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'The Magician's Land': Critics call the third book in Lev Grossman's trilogy a satisfying finale

Monitor fiction critic Yvonne Zipp called 'The Magician's Land' 'thoroughly satisfying [and] refreshingly original,' one of many positive reviews.

'The Magician's Land' is by Lev Grossman.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

It’s not easy to end a series and at the same time please a crowd, but author Lev Grossman seems to have done just that with his novel “The Magician’s Land.”

Grossman’s book is the third in a trilogy, preceded by “The Magicians” and “The Magician King,” both of which were critically acclaimed. “The Magician's Land” was released on Aug. 5.

Both the Monitor and Amazon selected the novel as one of the 10 best books of August, with Monitor fiction critic Yvonne Zipp calling it “thoroughly satisfying…. [it] references C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling while remaining refreshingly original.”

Meanwhile, New York Times critic Sarah Lyall found that Grossman “seems to have altered his tone in parts of ‘The Magician’s Land,’ using too much narration with too much broish language” but wrote that “this is a quibble … after some truly wondrous scenes that have to do with the dawn (and the end) of existence, ricocheting back and forth between the extraordinary and the quotidian, you feel that breathless, stay-up-all-night, thrumming excitement.” 

Los Angeles Times writer Gwenda Bond found that each of Grossman’s novels has “deepening complexity and widening scope” and wrote that “The Magician's Land” “triumphantly answers the essential questions at the heart of the series…. [it’s a] masterful close.”

Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review, writing that it’s a “deeply satisfying finale,” and Library Journal found that “this series taken as a whole brings new life and energy to the fantasy genre. The final volume will please fans looking for action, emotion, and, ultimately, closure.”

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