The Magicians (The Magicians, #1) in Overdue Podcast

Jul 19, 2016 M.K. Pagano rated it liked it

Shelves: adult, fantasy

This review first appeared on www.wanderlustywriter.com

This book has been billed as “Harry Potter for Assholes”, and I am not totally on board with that assessment.

Ways this book is similar to Harry Potter:
- It’s about a regular kid who finds out he can do magic and gets sent to a magical school.
- The protagonist is male.

Ways this book is different from Harry Potter:
- All the other ways

However, the “asshole” assessment of the book is accurate, as nearly every single character is, in fact, an as ...more

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Sep 05, 2022 Abigail Advincula rated it it was amazing

The Magicians follows the adventures of Quentin Coldwater, who learns that he has been accepted to Brakebills, a magical college for magicians. There, he hones his craft for five years. While the prestigious academic environment suits him splendidly, he still yearns for Fillory, the fantasy land of his childhood novels. When these desires come to fruition, Quentin and his compatriots from Brakebills must deal with the consequences of attaining their heart's wish...

This book is abjectly funny. M ...more

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Jun 18, 2016 Amy Stabins rated it really liked it

This book is has been called 'Harry Potter for adults', and make no mistake, it is DEFINITELY for adults. It is NOT comparable to 'Deathly Hallows', which has more mature themes- The Magicians is about college-age and beyond, and is full of sex, alcohol, drugs, and a lot of angst. In fact I would say that it is less fantasy, and more a coming-of-age novel that just happens to take place in a magical environment.
I've also seen the main character compared to Draco Malfoy- I'd disagree with that. ...more

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Jun 28, 2018 Jaime Leigh rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobooks

3.5. While I really enjoyed the story and writing, I just feel like the story progression worked better in the show. It slows it down and works Julia and Penny's stories into the timeline at the same time as the others. Still, I'm reading the second one. ...more

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Sep 08, 2019 Jenny rated it did not like it

Nearly DNF @ 35%, but stuck with it out of stubbornness. I can appreciate what Grossman was trying to do with this book, and he brought a lot of interesting different threads and ideas together in this novel, but it really did not work for me. Just too much going on plot wise, and way too long to be forced to spend in the POV of shitty, annoying characters who, 25 chapters later, continued to be the worst.

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Nov 19, 2014 Melanie Fritz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014-reads, slate-audio-book-club

Little disclaimer: I read very very little fantasy. Nothing against the genre - it's just not for me. I did enjoy this book though, which is largely due to the fact that the premise is a rather realistic look at what studying at a college for magic and trying to find your place as a magician in the regular world would actually be like. It lost me a bit in the last third of the book when things get further away from our reality. I continued to be intrigued by the story though and by the themes wh ...more

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