immune to such dark thoughts?
The comparison to stories like Dexter are immediate, but Zoey doesn’t fall into the typical serial killer mould. In fact, in his introduction, Taylor explains that the point of his story is to take all those typical slasher flick tropes and turn them upside down—starting with the fact that Zoey is a young woman of colour, who, according to the rules, should be one of the first to fall victim. Though Taylor tells Comic Book Alliance that Zoey is not a psychopath or a sociopath, she certainly does fulfill the criteria of the latter. But she is also a surprisingly caring person. The murders she commits or plans are not random and not without very specific purpose: to protect the people she cares about. The focus is, thankfully, not on gratuitously ghastly murders for the sake of shock value, but on Zoey herself.
Meanwhile, there actually is a serial killer roaming around campus. Zoey’s detective uncle is on the case and even seeks insight from Zoey herself, who has read all the books on serial killers that Uncle Zeke has recommended—though that’s not what has made her a killer. Through her inner monologues, A Voice in the Dark pulls the reader along on Zoey’s compelling journey to figure out who she is and why she does the things she does.
Taylor both writes and draws A Voice in the Dark, but I warn that, despite the vibrant covers, the comic itself is in black and white. I noticed a few of the letters mentioning that the black and white was a potential turn off for them, but once they got into it, they couldn’t put it down. Personally, I love black and white imagery. Taylor’s crisp lines and style–all drawn by mouth–are wonderfully detailed in their simplicity, and I love how well he brings the characters to life in both art and dialogue.
Sunday Musings: Cottage Life, Comics and Meaningful Violence
Posted on August 3, 2014 4 Comments
Sundays are my reading and writing days, but this weekend, we are at enjoying the lakeside view at the cottage, so I’m swatting at mosquitoes instead of spending the day in my PJs in the comfort of my own bed.
CURRENTLY READING
This week has been a comic heavy week for me, beginning with J. Michael Straczynski’s Superman: Earth One. After being admonished on the internet for my dislike for DC’s boyscout, I’ve been looking for some interesting Superman reads, and accepted this recommendation. It was definitely an interesting take on Superman, but it lost me when the bad guy showed up. What I did like was the greater focus on the Daily Planet staff, namely Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. Lois Lane was there too, but she was rather disappointingly used. More to come in my review!
I’ve also been catching up on Rat Queens. I was trying to hold out to purchase the next collected volume, but the book is just too darn good. I love these ladies soooo much!
Random discoveries were Scarlet and A Voice in the Dark, both of which were not what I expected, but a pair of five stars later, are definitely on my need more list. Watch out for reviews coming soon!
I’m also prepping for my liveread of ML Brennan’s Generation V. Very excited to finally be reading her much talked about series and sooo looking forward to having some twitter fun with her.
WRITERY THINGS
My friend posts many writing articles and discussion pieces and prompts in her G+ community and every now and then, one really speaks to me. This week, it’s The Rules Of Violence – Part Two. I haven’t read part one, but I liked what this post had to say about writing violence and making sure it is meaningful. Even seemingly senseless violence ought to have meaning to someone.
Making violence have meaning was much easier to achieve in a world where any gun held only one shot and most of the violence was performed with sword or dagger. In the words of Frank Miller’s Batman, ‘We kill too often because we’ve made it easy… too easy… sparing ourselves the mess and the work.’ If you’re going to kill someone with a sword or knife, there’s a certain commitment to the deed, as it will take work. What a good story-teller can do is make taking a life work, re-create that commitment, and never make it casual or easy.
The post made me think of Jorg Ancrath from King of Thorns, which I’ve managed to get back to this week. While he and his companions are mostly psychopaths who don’t put much value on life, each act of violence and each life they take is given care and attention by the author.
While I don’t feel the need to get too graphically detailed when I write violent scenes, I do enjoy writing them. I tend to naturally approach them through the characters’ eyes such that I’m always aware of how violence and death affects them.
FINAL BOOKISH THOUGHTS
Do you?
YA Weekend: Blightborn by Chuck Wendig
Posted on August 2, 2014 14 Comments
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Series: Book 2 of The Heartland Trilogy
Publisher: Skyscape (July 29, 2014)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
I make it no secret that I’ve been in a bit of a YA slump lately. This year saw a few of my favorite YA series finishing their runs and I’ve been flitting around checking out more books to fill the void, and it’s been difficult finding anything that clicked with me. This has led to discouragement and no small amount of burnout, so I’m really glad for books like Joe Abercrombie’s Half a King and now Chuck Wendig’s Blighborn to come along and snap me out of my funk.
