HUMPDAY GIVEAWAY: The Magician King by Lev Grossman

I sincerely hope that it is no secret that I'm a big fan of Lev Grossman's novels.  I absolutely loved his 2009 novel, The Magicians.  And I was delighted by the sequel, The Magician King.  I'm not the only one.  Amazon.com picked it as their spotlight Book of the Month for August, where they wrote:

The second volume in Lev Grossman's celebrated series picks up just after the events of its 2009 prequel, The Magicians. Quentin, Eliot, Janet, and Julia are now the High Kings and Queens of Fillory, a fantastic realm not unlike Narnia, where they pass their days "deliquescing atom by atom amid a riot of luxury." To ease his royal boredom, Quentin embarks on a quest with Julia. Despite his romantic visions of heroic feats and easy accolades, the quest goes horribly awry, and they find themselves back in the depressingly real world of Chesterton, Massachusetts. With the help of seedy underground magicians, a dragon, and a young boy named Thomas, they undertake a desperate journey back to Fillory. Grossman's writing is sharp and self-aware, and the characters feel like people you actually know, but cooler: they are delightfully profane and dripping with irony, arrogant and shallow, finding their way in a magically perfect world that somehow still lets them down, and learning to fight for the things they love. The Magician King is a triumphant homage to modern fantasy writing, and a must-read for grown-up fans of Narnia and Harry Potter.

I couldn't have said it better myself, but, you know, I tried.

This book doesn't go on sale until August 9th, but I'm giving away a gorgeous trade paperback galley right now!  Listen, I hate to beg people to let me send them a free bestseller.  If we have less than five entrants, I'm afraid this galley is going straight to my face-to-face bookgroup.  I've been holding all my hottest titles for you guys, and that's not fair if there's really no interest.  But I hope there is, because these books are AWESOME!  I stated a caveate a couple of weeks ago, and I'll state it again here.  This is the second book in a trilogy.  Do enter the contest, but please don't try to read The Magician King before reading The Magicians.  And that's all.  Normal rules apply.  Good luck to all!

• The giveaway is open to anyone with a U.S. mailing address ('cause I'm footing the postage).
• To enter, all you need to do is post a comment below by Wednesday, August 10, 2011.
• At my discretion, if there are less than five respondents, I can cancel or extend the giveaway.
• Winner will be chosen by me with the help of a random number generator, and will be announced in the comments section of this thread.
• Please check back to see if you've won. If you have left a way to contact you, I will do so.
• The winner has one week to respond to me at suetu@yahoo.com with a mailing address, or I will choose a new winner.
• If a second winner fails to respond, the book automatically goes to the lovely members of my face-to-face book club.
• Previous giveaway winners are welcome to enter.
• Finally, if at all possible, please comment below only if you're entering the giveaway.

After the “Ever After”

The Magician King
by Lev Grossman

Can it possibly be only two years since I read Lev Grossman’s The Magicians? If you asked me about that novel, I would immediately tell you that I loved it. Apparently, that’s about all I could tell you. Having just read Grossman’s engaging follow-up, I regret not having reread, or at least brushed up on, the first novel. References to prior events were plentiful, and rather than jog my memory, they highlighted just how fallible it is. Hopefully yours is better, or you will take the steps I didn’t prior to reading the sequel. Oh, and it goes without saying that if you haven’t read the first novel, don’t start with this one.

Nonetheless, my inexact memory did not keep me from enjoying the latest adventures of Quentin Coldwater et al. Even I recalled that at the end of The Magicians Quentin, Julia, Elliott, and Janet had left our world to become the co-queens and kings of the magical (and not fictional after all) land of Fillory. The end. I thought that was the end. It was a good ending, and I didn’t expect any more. As we catch up with Quentin and co., they are living their “happy ever after.” It’s glorious. It’s perfect. It’s boring. To some degree, this has ever been the issue of life in a magical world.

