The Unknown Writer: lev grossman

Sunday, August 10, 2014

The Magician's Land

Engrossed in Grossman
Book Review: Audible.com version of Lev Grossman's The Magician's Land

Abracadabra! The Magicians, as a garden (go with it), was patchy, brambles mixed with incredible blossoms (great book), while the The Magician King erupted into a wild English garden. The second book was better than the first, but you cannot view the books that way, one apart from the other, and the two-book combination is about as good as anything that fantasy literature has to offer, but The Magician’s Land surpasses the second book, and makes a whole that is as beautiful a magical piece as is The Lord of the Rings, or all of Narnia. It might not be fair to say that this is Harry Potter for adults, but this trilogy is certainly not for children (although you wish it could be, but 17 years of age is about as young adult as possible). No spoilers herein, but I gotta tell ya, some impossible things happen, things you wanted to happen since the first book closed, and these are not literary cheats (well, you know, maybe three or four, but all expertly dealt, and you will not mind the appearance of those purloined aces from up the sleeve). Lev Grossman has become a master of backstory, and some of his best writing is in the storytelling (breaking the modern tv-era-demand of “show-don’t tell”, and it is wonderful storytelling, including journal entries, characters sharing stories, secrets whispered, I loved it from beginning to end, way to go, Grossy). Magical (duh). And thank goodness for Mark Bramhall’s continued elegant reading (I still think he sounds like a slightly tipsy David Hyde Pierce), a rich voice that fairly sounds a siren’s call, with apt Brooklyn accents, and hoity-toity faux British nose-lifters, and a rich musical constant that rivals Scott Lee, although the Australian twang still needs a tweak or two, but it is a very minor complaint; Bramhall makes Grossman pop, so to speak). The Magician’s Land is a sure thing, a masterful accomplishment, and if you do not end up rereading the three books at least three times in the next three years, it just could trigger a magical apocalypse, so you are cautioned. Lev Grossman is the dude.

Art et Amour Toujours
Douglas Christian Larsen

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The Magician King

King Grossman the Magician
Book Review: Audible.com review of Lev Grossman's The Magician King

It is unusual when a following book is better than the original, and even more rare when considering that the first book is marvelous in its own right. That's Lev Grossman's The Magician King. In the first book, The Magicians, Quentin is somewhat pathetic, but you love him even so (one of those negative people who is never satisfied, regardless), he is an antihero who yearns to be a hero. But discovering Breakbills through Quentin's eyes is nonetheless magical, and haunting, and when the first book ends you pretty much have to go back and read it again. Book 2, The Magician King is even more all that than the first book, replete with Julia's experiences, and Julia is probably even a better character than Quentin, although her unbelievable constant fury matches Quentin's omnipresent ingratitude and teenage lack of direction. Julia and Quentin are both utterly believable as highly intelligent, unique-thinking braniacs (Grossman is brilliant, in dialogue, characterization, and plotting). Fillory is much more engrossing in this second book and finally provides a worthy contender to C.S. Lewis' Narnia (albeit a raunchy, F-bomb-laced Narnia, drunken, drugged, and probably more than a little bit bi-polar). There is a lot of raunchy language, but The Magician King is haunting and beautiful, and quite a read, and more satisfying than the first book (which was quite satisfying, read it first). Mark Bramhall as narrator is skilled and sophisticated (and I keep thinking I'm listening to David Hyde Pierce's Niles Crane, with a slight cold, and a little drunk on cough syrup, but his voice changes and delivery is masterful). Great book, and worth the wait!

Art et Amour Toujours
Douglas Christian Larsen