The Magician's Land

Note: I won a copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.

As this is the third book in a trilogy, I had to read the first two first, so I will treat the three as a whole for purposes of this review. Each book could stand on its own, but they’re even better together, as a series. Once again, it’s hard for me to review fiction without giving away too much. The plot, each book by itself, and the larger story in one, is compelling; your interest and attention are held with an iron grip.

The setting is here on Earth, and in another land called Fillory, and spaces in between. Even the characters, who have mastered magic, find Fillory to often be ridiculous with its super-fecund magical presence. Every kind of creature you can imagine is there, and many of them can talk. There are humans, too. My somewhat science-based guess is that Earth and Fillory were able to exchange back and forth because of a similar nature that can support human life. In the case of the latter, having magic there helps anyway. Don’t think about the physics of it too much.

Even though the “Magicians” series is fantasy, the people in it are very real, and it explores life’s big questions and issues. The narration is very humorous throughout, and each character reveals a deep history and complex personality. The tone is lightened as Quentin and his friends give each other a hard time, which is necessary: there is some dark, heavy stuff in these books, human dynamics included. Every one has had the other kind of hard time on earth – they feel like they don’t belong; maybe another world is where they’re mean to be? But how? As kings and queens? As I read, one thought that kept coming to me was that we can’t run away from our problems, they will haunt us wherever we go until we face them. There is a place on Earth for everyone, and everything, I think. We might all wish to get away from here at some point, but then what do we do? You may have noticed I am leaving specifics out of this review. These books are well worth reading, more than once, in my opinion, just for the honest, open, and even hilarious narration alone. But, I think you have to be prepared for some dark stuff. For example, who would think this man with a branch in front of his face would be so terrifying?

(The Son of Man, René Magritte, 1964) 

Even not knowing what the Beast behind that mask is, or other horrors from other worlds, the most troubling dilemma, in my interpretation, is the power of magic itself. How can you lead a fulfilling life when you can do anything? With or without magic, each person has to take control of their life. At least that is one feeling I got while reading.

There are plenty of surprises, and I didn’t find myself guessing what would happen next, I was too absorbed. I read each of these 400-page books in a short amount of time, and I’m glad I had all three ready to go. However, I did have to read some lighter, totally unrelated nonfiction after each so I could shake off the feelings. But to wrap this up, I’ll point out that there is a consistency of excellence in the three “Magicians” books, worth jumping into.