Quentin is itching for a quest, but this is countered by the perfectly reasonable fear of screwing up a perfect life. When a safe-looking mini-quest comes along, Quentin goes for it—and screws up his perfect life. The mini-quest evolves into a major-quest with the highest of stakes. While this primary drama is unfolding, there is a second story being told in reflection. The Magicians recounted the education and coming of age of Quentin, Elliott, and Janet. Finally we learn what “hedgewitch” Julia was doing all of those years, and how she learned her craft. It would be an understatement to say that she took a different path. It’s a fascinating counterpoint. Along the way of these twin narratives, we meet many new characters and revisit old ones.

I’ve now read three of Mr. Grossman’s four novels, and I’ve enjoyed all of them. If I had to pick out the one thing that sets his work apart, the word that comes to mind is “unpredictability.” When you read as much as I do, a lot of storytelling becomes formulaic. This isn’t always a bad thing. Formula can expedite storytelling or give shape to a narrative. In any case, I think most avid readers begin to get a feel for where a story is likely to go. But not with Mr. Grossman. I never know. I don’t have a clue. I just know that he’s going to pull something different and unexpected out of his magician’s hat.

Additionally, it’s always a pleasure to read his prose. And he’s a champion at world-building. I adore the world he’s created in Fillory, and the dozens and dozens of pop culture references found throughout the text increase the fun and anchor that world to the reality of our own. It’s not merely Rowling and Lewis and Tolkien. It’s Die Hard and Star Trek and D & D. It’s Elmer Fudd, Dr. Suess, and GEB. It’s Disney, Dr. Who, and Discworld—and too many more to ever list.

I’ve rated this novel down one star only because I didn’t love it quite as much as its predecessor. I had the opportunity to speak to Mr. Grossman briefly at BEA. Expressing surprise at the sequel, I asked if there would be more books in the series. He told me that he thinks there will be a third, making it a trilogy. This second book comes to a shocking and unresolved conclusion. So, to Lev Grossman I say, “Damn straight there will be a third book!” It can’t end like this. And while clearly I have no idea where the tale will go, I will be along for the ride.

NOTE:  This novel will be next week's Humpday Giveaway!

Mailbox Monday: BEA boxes edition

Sorry all, I meant to have this up last night, but my computer froze up shortly before I was about to post it.  Anyway, as promised, here is the full inventory of the boxes I shipped by from BookExpo America in NY.  It's roughly 100 books which weighed 121 pounds and cost a lot to ship back to California.  And of course, add to the cost of these "free" books my travel and other expenses for the trip to NY and you'll see that that aren't so free after all.  But that's okay, I've done this before.  I know the costs involved.

If you're wondering why I grabbed duplicate copies of so many books, well, they're for you, of course.  I'll read and review as many of them as I'm able, and I have reason to believe that will be a fair number of titles.  But in addition to a copies for my own reviewing purposes, I'll share these books with blog readers in the Humpday Giveaways on Wednesday.  If you see a book that you're especially interested in having a chance to win,  please feel free to speak up in the comments section below.  I may be able to schedule it for giveaway sooner, rather than later, and it may also keep me from giving it away to my face-to-face book club.  (I bring a good stack of books to share with them each month, too.

Here's the list:

AUDIOBOOKS:

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (2 copies)
The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS:

Claim of Innocence by Laura Caldwell (signed)
In Desperation by Rick Mofina (signed)
Before Cain Strikes by Joshua Corin (signed)

HARDBACKS:

* In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larsson (5 copies)
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (5 copies)
The Whisper by Carla Neggers (signed)

The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane (signed)
Children and Fire by Ursula Hegi (2 copies)
The Linen Queen by Patricia Falvey (signed)
Phantom Evil by Heather Graham (signed)
Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle by Thor Hanson (2 copies)
Dogfish Memory by Joseph A. Dane
Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr (signed)

TRADE PAPERBACKS & GALLEYS:

Queen of America by Luis Alberto Urrea (2 copies, 1 signed)
The United States of Banana by Giannina Braschi
* The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman (3 copies, 1 signed)
Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Temporary Perfections by Gianrico Carofiglio (2 copies)
Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain by Jim Lehrer (3 copies)
Crossed by Ally Condie (signed)

