In The Magician’s Land, Quentin, freshly banished from Fillory after saving it, is a teacher at Brakebills. It’s a bit of a full circle book as he returns to the place that made him who he was “meant to be” and showcases his growth as a person and magician. This is further explored through the introduction of Plum, a student of his that serves as a reflection of past Quentin. She’s too smart for her own good and is a stickler for the rules. At first it feels strange for a new character to be introduced to the main cast in the third entry, but Plum quickly comes into her own and gives a fresh perspective that is welcome. I grew to like her and the way she doesn’t fully inject herself into the group and stays in her lane, made me like her more.

The story this time also kind of comes out of left field. Since it’s related to Fillory, this isn’t really surprising at this point. Essentially, the magical creatures of Fillory sense that all of it is coming to an end soon. All things must end at some point, but Eliot and the others don’t think it should end so soon. The monarchy of Fillory takes methods into their own hands, trying to find a way to stop the calamity. We see even more interesting parts of Fillory including a swamp with a giant turtle and a barren desert. The desert is relegated to the backstory of Janet, and only mentioned a couple times, but the people that live there and the trials she endured left me wishing for more in regards to the exploration of that time. Janet is done a disservice here in that many of her adventures occurred off-book and the allusion to her adventures isn’t as thoroughly explored as Julia’s were in the previous entry. In addition to hers and Eliot’s exploits, Quentin and Plum are removed from Brakebills after an encounter with Nifin Alice and fall in with a crew that was hired to steal a book. Why their employer wants the book is up in the air, but they’re not the only ones going for it. It sees them trying to locate and steal it before another group can. It does the same trick of the two stories seemingly being disconnected, but bringing them together by the end. Since it’s the end of the trilogy, it’s warranted as many threads from previous books are resolved here. The way it tries to wrap everything up nicely does seem a bit forced in ways, though I appreciated the effort. Since the main story here isn’t fully reliant on the previous material, it does make the threads of the other entries seem disconnected and haphazardly thrown in. It echoes the nature of the series in that way as things kind of just happen to the characters and they have to deal with them. Fillory’s magic is unpredictable, but many aspects of the story are. It made me wish for more in the exploration of the cast as their human struggle was what grounded me in the fantastical scenarios.

As a finale to the trilogy, Grossman wraps it up well. Much of the plot threads that were unresolved came to a satisfying conclusion. The various plots converging was expected but not unwelcome. The unpredictability of the magic in the story is the hook that pulled me along this far. I was left wanting more from the characters overall, though Julia, Quentin and Alice all received a satisfying conclusion. (I still like the tv version better!)