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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
This book tends to move people to experience visceral love-it-or-loathe it reactions for a lot of really understandable reasons. It takes its cues (okay, ALL of them) from beloved series--"classics" you may argue-- like The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter. Too many cues, some same say, and the author and his characters have a truly ambivalent relationship with the source material. I found this kind of tension fascinating, but I see where the critics are coming from.
Quentin, a vaguely nerdy, high school nobody discovers that he has hidden abilities when an invitation to test into a mysterious school sucks him into an underground world of magic hidden from the rest of the world. Quite unlike Harry and his cohorts, Quentin and his new friends use (and misuse) their gifts as you might imagine that flawed, young people with sudden access to a lot of power actually might, and what begins as wonder ends up becoming corrupted into ruthless ambition for some, idle apathy for others. Ultimately, their principles and their friendships will have taken a beating, some past the point of recovery. While gripping (I literally could NOT put this book down when reading it) it's also rather like a car accident watching these young and VERY fallible characters struggle with forces that are always threatening to consume and corrupt them, and as you might expect, the story builds to a pretty dark, startling conclusion. A side plotline about the influence of a Narnia-esque series of books on Quentin and his friends also has a great deal of significance and adds intrigue as the one idealized magical world is juxtaposed against the "real", jaded, corrupted magical world that the characters live in.
As one of my fellow reviewers pointed out, Grossman has the cheek to pop in a few direct references to Harry Potter (jokes or comments made by the characters) and to me those are the times when it just doesn't work. Whenever he does it's as if a curtain is suddenly wrenched back to reveal all the mechanisms underneath. It's just obvious and kind of juvenile. The Fillory parallel to Narnia feels far more effective, and Grossman ends up striking up a pretty satisfying (though admittedly) strange blend of humor and sinister eeriness in developing his portrayal of it. The Magicians succeeds the most when Grossman fully commits to his worlds, even if his readers are fully in on his references all along.
As far as the extent of the borrowing/inspiration, I'll say this. Not having been a fan of the Narnia books, but having grown up devouring E. Nesbit and Edward Eager books, I had my own points of reference that worked just as well for the Fillory parallel without even much of a stretch. Eager, Nesbit, Lewis, Barrie, Baum, Carroll, Pullman, Rowling and other authors of children's tales of magic and wonder are all bound together, compatriots in theme, who all drew on similar inspirations--as well as each other. There's a lot of shared source material for all of them, and Rowling, as great as she is, and as wonderfully as she weaved her stories, borrowed just as much (if not more!) as all of them. Grossman appears to have selected Harry Potter and Narnia as his primary focal points for his commentary, probably one for its current relevance and the other for its enduring legacy, but really, the underlying archetypes and quests cross almost all fantasy. He wisely selected the two that would have the most currency and would have enough of those common elements that would allow him to basically talk about all of those other tales as well--all at once. I can see why this may rankle some readers, but I think what he did made a lot of sense.
Quentin, a vaguely nerdy, high school nobody discovers that he has hidden abilities when an invitation to test into a mysterious school sucks him into an underground world of magic hidden from the rest of the world. Quite unlike Harry and his cohorts, Quentin and his new friends use (and misuse) their gifts as you might imagine that flawed, young people with sudden access to a lot of power actually might, and what begins as wonder ends up becoming corrupted into ruthless ambition for some, idle apathy for others. Ultimately, their principles and their friendships will have taken a beating, some past the point of recovery. While gripping (I literally could NOT put this book down when reading it) it's also rather like a car accident watching these young and VERY fallible characters struggle with forces that are always threatening to consume and corrupt them, and as you might expect, the story builds to a pretty dark, startling conclusion. A side plotline about the influence of a Narnia-esque series of books on Quentin and his friends also has a great deal of significance and adds intrigue as the one idealized magical world is juxtaposed against the "real", jaded, corrupted magical world that the characters live in.
As one of my fellow reviewers pointed out, Grossman has the cheek to pop in a few direct references to Harry Potter (jokes or comments made by the characters) and to me those are the times when it just doesn't work. Whenever he does it's as if a curtain is suddenly wrenched back to reveal all the mechanisms underneath. It's just obvious and kind of juvenile. The Fillory parallel to Narnia feels far more effective, and Grossman ends up striking up a pretty satisfying (though admittedly) strange blend of humor and sinister eeriness in developing his portrayal of it. The Magicians succeeds the most when Grossman fully commits to his worlds, even if his readers are fully in on his references all along.
As far as the extent of the borrowing/inspiration, I'll say this. Not having been a fan of the Narnia books, but having grown up devouring E. Nesbit and Edward Eager books, I had my own points of reference that worked just as well for the Fillory parallel without even much of a stretch. Eager, Nesbit, Lewis, Barrie, Baum, Carroll, Pullman, Rowling and other authors of children's tales of magic and wonder are all bound together, compatriots in theme, who all drew on similar inspirations--as well as each other. There's a lot of shared source material for all of them, and Rowling, as great as she is, and as wonderfully as she weaved her stories, borrowed just as much (if not more!) as all of them. Grossman appears to have selected Harry Potter and Narnia as his primary focal points for his commentary, probably one for its current relevance and the other for its enduring legacy, but really, the underlying archetypes and quests cross almost all fantasy. He wisely selected the two that would have the most currency and would have enough of those common elements that would allow him to basically talk about all of those other tales as well--all at once. I can see why this may rankle some readers, but I think what he did made a lot of sense.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I can't remember the last time I read a fantasy book I liked so much.
