The Magicians (The Magicians, #1) in Fantasy-Faction.com

May 02, 2014 Mogsy rated it liked it

Shelves: new-adult, fantasy, audiobook, urban, witches-and-wizards, magic, books-about-books

3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum: http://bibliosanctum.com/2014/07/09/b...

Self-absorbed, annoying, moody, smug, dissatisfied, spoiled, fake, maudlin, insecure, aimless, whiny, stupid, pampered, emo, vain, egotistical, small-minded, excessive, inconsiderate, thankless, pretentious, snobby, entitled, mercurial, immature, depressed, hypocritical, mean-spirited, cynical, clueless – just a small sample of the words I could use to describe the characters in this book.

No, The Magicians isn’t going to 3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum: http://bibliosanctum.com/2014/07/09/b...

Self-absorbed, annoying, moody, smug, dissatisfied, spoiled, fake, maudlin, insecure, aimless, whiny, stupid, pampered, emo, vain, egotistical, small-minded, excessive, inconsiderate, thankless, pretentious, snobby, entitled, mercurial, immature, depressed, hypocritical, mean-spirited, cynical, clueless – just a small sample of the words I could use to describe the characters in this book.

No, The Magicians isn’t going to your big smiling ball of sunshine no matter how many Harry Potter comparisons you see slapped on it. Instead, you have a book featuring a much darker, grittier and almost satirical aura, a “New Adult” urban fantasy about letting the unhappiness of wanting something you can never have consume you. We follow disillusioned Quentin Coldwater, a high school student who never really grew out of his love for a series of novels he read as a kid about the adventures of five siblings in a magical land called Fillory. Compared to that, what can the real world offer him?

Imagine how he feels then, when he discovers that magic is real. And not only is it real, Quentin himself is a promising young magician, accepted into very secret and highly exclusive Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy in upstate New York. It should have changed everything. Quentin should have been ecstatic.

But he is not. But of course he’s not. Magic isn’t going to make Quentin happy. Neither is finding out that Fillory actually exists. It’s a sad moment when the realization hits. There’s really no cure for what ails Quentin, except one thing and one thing only: a few years of life experience and a whole lot of growing up. Well, that or maybe a swift and forceful kick in the seat of his pants.

Thing is though, you can write a miserably unlikeable character for the sake of writing a miserably unlikeable character. I don’t mind. Not even if your character is an insufferably whiny little ingrate. You just have to give me a reason – any reason – to make me care about what happens to him. That’s not too much to ask, is it? My issue with this novel wasn’t so much with the mopey protagonist than it was with the directionless storytelling. In fact, I was quite excited for the first part of this book. I couldn’t get enough of the magical school idea the author’s jabs and funny references to Harry Potter and other humorous injections. That there was no sign of a main conflict didn’t bother me at this point either, as I was relishing the setting and enjoying myself too much.

Around the midway point was when the book started to lose me, coinciding with Quentin’s graduation and life after Brakebills. Until then I never really bothered asking where the story was going, and hadn’t felt the need to – but eventually there was a creeping sense that giving Quentin and his magician friends “real life” problems like relationship hang ups and dismal prospects for the future just wasn’t going cut it. Like, dudes, I get that y’all are bored with life. But I’m bored with you too now. Sorry. Worse yet, there is absolutely no development in their characters or personalities (unless you count decline as growth) and that’s absolutely mind boggling when you consider how a person’s time at college should have been the most formative years. I don’t know anyone who left college the same person they were when they arrived.

Admittedly, the final handful of chapters about the discovery and exploration of Fillory had their charm. Possibly enough to salvage my feelings for this book for a solid rating. And I suppose the conclusion, while incomplete and flinging the doors wide open for a new adventure, also manages to offer a sense of closure and satisfaction in its own unique way.

This book isn’t bad, apart from the pacing issues. The ending gives me hope for Quentin, and the promise of more Fillory makes me feel very optimistic about the next book. ...more

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Aug 04, 2012 A.E. Marling added it

I love that magic is portrayed as something to be learned with practice, practice, practice---rather than a boon to be gained through birthright, practice, and a wand. Lev Grossman offers a grittier version of a boarding school for aspiring wizards, seen through the eyes of a teenage boy whose blood is 95% hormones by volume. The protagonist battles to gain admittance to the school then competes with other students for grades. Drama over magic spells gone wrong is interwoven with drinking, Mohaw ...more

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Sep 21, 2011 Dee rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: a-kind-of-magic, loanage

This could get long, so to sum up: this is a highly competent, intelligent, enjoyable read. That really irritated me in a few ways. It was interesting, but for me, too facile and shallow in its exploration of the fantasy tropes it was engaging with.

For "Harry Potter for grown-ups" (which is really only the first half, the second half is Narnia for grown-ups) I find it perplexing that this really wallowed in one of my least favourite story forms for YA fiction: the one where you watch a character ...more

4 likes · Like · see review