From Publisher’s Weekly (via Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review:

Tina Bennett at Janklow and Nesbit has closed on a sequel to Lev Grossman’s The Magicians (Viking, Aug. 2009). Molly Stern at Viking (who edited The Magicians) bought North American rights to The Magician King. The new book picks up with protagonist Quentin Coldwater five years after the original—at the end of The Magicians Coldwater is 23—when he and his friends have become royalty in the fantasy world of Fillory. Coldwater, who is dealing with the challenges of being a member of the ruling class, embarks on a dark quest in the novel, which Bennett called “Voyage of the Dawn Treader [book 5 in the Chronicles of Narnia] as rewritten by Raymond Chandler.” Viking is aiming for a fall 2011 release.

The Magicians was a bi-polar book caught in a tug-of-war between Harry Potter and Holden Caulfield – one part self-deprecating coming-of-age-story, one part caught-in-a-magic-school – and had a similarly mixed reception. Critics seemed to either love it or hate it. I fell firmly into the ‘love it’ camp, naming it my favourite book published in 2009. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the sequel.

What is disconcerting, though, is the seeming shift in The Magician King to the more fantastical, an element of the first novel that even lovers of the book admitted was mediocre compared the earlier portions. It will be interesting to see if Grossman can address some of these criticisms now that he is giving readers more than just a brief peek at the land of Fillory.

Discussion
  • adribbleofink January 22, 2010 at 3:38 pm

    New blog post – Lev Grossman (@leverus) announces THE MAGICIAN KING, a sequel to THE MAGICIANS: http://aidanmoher.com/blog/2010/01/aside

  • booksmugglers January 22, 2010 at 3:42 pm

    @adribbleofink Hummmm that will be interesting.

  • Andrew January 22, 2010 at 7:42 am

    Very, very cool. I also fell into the love it catagory. But, I loved it because it was so different from most of the other fantasy books out there, and the last third of the book was a big departure from the first 2/3s. That being said, I did enjoy the fantasy elements there, and I hope that he’ll break away from the influences more so than in the first book. Still, I’ll be picking up this one for sure.

  • John Anealio January 22, 2010 at 9:16 am

    I really liked the Magicians myself.  I was a bit depressed by the end, probably because I grew so attached to the characters.  Looking forward to the sequel.

  • Lev Grossman January 22, 2010 at 9:16 am

    Don’t read too much into a 100-word PW blurb. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

  • aidan January 22, 2010 at 9:20 am

    Ooh, secrets!

    What interests me most about the blurb is the reference to Raymond Chandler. When will we get a more significant peek at the novel, Lev?

  • Andrew January 22, 2010 at 9:23 am

    @Lev Grossman – hopefully we can expect some more counter-genre story? I think I liked that most of all.

  • Lev Grossman January 22, 2010 at 9:38 am

    @aidan I don’t know. I read part of it at a reading this week. It was actually a bit that I had cut from the ms, but it gave some of the flavor.
    @Andrew me too. I’m going to try to play to my strengths.

  • Kris January 23, 2010 at 2:13 pm

    I’ll have to add this to my list of books to check out. At the rate I’m adding books, though, I may have to clone myself to get through half of them.
    Outstanding cover art, btw.

  • Lou June 16, 2010 at 12:52 pm

    i just want more alice…

  • Vas July 9, 2010 at 9:56 am

    I agree with Lou; I kept on thinking that alice would suddenly reappear but she didnt.
    In any case im so excited for the next book.!!!! I really cant wait

  • Daniel July 26, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    Please find some way to bring Alice back. That just about killed me.

  • Dale August 5, 2010 at 9:07 pm

    Fantastic novel, I just literally finished about 5 minutes ago. I bought it in Ohare airport on a impulse buy and it turned out to to be one of my favorite reads. Thank you Lev, and I cannot wait until The Magician King hits the shelves.

  • dane August 10, 2010 at 7:31 am

    Ya I gotta say losing Alice was crushing always thought she would come back somehow. Lev will we see some of quentins abilities that show up in his initial interview..or even find out what his discipline is? Know u can’t answer that just can’t wait for fall 2011!

  • Heather August 13, 2010 at 10:47 am

    I just finished the book. It was a very interesting read. Not at all what I thought it was going to be. I could see the connections to other fantasy novels; especially Narnia. I was disappointed in Quentin. I expected more from him. I was very disappointed that Alice died saving Quentin and the others. Alice was one of the characters that deserved to live. While saying this, I understand why Alice had to die….. I just wish she hadn’t. I haven’t felt this way about a character since Dumbledore and Sirius Black died in Harry Potter. She was a great character. She gave new meaning to “don’t judge a book by its cover.” I will be interested to see what the next book brings.

  • Boss September 1, 2010 at 3:06 pm

    Same DDD:

  • Nate September 2, 2010 at 4:00 am

    I just finished The Magicians last night and I’ve got to say I feel depressed today. Alice’s fate stunk and I view Quentin as a deplorable, apathetic weasel. Hopefully Alice makes it into the next book and Quentin grows up (and a pair).

  • The Magician King « pause for thought October 25, 2010 at 6:21 am

    […] while I’m really excited to find out (very late) that there’s going to be a sequel to the story of Quentin Coldwater, (out Fall 2011, according to Grossman’s blog), I’m […]

  • danny March 2, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    yeah igot the book in june of last year and i’ve read it multiple times and love it i really cant wait i just keep hoping Alice comes back ihated her dying especially just after she and quentin had just seemed to start making up

  • James Pritchard April 3, 2012 at 5:07 am

    Enjoyed The Magician King, a good follow-up to The Magicians and wonderfully crafted adult fantasy/fiction.