The Magicians (Spoilers)

I started reading The Magician King a few days ago and, in a rare show of enthusiasm I usually reserve for comic books and binge-watching Netflix shows, I feverishly devoured it. I am also about halfway through the first season of the Syfy, for which I've been pacing myself as I read through the series.

Some thoughts (with spoilers):

The Magicians (Book 1)

This book gets away with certain things that I doubt it could have gotten away with in a sequel. The characters, fresh off the high of learning magic, are sarcastic know-it-alls who get in too deep. Quentin especially makes some very bad choices and pays a heavy price.

I'm not sure why Quentin decided to become a king of Fillory at the end. Fillory wasn't even the land he'd thought it was. I guess he just had nothing else to do with his life, and at least he'd be with friends.

The Magician King (Book 2)

This felt like a more self-aware installment of the Narnia series. After refusing the call to action once or twice, Quentin finally fulfills his role and achieves some real heroism. He felt more like a main character in this book than in the previous one. After all, in the previous installment, he'd had everything handed to him--his education and his ticket to Fillory. He doesn't even get to kill the Beast. That's not to say he wasn't faced with challenges, but the two major story beats were presented to him, not necessarily his own achievements.

In the first book, Quentin and company were drunk on power (sometimes literally). In this book, they are somewhat wiser and hoping to live out their days as quasi-retired royalty in Fillory. However, this time Fillory has a quest for Quentin and it is very insistent about it. Why Quentin would trust Fillory after having been betrayed by it in the past is a question whose answer could fill another book. I guess Fillory reverted back to its more innocent state after the evil was vanquished in the previous book. At any rate, Quentin steps up.

But it seems even when Quentin wins, even when he does everything he's supposed to, he loses. But unlike the pessimism and defeatism that permeated the previous book even as it showed us wonder and marvels, Quentin actually feels like he gained something from this experience. He is stronger and better for his losses than he is for his rewards. Without this growth, I would consider this series a failure. Now I'm excited to read book 3.

The Magicians (Syfy)

It's pretty good.