Penguin Random House

When you spot an allusion/homage to another book in the Magicians trilogy — and there are a lot of them — what you’re seeing is me having a conversation. I’ve always loved the way Tom Stoppard — for example — talks back to Shakespeare in ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD. In a different way you can see Philip Pullman in conversation with C.S. Lewis in HIS DARK MATERIALS. If I echo another book in the Magicians trilogy, it’s because I felt I needed to respond to it — to say, I love it as much as it is possible for a reader to love a book, but I’ve also got a bone to pick with you.

Except for the cacodemons. Those I just stole, from Larry Niven.

Lev Grossman, author of The Magician’s Land, out today. (Read the full interview over at Suvudu!)