The Magicians Trilogy Boxed Set: The Magicians; The Magician King; The Magician's Land
This beautiful boxed set makes a perfect gift for readers of the beloved fantasy series praised by George R. R. Martin, Junot DÃaz, and Erin Morgenstern.
The Magicians
Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A high school math genius, he’s secretly fascinated with a series of children’s fantasy novels set in a magical land called Fillory, and real life is disappointing by comparison. When Quentin is unexpectedly admitted to an elite, secret college of magic, it looks like his wildest dreams may have come true. But his newfound powers lead him down a rabbit hole of hedonism and disillusionment, and ultimately to the dark secret behind the story of Fillory. The land of his childhood fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he ever could have imagined . . .
The Magicians is one of the most daring and inventive works of literary fantasy in years. No one who has escaped into the worlds of Narnia and Harry Potter should miss this breathtaking return to the landscape of the imagination.
The Magician King
Quentin Coldwater should be happy. He escaped a miserable Brooklyn childhood, matriculated at a secret college for magic, and graduated to discover that Fillory—a fictional utopia—was actually real. But even as a Fillorian king, Quentin finds little peace. His old restlessness returns, and he longs for the thrills a heroic quest can bring.
Accompanied by his oldest friend, Julia, Quentin sets off—only to somehow wind up back in the real-world and not in Fillory, as they’d hoped. As the pair struggle to find their way back to their lost kingdom, Quentin is forced to rely on Julia’s illicitly learned sorcery as they face a sinister threat in a world very far from the beloved fantasy novels of their youth.
The Magician's Land
Quentin Coldwater has lost everything. He has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical world of his childhood dreams that he once ruled. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him. Meanwhile, the magical barriers that keep Fillory safe are failing, and barbarians from the north have invaded. Eliot and Janet, the rulers of Fillory, embark on a final quest to save their beloved world, only to discover a situation far more complex—and far more dire—than anyone had envisioned.
Along with Plum, a brilliant young magician with a dark secret of her own, Quentin sets out on a crooked path through a magical demimonde of gray magic and desperate characters. His new life takes him back to old haunts, like Antarctica and the Neitherlands, and old friends he thought were lost forever. The Magician’s Land is an intricate and fantastical thriller, and an epic of love and redemption that brings the Magicians trilogy to a magnificent conclusion, confirming it as one of the great achievements in modern fantasy.
Reviews (187)
About the books
I absolutely love this series. Not to be that person, but if you were introduced by the TV show, don't expect the same of the books--its a completely different vibe. The TV show is dark fantasy, the books are more moralistic. Which brings me to the reason I love these books: with a world of books telling you that you're secretly special or the chosen one, this book dares to say "you're probably not that special, and that's okay." These books helped me when I was feeling like my life was over when I went from top of the academic world to having to stop going to college and be admitted into a mental institution for a while. I will be forever grateful to the nurse who recommended these books to me.
Great Story, Fun Read
Was introduced to the story by the TV series and was not sure how I would like the book, but so far (have just started the second book) I am really enjoying it, and in the book, the main character Quentin, is not half as annoying as he is in the TV series! As is the series, it is by turns, funny, sad, thoughtful, full of action, and often dark. For me it was important that the dark did not overwhelm and take over the story. Without looking at anything else, it is a great adventure story with a fantastical twist, and you can read it that way. The story also explores issues of youthful impatience, the need for purpose, the restlessness of the human spirit and the tricky balance between growing a thick-skin and and losing your ability for empathy. It also delves into the too human failing of always looking for the solution to our happiness outside ourselves, and not appreciating what we have now. You could read the first book alone, but it is a trilogy, so it doesn't resolve all the issues at the end of the first book and more like life, it leaves you wanting to know how these young people will eventually develop as they become, and mature as, adults. Am enjoying every moment of it and it hasn't changed my appreciation for the show., although.... and yes, I am going to say it.... I am enjoying the books more!
