The Magician's Land

You can call me an angsty, pretentious fuck and I won't even argue with you, but I did love this series. It surprised even me that I did, but something about certain situations in life, certain ways the characters related to the world really worked with me. It was probably partly the fact that I managed to read it at the right time, I don't know. It's just what I needed and I am not ashamed to say that.

In this last book the characters need to save Fillory yet again, while their group comes together once more at the end to do whatever it takes. I wouldn't want to say too much, as you need to read the previous book to make it make sense and that would be spoiling. Basically everyone finds their footing, in one way or another and they manage to reach their best self they could be at this point.

In my review of the second book I mentioned two things in connection with liking the characters. First of all, I said I liked the characters better, either because they developed or because having something to do made them less angsty. By now I realized it's both; the things to do and their trials and tribulations simply made them develop.
Another thing was not having Janet around too much, and how I liked that because she was such a horrible person without any real redeeming qualities. In this one... even Janet grows on you with her new passion for being a real queen who actually defends Fillory. In one chapter she tells the story of the 1,5 years she spent alone as the leader of the place when Quentin and Julia disappeared, so Eliot went to look for them. That chapter was absolutely magical. The writing did something exquisite there and I actually started to like her. Truly amazing.

Now there was this thing I wasn't 100% sold on. Alice. I mean her return from her niffin form was definitely interesting, but I had let her go. I was over her, so the whole thing with Quentin and Plum spending chapters on bringing her back home and all wasn't particularly interesting to me. I preferred her back in book one, probably because back then almost all the others were just absolute dicks and she felt like one of the few okay people.

As for the series as a whole, it's really hit or miss. I can't blame anyone for not liking it, but I couldn't help loving it. So far this is my favourite new (never tried before, don't know anything about it) read of the year. I'm not sure how it will hold up, though. I guess I have to make a note for myself to read it again in a couple of years and see how I can relate to it then. What was comforting and familiar melancholy now could very well feel like horrible, annoying artsy-fartsy shit in 5 years. That's funny, though, that even though I just finished it, I'm already looking forward to reading it again and I can only praise Mr. Grossman for doing that to me.

About him... Well. I do not want to go and read his earlier books. I want more of this, the author who managed to find his voice and his unique way. So I am waiting, Mr. Grossman. Write! Do something, I will be super excited about picking it up, even if just seeing if our love affair lasted only this one series or it is just the beginning of something crazy.

(I'm watching the show with my best friend now. I'm... not quite sure how I feel about it. Sure, it's interesting and some acting is amazing. Screw you, Hale Appleman, you are my Eliot and you can't act flamboyantly gay enough for me to not find you creepily attractive, duh. Such a good actor. Even Quentin is charming! But the changes they did to Penny are... Yeah, not really into it, I liked him not being self-conscious and having that innocent charm. All in all, I get they needed to make the show more action-filled and “cool”, but it kills some of the very thing I love about the books.)

So farewell, you wonderful, imperfect bastards.