Books I'm Reading Now

I am currently in the process of reading four books: The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, The First World War by John Keegan, and The Magicians (a reread) and The Magician King, both by Lev Grossman with the latter being the sequel to the former. My focus is on Grossman's novels and may be just as well, for I am having an awful time forming any kind of sympathetic bond with Ludlum's protagonist Jason Bourne so far. Then again, I'm not too crazy about Quentin Coldwater, the "hero" in the Magicians series. On many levels I have difficulty forming any feelings of empathy with this character. As for World War I, the book I'm reading about it is also a reread for me: it is a very good account of this terrible conflict, especially regarding the forces that led up to it.

I have been surprised by author Grossman's shift in emphasis in The Magician King, which actually was just released earlier this month. Although Quentin is still the main character, another character, Julia, who was given very little attention in the initial story, has now become a very integral part of the series. Quentin and Julia are both endowed with the talent of being able to draw upon magical forces, but they differ as to how the magical establishment treated them. Quentin was allowed to attend a special school of magic and given special benefits from it while Julia was rejected by the same institution and left bewildered and troubled on her own, trying to cope with her magical abilities in a world that denied their existence. Julia, it turns out, is a totally cool person in my estimation and has some life experiences that I can relate to strongly (although magic ain't one of 'em, bro'). An example:

Once Julia was exploring the Internet to find kindred spirits, i.e. people who could relate to her thinking. This seemed like an impossible task for she felt that no one on Earth seemed to understand her or even remotely think like her. But she managed to stumble upon an intricate, difficult test that eventually led her to be accepted into a small and anonymous private circle on the Net with other people who shared enough of her perspective to give her some sense of social stability, a very welcome break from her longstanding feeling of complete alienation. Now that's something that I would like...and have yet to find for myself!

When I first read The Magicians, I had no idea it was just the first in a series. With The Magician King, I now wonder how many volumes Lev Grossman is planning to take this story! I admire his writing style, which in a good way reminds me of how Stephen King also has an uncanny ability to get into the minds of his characters and express how they feel...