Ok, hang on, you’re probably thinking, haven’t we been here before?
So I’ve done re-reads before but this is the first re-read of a book I’ve read and blogged about before. The reason? Well a couple of things. I want to read the sequel and I always thought I’d re-read the first book beforehand to remind myself of key points. However the main reason was that the Sword and Laser YouTube show had it as their book club book for April.
So what shall I say about this book second time around? Well after the first time I recall being surprised at negative reactions to Quentin the lead character, and this was borne out by the reactions in the S&L Goodreads group discussions about this book. So I went in deliberately looking to see if I’d find him whiney, irritating or hateful. And I just didn’t. Maybe it says something about me I don’t know but whilst he lacks direction at times and he’s not an optimist really I still kind of liked him. I was never less than sympathetic to him.
Also whilst it felt like a little bit of a slog in the middle my favourite parts are towards the end so it left me with a good feeling. There’s so much in this book. It’s not that long – ~400pages – but it packs in scenes and episodes in a number of different settings and even worlds whether it’s Brakebills, Brakebills South, Fillory, New York after graduating, New York after returning and so on. I enjoyed that.
It drops a point for the slight slogginess but other than that:
7/10 – a good re-read.