If you’ve read the first book of The Heartland Trilogy, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Under the Empyrean Sky was a real shaker-upper for me, making itself stand out from a lot of Young Adult dystopians novels by being surprisingly candid and authentic. The Heartland is a rough place that breeds rough folk, a place where killer corn, deadly Blights and piss-blizzards are an everyday reality. After several YA sequels have disappointed me earlier in the year for having plots that are unimaginative and contrived, Wendig’s refusal to sugarcoat or hold anything back is exactly what I needed. Blightborn was interesting and unpredictable, much like life in the Heartland.
The book picks up where the first one left off, with Cael, Rigo and Lane on the run, looking to find a way skyward to the Empyrean flotilla. Right on their heels are Boyland Barnes Jr., Rigo’s father, and Wanda, who all have their reasons to pursue the three friends. Boyland wants revenge, after believing Cael killed his father. Rigo’s father just wants his son back. And Wanda hopes to be reunited with Cael, her “Obligated”. However, Cael’s heart already belongs to Gwennie, who is living the life of a Lottery winner on the floating city of Ormond Stirling Saranyu and is realizing it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
As you can see, interwoven between the various plot threads are these intricate relationships between the characters which add a lot to the story, so I highly recommend grabbing the Under the Empyrean Sky before reading Blightborn to fully experience all the underlying nuances. Wendig continues to explore and develop these relationships, especially when it comes to the dynamics between Cael, Lane and Rigo. As their fight for survival intensifies, the three friends learn to trust each other. Over a number of intense and sometimes touching scenes, they discover new things and gain a deeper understanding of each other and themselves in the process.
Romance also isn’t a central focus of this series, but love and devotion certainly plays a part. It’s the motivation behind so much of what the characters do, after all, with Cael and Boyland both going after Gwennie, Wanda after Cael, etc. Usually, I have very little patience with stuff like love triangles – or God forbid, love squares – but I’ve come to appreciate the complicated emotions flying between all these characters and the fact that they never remain static. Cael and his friends do a lot of growing up, and with growth also comes a more mature way of looking at the world and others. Cael, for example, is much less self-absorbed in this book, learning to put himself in his friends’ shoes, and sometimes even in his enemy’s. While he and Boyland have always been at odds, Cael can still admit to himself that what the other boy feels for Gwennie could be genuine and respect that, which is a huge step for him as a character in my eyes.
Another thing I loved about this book is the expansion of the readers’ world into the skies. We’d heard over and over about the corruption and decadence of the Empyrean in the first book, and now we finally get to catch a glimpse of how the elite live. It was important to see the huge disparity between life on the flotilla and life down in the Heartland as it builds the story up quite a bit, setting up the stage for new players like the Sleeping Dogs rebels, who do their share of stirring things up both in the skies and on the ground. No dystopian novel is complete without an uprising, and the pressure that has been around since the first book finally boils over in Blightborn, culminating in a stunning climax, but not before Wendig takes us on a crazy wild ride to get to that point.
I highly recommend this series, especially if you’re a fan of Chuck Wendig. I’ve always loved his writing style and characters, and that hasn’t changed even with his venture into YA dystopian. Books like this one keep me excited about the genre!
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Skyscape!
Graphic Novel Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis
Posted on August 1, 2014 8 Comments
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis
Series: Collects Guardians of the Galaxy #1-3 and #0.1 and Infinite #1
Publisher: Marvel (August 2013)
Author Info: www.jinxworld.com
Wendy’s Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Prior to the announcement of the movie, I did not even know the Guardians of the Galaxy existed, but the previews have been amusing enough to pique my interest. Too bad the source material isn’t nearly as impressive.
Volume one serves as an introduction to Marvel’s “cosmic Avengers,” opening with the crash landing of an alien vessel in the backyard of a lovely young lady, who nurses the occupant back to health. They fall in love and make Peter Quill, but before he’s actually born, daddy heads back to space and goes on to become the King of Spartax, making Peter the Star-Lord.
This ought to be an interesting plot twist, save for the fact that the King turns out to be a pretty shady character–which in itself is fine, but we don’t get to find out how or why that is. We just have to accept that, after completely different aliens show up to kill Peter and his mom while he’s still a boy, presumably because they know of his Spartax blood, that this leads Peter to find his way into space, perhaps looking for his dad? But I guess when Peter finds his dad stuff happens and Peter gets mad and runs off to form his own team of avengers to keep earth safe from um… his dad and anyone his dad hangs out with?
Forgive the vagueness and confusion, but that’s more or less how I felt when we skipped from happy couple to “My dad’s an evil dictator.” There’s a big section where dad gathers the various alien leaders, such as the Brood Queen and informs them that Earth shouldn’t be attacked, but apparently, that is all just a ruse and what he’s actually doing is manipulating them into doing what he says they shouldn’t. But then while that meeting is going on, bad guys are already attacking earth. But the Guardians, along with a really dull Iron Man, are able to fight them off, only to be captured by the Spartax army to be punished for defending the planet dad said no one should attack.