TRASH. Save your money. *includes minor spoilers*
If I could give this author zero or negative stars, I would. I am so angry about how terrible the writing was. I couldn’t even finish the first book, and I’ve read twilight AND fifty shades of grey. I struggled through 300+ pages and threw in the towel because I finally realized it was never going to get better. I literally closed the book and stopped reading in the middle of what was supposed to be an action scene and I have no regrets except the first 300 some pages I subjected my poor eyeballs and brain to. The writing is not engaging at all, it just drags on from one whining observation of the main character to the next. Honestly, I get major incel vibes from the entire thing. It’s also 110% a rip off of the Narnia books. Anyone who says it’s an “adult Harry Potter” is delusional. A short list of what I hate from the book: - terrible writing - terrible writing - terrible writing But, in all seriousness also: - main character cheats on girlfriend, then blames girl that he cheated with, THEN gets mad at former girlfriend for sleeping with someone else after he’s thrown away their relationship - every single female character’s primary description is of their breasts. Honestly, I think he skips over hair and eye color but never what size their boobs are and how much the main character might want to *ahem* them - one female character introduction includes the main character being annoyed that she’s attractive, because it reminds him that he can’t have her, and it’s easier to talk to less attractive women - an athletic female character with short hair enters a scene. Before she even speaks the main character assumes she is a lesbian. And this isn’t inferred, the literal sentence says that she is, as far as main character can tell, a lesbian. - author describes someone’s behavior as “autistic like” when they are rocking back and forth while having a panic reaction - author uses the R word as an adjective regarding something main character doesn’t like - the similes are straight up trash. It’s what you would expect from the pretentious kid in a 10th grade English class (who is also an incel) In short, the ONLY reason I can fathom that this author got any good reviews is that he is ALSO a book reviewer and people were kissing his a** for their own benefit. These books deserve to be burned, but I’m going to return them because this author doesn’t deserve my money.
The TV show is much better.
I couldn't get past the first book because it was so poorly written I lost interest. I bought these because I loved the Syfy TV show and thought the books would give me so much more detail. Instead I realized that the TV show fixed all the mistakes of the book and made it actually enjoyable. Never got to read the other two because the first one was so bad. I have no clue how to this became a New York times bestseller
Entertaining and imaginative with a dark streak
Entertaining and imaginative with a dark streak. (1) The Magicians: The premise is interesting: a darker side to magic and the ramifications that go with it. Modern setting and very believable characters. I loved the obsessive excellence and grandness of Alice. My favorite in the series. (2) The Magician King: This one follows Julia. Grittier. Not as innovative as first book, but entertaining. (3) The Magician’s Land: Nice wrap up to the series. Loose ends tied up for an ending that makes for a cohesive series. If I were giving this as a gift, high school would be the minimum age band, given the sex and violence (which is a reasonable part of the story arcs and not gratuitous).
Love this series
Love this series. I have really enjoyed the world that Lev Grossman brings you into. It is like an R-rated version of Harry Potter and Narnia. Be warned, if you are looking for something PG or PG-13 this is a little outside of the realm. There is a sense of realism within the book which really draws you in. It is truly unlike any magic world I have read about before. The characters are depicted well and you connect emotionally with them and the story. It definitely makes you question whether this world is real or all just Fillory.
Not your typical fantasy
What starts out as a cynical deconstruction of beloved fantasy like Narnia, and Harry Potter becomes a true love letter to the fantasy genre with a surprising amount of heart. The first book subverts all expectations with a dark take on magic and pessimistic outlook on relationships, but later in the series plays the old fantasy cliches lovingly straight. It's not a story about a young man saving a world (though he does technically do that), it's about a boy becoming a man, creating the world he wants to live in, and even discovering love is the real magic all along.
There's a reason it became a TV Show!
I couldn't help but read the entire set straight through. I laughed. I cried. I pleaded and begged. And by the end, I was left wanting more. This is a fantastic story and you owe it to yourself to read it.
Great books!
I did not expect the detail compared to the shows. I wished I read the books first, but now I have good reference to characters, and up for a few surprises. Glad I bought this set, great deal!
The Show is Better
One of the few times you can't say, "the book is better." I'm not saying much in this review because more people have said it all much better than I could already. What I will say is that these books are nothing compared to the show. "Harry Potter for adults" it is not. (Harry Potter is actually for adults too!) I liken these books more to "Wiked", another example where the source material, i.e. the book, is atrocious compared to what it was turned into; a musical in that case and a television series in this one. If you're a fan of the series do not bother with the books. If you're a fan of the books you must watch the series.
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