Started - 01/01/16
Finished - 07/01/16
After reading the first two in The Magicians trilogy over Christmas I had high hopes. I may be late to reading them, and prompted to actually get them again now because of the new TV series based on the books, but the first book delivered everything the hype had promised. The second not so much. In essence it had everything a fantasy sequel needed; a wider scope, a larger building of the world and its potential, but it never seemed to give up the climax it hinted at and I grew frustrated with the continued return to the staid magics of the magicians when I wanted to see more of Julia's heretical brand or a more involved view of the strange and wonderful creatures of Fillory that kept being used like throw-a-way lines.
However this is about the third novel and a slight return to form. Again there is the disappointing taste of things that could have been exploited better, and the inevitable return to Fillory which I'd already grown tired off (not to say it didn't still have its enjoyable surprises). Though perhaps where The Magician Kind failed because it reached too far without the richness of detail to support it, The Magician's Land kept itself mostly to Fillory and that helped. The character development is the book's biggest pleasure. I have to said I hated Quentin. From the first page of the first book I loathed him. For some reason this didn't bother me. So to see his transformation from a bratty, naïve and disillusioned youth was a wonderful contrast.
In the end it did still read a little flat but - and you might not believe me given the above - I did enjoy it.
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