Anyway. At least the main story art was kind of cool, if somewhat Jim Lee clone-ish.
The rest of the book is comprised of character stories introducing the other Guardians. The format for each is pretty standard: character does something unique to their character, battles their way through respective bad guys to show us what kind of person and fighter they are, wins battle, Star-Lord shows up to ask them to help him defend earth. There is little learned about the characters through this process, and there’s an even bigger gap in understanding why they are willing to fight alongside Quill to defend a planet that is not their own.
Here the art changed for each character, with the Gamora story being my favourite. Michael del Mundo captures the aloof and deadly nature of Thanos’ daughter perfectly.
So as far as introductions and origins go, this one is very disappointing, which can often be the case with origin stories. I’d much rather see the movie in hopes of finding a plot and character reasoning that actually makes sense. That’s not to say I’ll never read another Guardians of the Galaxy comic, though. I’d like to think that, with these pesky origin stories out of the way, the actual comic will get going in volume 2.
Book Review: The Magician King by Lev Grossman
Posted on July 31, 2014 15 Comments
The Magician King by Lev Grossman
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 2 of The Magicians
Publisher: Viking (August 9, 2011)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Back in my review of The Magicians, I wrote that you could have a miserably unlikeable character for the sake of writing a miserably unlikeable character and that I wouldn’t mind, just as long as you could give me a reason to care about him or her. While that’s still true, it does really help if your protagonist isn’t a whiny little ingrate and actually shows growth over the course of the novel. I really think that’s why The Magician King worked better for me than its predecessor. Like, a lot better. The ending of the first book gave me hope that I would enjoy the sequel more, and I did.
Things were looking up right from the start, with our story opening with a return to Fillory, the otherworldly realm from Quentin’s beloved childhood fantasy series that turned out to be a real place. He and his friends are now the kings and queens of this magical kingdom, but after a routine morning hunt goes wrong, Quentin and Julia decide to set off across the seas to the far reaches of Fillory to take care of certain matters. But their journey is interrupted by an unceremonious ejection from Fillory back to Earth and the mundane world. Thus begins an epic quest to find their way back, with the fate of all magic hanging in the balance.
I’ll admit it, the first book had its high points, but on the whole I wasn’t too enamored. The wonderful sections featuring Quentin at Brakebills aside, I thought most of the book was directionless and tedious, and I wasn’t impressed with the characters and their attitudes until almost the very end when they discover Fillory and set out to explore it. The thing is, I loved the spellbinding world of Fillory and its amazing denizens, as well as the incredible sights and sounds. When the final pages of The Magicians teased that we may be going back, I was very pleased. That’s one reason why The Magician King worked better for me; the fact that we got to be in Fillory right away was a huge plus.
The second reason is something I’ve already alluded to, that being Quentin has come a long way from the moody, self-absorbed and aimless young man he was in book one. He has grown up a lot between the two novels in my eyes, no doubt in part due to the traumatic events he experienced at the end of The Magicians. His concern for a young crew member and the neglected daughter of a diplomat really touched me; it’s not something I would have expected in a million years from the old Quentin. In this book, he is driven and finds it possible to become excited about the prospects of adventure again, and – shocker! – in the process he became someone I wanted to read more about.
The same could not be said for Julia, however. My one gripe about this novel are her chapters, which more or less alternated with the chapters focusing on the main story. Julia’s tale encompasses her own rise to the world of magic after failing her Brakebills entrance exam, which couldn’t have been more different than Quentin’s academically formal training. Her journey through the underground magical scene is actually quite interesting, though I was initially unsure how it all related to the book’s central premise. What bothered me wasn’t so much her story, but the fact that the role of annoyingly maudlin and dissatisfied character seemed to have been passed from Quentin to Julia, though we do see that she has had to go through a lot of suffering and very difficult times. I could also appreciate how the two lines of thought eventually came together, but felt that her “backstory” was a bit distracting at first.
All in all, however, I was pleasantly surprised by my positive reactions to this book. On the whole, this was a much deeper and complex novel, but also much more entertaining and engaging on multiple levels. I liked how a lot of the world was expanded, as well as the answers to a lot questions brought up by the first book. And that ending! I can’t believe my heart is actually aching for Quentin. It’s very rare for a sequel to grab me, especially since book one failed to do so, and it’s great whenever that happens. I’m really starting to see the appeal behind this series, and this second installment has really made it grow on me.
The BiblioSanctum 