The Magician King by Lev Grossman

4

Following the events of the magicians, Quentin Coldwater is now one of the Kings of Fillory. It’s something he never dared to dream he’d have…but he’s still not happy. He’s restless. In trying to find occupation in adventure, Quentin stumbles upon something much more cosmically important leading to revelations and undesirable outcomes.

Though this is a sequel to The Magicians, this book doesn’t really feel that way to me. There are some references to Alice and Brakebills (the magic school) days, but they are almost pointless in the grand scheme of things. If you haven’t read the Magicians, it won’t be a problem in terms of understanding the story. I mean, if the names had been changed this could have easily been a separate stand-alone novel. For me, this wasn’t the best choice since what I like about sequels is those nods to the first book or when something in book one directly affects book two. For me these weren’t really there, and though I can appreciate the book it doesn’t feel like too much of a sequel to me personally.

The magic aspect was also elusive. The world was fantastical and there were other times when the magic of landscape was obvious, but other times it felt like the book had forgotten it was a fantasy book and things like magic were forgotten. Book one was a bit like this, but not to the extreme of the Magician King. There is only really one bit that this seems to go away, when Quentin is blasting magic left, right and centre.

But this highlights the crafting that has gone into the book. One thing Quentin says is that he doesn’t feel like a king, let alone a magician, most of the time. By the lack of magic and these things, we really feel this too. And it annoyed me, even enraged me, which only meant I could understand Quentin better.

This was the same for the general idea of Fillory and “real-life magic”. Quentin reminds us every few chapters that magic in books is often good and there is always a happy ending. Even the sadder endings are not so harsh on the characters. This book is not like that though. Even though book one improved at it’s very, very end, the whole final sequence was heart-wrenching and one of the most depressing endings I’ve ever read. In the Magician King, I’m reminded of this again. I don’t want to give anything away, but Quentin’s fate is almost unforgiveable. That one line that Elaine gives just made my heart sink, since I knew it wouldn’t end well after that.

There are also other dark elements involved, especially in Julia’s story. She was never accepted to magic school so she pursued magic however she could and sacrificed almost everything dear to her to get it. And how did that end up? For a long time it was horrifying for her. There’s this one scene which I shan’t repeat and which I don’t even like to think about which disgusted and depressed me so much. But at the same time I couldn’t stop reading. It’s was gripping and, though it pains me to say, realistic.

On a personal level, I struggle to read Grossman’s book. I get headaches from trying to process so much and some of the events genuinely affect me and my view of life for a short. I’ll be depressed, or feel lost, if only for a few hours. That could just be me (!!!) but I credit some of it to these books and these stories that seem to affect me so much. Sometimes I was just reading in a daze.

This book is something else, in a good and bad way. It’s bad in that I sometimes just want to walk away from this book and turn my back on some detestable truths, but then it is just so good at the same time that I can’t even begin to explain. This whole review is my trying to just give you a glimpse of how I feel about these books because in all honesty it’s so mixed up and indecipherable even for me. So read these if you want something magnificently compelling, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Dark Lady's Chosen by Gail Z. Martin

Though there are no spoilers for this book, this book contains spoilers from books one, two and three. You have been warned!!! (It's also early on in the review.)


4
The next book in this (seeming interminable) series is the continuation and arguable conclusion of what occurred in book 3, Dark Haven. We see the end of the plot to kill Kiara, the result of the War with Curane, the fate of Cam of Cairnrach as well as the fate of Dark Haven itself- an ending wound up with the lives of Jonmarc and Carina.

This a well structured book, in my opinion. It seemed that Martin had accepted that, by the end of Dark Haven, everything was coming to its end; for better or for worse. So the majority of the book actually only takes place over 5 days, and the chapters in those days are split between the multiple story lines. I get that some people would rather dislike this (arguable) mess, but it worked for the book. On her site, she says this book was about the aftermath of events that are the settling down of chaos and order into some sort of balance: something I'm going to venture in saying is represented through the written style. It is a bit hectic and indiscernible at times, but there is a clear order and structure that is adhered to.

All the plots seem to figure themselves out in the expected manner: people survive, at a cost or they survive only to find a greater challenge. I don't think anyone would be blown away by the outcome of events since you you've probably been expecting it and though you're obviously happy with the result, you won't be overflowing with excitement after having read it. On the other hand though, you'll never be inconsolable. So if you want a book which isn't going to stress you out to much as a reader, but you can still enjoy reading, this is an excellent choice.

Getting more into specifics...

I felt that Kiara's plot and storyline got slowly more repetitive as time went on. She'd make the mistake of feeling safe or powerful, and then a threat would rear its ugly head. She would survive it, but it underlines the precariousness of her position as well as risking something concerning her unborn child. I am being somewhat cynical, but it has to be said that for an interesting character who could have a had a much more interesting story (in my opinion) it was annoying that it descended into repeating itself. The most interesting bit was the end of her plot. I'm not saying that it was great because it was over (though that lingers at the back of my mind) but because the possible repercussions are interesting. I believe her child will be a mage and that the excess of wormroot (a magic inhibiting drug) in her system from the dart will give the baby an unusual tolerance for it.

I'm of the same sort of opinion of Cam's story too. I feel like his was only used to remind us of the divisionists and the widespread chaos in the kingdoms; otherwise it wasn't too important.

