I haven't read book 3 yet. I loved book 1 and really liked book 2 despite some reservations I have about a plot point (not related to Quentin). This comment discusses Quentin's characterization in books 1 and 2 but I'm not going to go into specific plot details.
The main reason I've loved the books is also a reason I suspect some readers dislike them; they're deconstructions of "having magical adventures in Magicland" stories, obviously, which makes so much of the landscape unpleasant. But the important bit to me was Quentin as a deconstruction of that kind of story character: he's a fantasy novel protagonist who thinks he's a fantasy novel HERO.
He's read all the books, he's genre-savvy for all the tropes, and he thinks that makes him experienced and wise. Quentin does or experiences bad things but expects them to turn out okay in the end, because he's a fantasy novel hero. He does good things not because he really cares about improving the world, but because do-goodery is What One Does as a fantasy novel hero. (Going through the motions, walking through the part.) Quentin isn't an actively malicious or cruel person; he just doesn't see other people as being equally important and real as himself, not in Fillory or on Earth. Which is its own solipsistic brand of evil.
A lot of reviewers I've seen who disliked the Magician books—not all, but definitely a significant percentage—interpreted them as a message of attack, like "Grow up, fantasy readers! Stop fantasizing about going to Magicland! Fantasy books are for silly little kids!" And I understand that POV. I was definitely one of those readers who made contingency plans about how sensible and genre-savvy I would be if I ever went to Narnia or got a genie or whatnot. But the message I got from the first two books was, "If you expect the universe to revolve around you and treat everyone else as less important, grow the fuck up. Even Magicland has important stuff to deal with." Imaginary gardens have real toads in them.
The point of the generic fairytale is not to help the mysterious beggar lady by the side of the road because you hope she's a magic fairy who'll reward you with treasure. The point is to treat people with compassion and actually mean it. Quentin is not a hero because he doesn't get that. I'll be reading book 3 to see if he ever does.
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Date: 2014-09-16 06:52 am (UTC)The main reason I've loved the books is also a reason I suspect some readers dislike them; they're deconstructions of "having magical adventures in Magicland" stories, obviously, which makes so much of the landscape unpleasant. But the important bit to me was Quentin as a deconstruction of that kind of story character: he's a fantasy novel protagonist who thinks he's a fantasy novel HERO.
He's read all the books, he's genre-savvy for all the tropes, and he thinks that makes him experienced and wise. Quentin does or experiences bad things but expects them to turn out okay in the end, because he's a fantasy novel hero. He does good things not because he really cares about improving the world, but because do-goodery is What One Does as a fantasy novel hero. (Going through the motions, walking through the part.) Quentin isn't an actively malicious or cruel person; he just doesn't see other people as being equally important and real as himself, not in Fillory or on Earth. Which is its own solipsistic brand of evil.
A lot of reviewers I've seen who disliked the Magician books—not all, but definitely a significant percentage—interpreted them as a message of attack, like "Grow up, fantasy readers! Stop fantasizing about going to Magicland! Fantasy books are for silly little kids!" And I understand that POV. I was definitely one of those readers who made contingency plans about how sensible and genre-savvy I would be if I ever went to Narnia or got a genie or whatnot. But the message I got from the first two books was, "If you expect the universe to revolve around you and treat everyone else as less important, grow the fuck up. Even Magicland has important stuff to deal with." Imaginary gardens have real toads in them.
The point of the generic fairytale is not to help the mysterious beggar lady by the side of the road because you hope she's a magic fairy who'll reward you with treasure. The point is to treat people with compassion and actually mean it. Quentin is not a hero because he doesn't get that. I'll be reading book 3 to see if he ever does.