The Magician King

Quentin, Julia, Eliot and Janet now reign as kings and queens of Fillory, the magical land they first knew from childhood books. Time has passed since their earlier adventures, and the court is no longer a simple fairy tale. Disturbing incidents unsettle the royal castle, and an oracle announces death and destruction for the whole realm.

Riddles and threats send Quentin and Julia on a quest that leads far from the throne. It takes them back to America, where they come from, and through Brakebills School. It carries them on to Venice, where a dragon waits, and then between worlds and even into the afterlife. Seven golden keys are the hope of saving Fillory.

This is a sequel to The Magicians, and it is fantasy that treats the wondrous as something that can turn dark. The book moves across many settings, from a castle to a school to a European city to the land of the dead, so the pace and the scenery keep shifting.

Julia carries a second thread. The way she came to magic followed a dark path, and the story hints that the deepest mystery may lie with her rather than with the oracle. Readers who want a quest with real menace, and a ruler's burden placed on characters who once only dreamed of the place, will find both here.