Don’t ask me why I let at least four years pass between reading the second novel of Lev Grossman’s trilogy and the final installment, The Magician’s Land. Especially don’t ask me why I bought the book two years ago and just let it sit there on my shelf. I have no logical reasons.
In any case, I was kind of surprised I remembered anything at all about this story. I never even got around to watching the show based on this series, although I know that took some wildly different turns compared to the novel. Still, it wasn’t too hard to pick back up into this imaginative world. Quentin has been officially kicked out of Fillory and is finding life back on earth disorienting, is the best way I can put it. He was so in love with that place that he’s not sure he’ll ever fit back into the real world. So he doesn’t really. He instead seeks Brakebills back out and is shocked when he’s offered a teaching position.
That too, however, is short-lived when he gets tangled up in the pranking plans of senior student, Plum. She accidentally gets herself trapped in some in-between world and comes face to face with the now niffin, Alice. Quentin seemingly knows about this and helps Plum out, but not before braking a lot of magical Brakebills’ rules. The two are kicked out, but only aimless briefly before being recruited into some quest to retrieve a bound briefcase. At first it seems like this is all the novel will be focused on for Quentin, but then of course you come to find that this adventure will intertwin with the prophesized ending of Fillory.
Those two avenues don’t intersect for quite some time, but at least the end finally sees Quentin reunite with his original posse. It was also really interesting to learn more about the Chatwins and how the whole family’s story is interwoven with Fillory’s. A big spoiler here is that Quentin is able to turn Alice back into a human, but she resents him deeply for it. However, her many years spent as a niffin just so happens to be the key to understanding how to “save” Fillory. I suppose the title of the book really gives it all away. Rather than saving what once was, the ultimate quest is to create somewhere new for these magicians to inhabit.
It was nice getting back into this story and it’s definitely inspired me to want to watch the show again, but I’d say give it another four years at least…I’ll try my best! Anyways, for those fans of the sci-fi genre, this trilogy is definitely worth investing some time in!