The Golden Swift

I enjoyed this almost as much as the firs. Grossman does a great job with something that most fantasy writers can't: he expands the world of the magic thing in the fantasy, but not just for the pleasure of world-building - but in service of the themes of the story itself. We meet another magic train and more train conductors! We find out who runs the stock yard! We hear about the Board of Directors!

This kind of thing is often done in a way that leads to Glup Shitto kind of lore; breadth without depth? But Grossman does this carefully. It's fun to pull the curtain back a bit, but it's all resonating with the characters journey.

Noted on December 23, 2025

A sequel continuing the story from The Silver Arrow, this is also a sweet magic fantasy in a very Lev Grossman vein. Like the Magicians, it poses the question: what if you had access to magic? and what if that wasn't enough to solve your problems? But this is middle grade fiction, so it poses that question in a kindler, gentler way. But the question remains!