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

May 17, 2012 Lisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Review Posted from Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2014/0...

The Magicians by Lev Grossman is one of the most divisive, marmite books I have come across. Love it or hate, it usually gets a reaction. So, no need to keep you in suspense, I fall on the love side of the fence here. I realize the book is not perfect, but for me, it was a great read.

A common claim with this book is that it is Harry Potter meets Narnia. I suppose I can see where they are coming from since this is a sch Review Posted from Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2014/0...

The Magicians by Lev Grossman is one of the most divisive, marmite books I have come across. Love it or hate, it usually gets a reaction. So, no need to keep you in suspense, I fall on the love side of the fence here. I realize the book is not perfect, but for me, it was a great read.

A common claim with this book is that it is Harry Potter meets Narnia. I suppose I can see where they are coming from since this is a school to learn magic. And the Narnia reference comes into play as well. But just because a book has some basic similarities in the general blurb does not mean the books are at all the same type of read. So, if you have break down the book like that, I think I’d have to throw a little Catcher in the Rye as well.

Even in Harry Potter’s darkest days, he never achieves the level of depression, self-doubt, and angst, etcetera that Quentin Coldwater feels. Also, this is college. And not the college that the Hogwarts kids would likely go to either. It has sex, drugs, and alcohol to help feed the angst. The level of angst and Quentin’s dark state of mind is quite often the chief complaint for those that fall on the non-love side of this book. I actually quite enjoyed it. I like downtrodden protagonists and I relate to characters that are not all sunshine and rainbows.

But there’s more to love here than just the depressed antagonist. I really enjoyed reading a fantasy book that has characters I could relate to, people from our world that have suddenly found themselves in a world of magic. Then they are tasked with learning it, but not in a wand waiving, Harry Potter kind of way. There are some scary lessons and some rather bizarre ones as well.

And then there is the Narnia comparison. The alternate world (Fillory) that the students find themselves in turns out to be the land from children’s books that Quentin still obsesses over. Fillory is such a contrast to the students’ regular lives, both before and during their time at Brakesbill. It lets the reader also see a different side of our protagonist. Also, the contrast of this fairy tale setting and that of the angsty college life at Brakesbill is rather fun and interesting.

So, love it or hate it, you’re bound to have an opinion on this one, and the only way to find out for yourself is to read it. Hopefully you like, but, if not, well, then you’ll know. ...more

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Sep 02, 2013 Joel rated it liked it

Shelves: hard-copy

This book is nigh on impossible for me to rate accurately. The major problem being that it was one of the more bipolar novels I've ever read - up and down, left and right, all over the map. There were things I loved about it, things I didn't love about it, and things I hated about it.

The book tells the story of Quentin, a young man who gets swept away to a mysterious magician school in Upstate NY. He proceeds to go on one of the more trope-filled magical adventures I've ever read. I went back an This book is nigh on impossible for me to rate accurately. The major problem being that it was one of the more bipolar novels I've ever read - up and down, left and right, all over the map. There were things I loved about it, things I didn't love about it, and things I hated about it.

The book tells the story of Quentin, a young man who gets swept away to a mysterious magician school in Upstate NY. He proceeds to go on one of the more trope-filled magical adventures I've ever read. I went back and forth; was the book INTENTIONALLY trope filled? Was it trying to be a bit of a parody or satire of similar novels? So much is lifted from other books - Rothfuss, CS Lewis, Pullman, Tolkien, etc. The list goes on - it felt like a rehash of so many popular books. Yet it was so blatant that I couldn't help but wonder if it was mocking these other books, intentionally using aspects from them to make a statement of some sort.

The book was a bit inconsistent as well - much of the experiences, storyline aspects and overall emotions were more suited to a YA novel. Despite that, Grossman wedges sexuality, drugs and profanity in wherever possible, never passing a chance to have some sex, a breast pop out, the students all undressing together. It worked out to be a bit like a college sexual fantasy at times, situations where the author would have loved to have taken part in. And while it might be "realistic" - late high school and college age kids swear, have sex, do drugs and drink; it didn't really jive with a lot of the rest of the story, where it was very whimsical magical beings, the kids entering a Narnia-esque alternate universe full of mystical creatures. That was intermingled between orgies, arbitrary naked breasts, infidelities and, yes, the group being morphed into foxes and having a fox orgy.

The characters themselves were another point of contention - they were, generally, the most self-absorbed, arrogant, narcissistic and petty bunch of kids in the history of history. While they were all unique, different, distinct; they also were the same, in that they cared for themselves, and only themselves. Always wrapped up in what affected them the most, in what they wanted, in doing their own thing. While all had moments where they were likable, they also had moments of pure crap.

In addition, the ending was cheesy, underdeveloped, and went on way too long to accomplish next to nothing. It was Stephen King-esque in it's complete lack of closure and purpose. Kind of like those Saturday Night Live skits that go on just a bit too long, then just kind of end all the sudden, with no real ending sequence.

All of that said, I had trouble walking away from this book quite often. I enjoyed Grossman's prose, and the overall flow and plot progression was fluid and continuous. It was an enjoyable story, the kind where if I just turned my brain off and went through it, I probably would have loved it. But any time I stopped to analyze anything, I was beaten in the face with the flaws and inconsistencies of the novel, the obnoxious nature of it's characters, it's derivative plot pieces.

It was an "ok" book. I liked it, but I didn't like it. Makes sense, right? ...more

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Oct 02, 2017 Paul rated it liked it

My walk-through review video: https://youtu.be/548t872cDVw
Minor spoilers in the video review. Closer to a 3.5

I liked this book and enjoyed the angsty, darker vibe. It definitely is going to be a series I continue and I'll end up watching the TV show too. This book got progressively worse as it went on as the story focused more on Fillory and less on Brakebills or the young adults trying to live outside Brakebills after graduation. I'm hoping that the next two books will have more magic issues h ...more

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Oct 09, 2017 Yefim rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobooks, fantasy, literary-spec-fic, books-in-english

Yes, Mr. Great Literary Writer, do educate WW1 veterans like Lewis and Tolkien about the importance of living in the Real World.

It's a shame, because Grossman has real talent as a writer. Too bad he chose to squander it all on shit like this. ...more

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