The Magician King by Lev Grossman

Quentin and his friends, the kings and queens of Fillory, seek new adventure in Grossman's The Magician King. A morning hunt gone wrong leads to a wild outer kingdom quest, with unexpected consequences. The introduction of Julia's powerful voice adds thrilling depth to the epic magical journey. Grossman maintains the level-headed, deadpan humor that cuts through the expectations for the fantasy genre and keeps the flow of effervescent escapism honest and true, helping modern readers with the idea of, “But what if this happened to me?”

I was initially wary of learning the back story to the punted-aside Julia from The Magicians, but Grossman surprised me by giving her so much depth and fulfilling a huge role in the story, rather than simply being a stand-in for someone missing from the first book. She was multifaceted and complex, almost as much (maybe even more so) than the main character Quentin.

I can't wait to start the third book, The Magician's Land. This series has been a breath of fresh air that simultaneously is lifted by traces of sweet nostalgia from the stories that have come before it. What a great balance of the known and the new.

Audiobook, as narrated by Mark Bramhall: Bramhall went from sounding like other familiar voices in the previous book, to being the voice of Fillory, Quentin, and Grossman's creations. The way he delivers the sardonic wit Grossman conjures up is practically perfect in every way.