Hot Water by Erin Brockovitch with C.J. Lyons (2 copies)
Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield (signed)
Dove Season by Johnny Shaw (signed)
* The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (2 copies, signed)
The Restorer by Amanda Stevens (signed)
* Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (signed)
American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar (2 copies)
Wahoo Rhapsody by Shaun Morey (signed)
Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close (2 copies, signed)
The Pluto Files by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The Maid by Kimberly Cutter (2 copies)
Great House by Nicole Krauss
Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengiste

The Lost Angel by Javier Sierra (2 copies)
The Shallows by Nicholas Carr
Enthralled by Melissa Marr (signed)
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt (2 copies)
The Inquisitor’s Apprentice by Chris Moriarty
The Soldier’s Wife by Margaret Leroy
Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil, MD (2 copies)
* The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen
Defending Jacob by William Landay (2 copies)
The Emperor of Lies by Steve Sem-Sandberg (2 copies)
Fallen by Karin Slaughter (signed)
* Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber (2 copies)
Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2 copies, 1 signed)
Operation Napoleon by Arnaldur Indridason
* The Magician King by Lev Grossman (2 copies, 1 signed)
The Taker by Alma Katsu
* The Submission by Amy Waldman (signed)
Next to Love by Ellen Feldman (2 copies, signed)
Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Feo
Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan (signed)
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber (3 copies)
Wisdom’s Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman (signed)
* The Bridge to Neverland by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (signed)
The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzsch

Emory’s Gift by W. Bruce Cameron (2 copies)
How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston
Neon Panic by Charles Philipp Martin
* The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright (4 copies)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (signed)

This list doesn't include the handful of books I carried back in my luggage, but the books with the asterisk are the ten titles I'm most excited about.  The Chuck Klosterman novel I hand carried back would have bumped something above.  So, are you excited about any of these books?  What are your top picks?

Oh, as for my normal Mailbox Monday influx, let's just put those books off for next week.  This is enough.  I did finish Ann Patchett's State of Wonder since I posted yesterday.  I loved it!  What are you reading right now?  Picked up any good books in the past week?

Set aside your expectations about Harry Potter’s college years…

The Magicians

by Lev Grossman

Meet Quentin Coldwater. He's the proverbial smartest kid in his class, and quite possibly the most unhappy. Quentin and his friends are in the process of interviewing for colleges. His most recent interview has gone very much against the plan, and through a series of mysterious events, Quentin winds up in what he perceives to be another world. He suspects he may be in the mystical (fictional) world that he's been a bit obsessed with since childhood. "Is this Fillory?" he asks. "No, upstate New York." This exchange is typical of the ironic blending of fantasy and reality found throughout the novel.

After agreeing to take an entrance exam, Quentin is granted admission to Brakebills, a college of magic. As Quentin would say, "Wait, magic is real?" This may well be the first novel I've read where the characters had a bigger problem with willing suspension of disbelief than the readers did--or at least this reader did, because I was completely captivated from the opening pages.

As others have summarized, this novel explores the education and early post-grad years of several young magicians. No, it's not Harry Potter. After all, it's about kids who read Rowling and Tolkien and watch Star Trek. ("Didn't any of you watch Star Trek? This is basic prime directive stuff.") This is about kids from the real world. They cuss, they binge drink, they explore their sexuality, they make bad choices, and they know all the same pop culture references you do. In addition to these cultural references, Grossman pays homage in ways subtle and unsubtle to classic fantasies. Fillory, for example, might as well be called Narnia. Nonetheless, I enjoyed each allusion I managed to catch.

I was also interested in the way the less, um, magical side of magic was explored. Learning magic is difficult and painful work, and ennui seems to be an epidemic among adult magicians. Really, what are you supposed to do with yourself when all your basic needs are taken care of? What is there to strive for? While Quentin and his friends do eventually stumble onto a quest, he rightly points out that there is a dearth of monsters to battle in the magical world.

And Lev Grossman can write--don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Reading The Magicians reminded me why I'd enjoyed his last novel, Codex, so much. Namely, he creates quirky stories that are wildly imaginative, you never know how they'll end, and which feature some remarkably good prose. It is clear that Grossman is a polarizing author. All I can say is that his work truly speaks to me. Obviously, that's not true of everyone, but I highly recommend The Magicians for readers willing to put aside their expectations.