Tris' story was when he was still at war with Curane. His story was also a tad dull, but the ever-looming battle and the mystery surrounding what to do and what new horrors would be encountered kept be reading quickly through these pages. Give whatever meaning to it what you will, I really enjoy reading about battles that involve magic and average soldiers. Part of it is my inbuilt love of magic, but I think I just like the idea of combat magic since it is the most instinctive side of magic and can have interesting consequences. What I disliked about this portion was that Tris seemed to be constantly at the edge of his power, but still managing to hold on. His comments on his growing fatigue and loss of power got a bit dull.

For me though, the Dark Haven story of Jonmarc and Carina was much more interesting. I think that might have been because it was the one story that wasn't so clear cut. The others ones needed their players to survive in order to continue. This story only needed one and, in Carina's case, that one didn't need to come about completely unscathed. If I look back on their story now, the same cynicism takes over that they were hardly the most interesting and that the story was hardly unique. There were conflicts with the revolting (as in revolution) Vampires and Jonmarc's fear of loosing Carina. Carina had her own problems in trying to avoid the taint of Vampirism that warred with her healing magic for dominance. I guess their story was also interesting because it was a chance to learn more about the flow: the river of magical energy in these lands.

So I was impressed with this book. Maybe Dark Haven was a book to set up this one which, in so many ways, was much better. It's actually the end of the Chronicle's of the Necromancer Series, since the following books are a separate series which (I suspect) have a more active focus on Jonmarc. Though maybe it instead focuses on the children of the people on these books: the series being the symbol for the next generation.

Also, bonus points if anyone know who is on the front of this book. Is it Carina???

The Blood King by Gail Z. Martin

There are minor spoilers in this review, but they are discovered in the first book either early on, or are predictable in the course of things for any seasoned reader (particularly fantasy).


4
This is fantasy novel set in the fictional land of the Winter Kingdoms where there are Mages, Empowered Kings, and spirits more than able to affect there environment. Tris (Martris) is trying to recapture his old Kingdom from his murderous, treacherous brother Jared and his Evil Blood Mage advisor (when are they ever good?) Foor Arontala. Also, Tris is the Mage heir to his Grandmother Bava K'aa, one of the strongest spirit mages in memory.

As with most Fantasy, the plot is like a labyrinth, and you find yourself thrown into so many different plots, subplots, relationships and characters that it can be hard to keep it all straight. Thankfully, none of them have overly similar names and I didn't find myself too confused. Yet since I started this months after the first one (I got it at Christmas last year), I didn't remember the details which did have a negative effect at the start. I was interested enough not to just give up, but I was a bit confused at the start.

Another thing with the plot is that, despite only being the second book in this series, it was the conclusion from the last book. "Er- what? This is book two right?" were the words in my head since I'm not used to this kind of thing. Again, it didn't draw away from the book, only left me mildly confused.

I'm of two minds of the romance in this book. Part of me says that it is quite a realistic love, since it is neither too obvious nor the only thing in the minds. The characters kind of feel that romance is a dangerous thing to pursue with the current predicaments and their quest. I like that reluctance and the threat to the romance. Yet I dislike the tendency in high fantasy for characters to pair off with one another in much to obvious combinations. It doesn't make them bad match-ups, but it questions whether or not it was meant to happen, or is just sticking to norms.

The world of this book, and the different states and factions in the story make for interesting reading. We're always told a faction's history and it (thankfully) doesn't feel like a lecture from the author. The knowledge is given in a way the character would need to give it to react and work with the people present. Of course, the downside is that sometimes we can forget who works for who and who used to work for who. Fantasy characters (particularly the 'guide' character) always seems to have many fingers in many pies and there is always someone to recognise the new character introduced.

Magic is fine, but hardly special- besides the spirit mages. There are different types of mages- the Elements and then Spirit as well, I think (I'm not sure if healer is a sub-division or a separate branch)- and the elementals (Fire, Land, Air, Water) are mostly unexplained and just go about their business. It makes sense, since even though it matters a little, we don't need to know every mechanic of magic. The only real thing we know is that all magic is powered by the Flow, and magical ability depends on closeness to it. Also, the flow is usually in balance (giving light mages power) but dark magic upsets it. The Light/Dark element is another thing: basically summed up in saying that Dark mages do what they want, while the Light ones ask for permission or avoid death. Nicely black and white, not grey.

As I said, Spirit is the most interesting. Tris is a spirit mage, meaning he can bind, harness and release spirits. He has the basic magic abilities as well (like energy strikes, telekinesis) but his unique ability is converse with spirits and give them the power to be free to go to the afterlife, or finish their business. It sounds dull, but reading it and seeing its effect is quite powerful. I'm quite fascinated by death (as Humans are wont to be considering its the final major event of life) so I guess an idea that one can make oneself remain for any reasons or that one person could access the dead for power if amazing. Since everyone dies, the power is limitless and is a true force to be reckoned with. But of course a light mage only accesses this power should the spirits allow it.

A final thing is the religion in fantasy. I adore how, in fantasy, the gods are present and can be seen and interacted with in some ways. Here, there is one god who takes 9 forms, each with a dark and light side, giving a total of 18. There is also a relinquished 19th form: the formless one. Tris interacts with the Lady more than others since he is so close the world of spirits, and I like seeing that these powerful elements are present but never intervening. It just adds a certain something.

So this was a perfectly fine book. If you're not a fantasy reader, it probably isn't worth getting because it's not the jaw-dropping fantasy that will leave a good impression, it's just a satisfying read. If you are a fantasy reader though, there's no harm in picking up book one and just enjoying an entertaining but unremarkable fantasy.