For me, this book lived up to the hype and it is the adult Harry Potter you heard it was. Harry Potter feels more "fated" than this book. Don't get me wrong, I love that about Harry Potter and it works for that series, but the "real" feeling of The Magicians makes it more exciting to me now. Relationships develop and unravel in a slow, meandering fashion. No relationship is ever perfect, and weird tension is always lying under the surface. The relationships are interesting, but the real treat of this novel is Quentin.
Quentin is cynical, snarky, but optimistic deep down inside (somewhere). His hidden optimism makes him easy to like and real, but every time he opens his goddamn mouth you hate him a little bit. But also relate to him. Quentin's friends are also snarky and disillusioned as hell, but by being inside Quentin's head and experiencing his inner optimism, you keep that in mind while looking at everyone else. Quentin's actions, thoughts, and spoken dialogue combine to create a love-hate character at the center of a bunch of cool magical stuff. Sorry, not very eloquent, but that's basically it. There are some really intense narrative moments, but there's also a lot of meandering around, contemplation, drinking, swearing, and self-discovery. Harry Potter feels scripted and rehearsed. Magicians feels like you're chilling inside a complicated character's head as he moves through this weird-ass, fleshed out world. I wanna give examples of some really good Quentin moments, or just some thoughts I had about who he ~~really~~ was, but I don't wanna spoil anything. Pick it up, watch Quentin, and laugh at the weird adult fantasy antics.
For me, this book lived up to the hype and it is the adult Harry Potter you heard it was. Harry Potter feels more "fated" than this book. Don't get me wrong, I love that about Harry Potter and it works for that series, but the "real" feeling of The Magicians makes it more exciting to me now. Relationships develop and unravel in a slow, meandering fashion. No relationship is ever perfect, and weird tension is always lying under the surface. The relationships are interesting, but the real treat of this novel is Quentin.
Quentin is cynical, snarky, but optimistic deep down inside (somewhere). His hidden optimism makes him easy to like and real, but every time he opens his goddamn mouth you hate him a little bit. But also relate to him. Quentin's friends are also snarky and disillusioned as hell, but by being inside Quentin's head and experiencing his inner optimism, you keep that in mind while looking at everyone else. Quentin's actions, thoughts, and spoken dialogue combine to create a love-hate character at the center of a bunch of cool magical stuff. Sorry, not very eloquent, but that's basically it. There are some really intense narrative moments, but there's also a lot of meandering around, contemplation, drinking, swearing, and self-discovery. Harry Potter feels scripted and rehearsed. Magicians feels like you're chilling inside a complicated character's head as he moves through this weird-ass, fleshed out world. I wanna give examples of some really good Quentin moments, or just some thoughts I had about who he ~~really~~ was, but I don't wanna spoil anything. Pick it up, watch Quentin, and laugh at the weird adult fantasy antics.
For so many reasons this book is just not for me. I didn’t even remotely like a single character. I was over half way through the book and it felt like absolutely nothing of importance had happened. The way the author describes sex and woman felt cringy and gross at times. The fox scene? Ew.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wished all those negative reviews were wrong. I really did.
And the thing is, this book wasn't bad, it was interesting and fun at times. But you know what it was? Pointless. I was over halfway through the book and NOTHING had happened. No mystery, no conflict, nothing. It was boring me to the point of insanity.
The fact that the last hundred pages have action and conflict does not make up for the fact that the first 300 pages are wandering back story on magic and people. None of it was necessary for the finale. None of it.
This book left me irritable because I really wanted to enjoy it, I really did!
And the thing is, this book wasn't bad, it was interesting and fun at times. But you know what it was? Pointless. I was over halfway through the book and NOTHING had happened. No mystery, no conflict, nothing. It was boring me to the point of insanity.
The fact that the last hundred pages have action and conflict does not make up for the fact that the first 300 pages are wandering back story on magic and people. None of it was necessary for the finale. None of it.
This book left me irritable because I really wanted to enjoy it, I really did!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was recommended by a friend. It was a fun read, although the antagonist was a bit trying at times. I believe that my friend described Quentin as a "man-child" and after that, I really could see him no other way. Quentin finds out that he is a Magician and enters into a secret school to learn magic skills. Not much focus on the actual schooling/tasks, more on the relationships he forms there. After graduation, he finds out the mythical land, Filory, that he has learned about in books from his childhood, that he revisited every chance that he got, is real! He and his friends travel there to save the world! Reviews compared it to "Harry Potter in college", it reminded me more of Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. I plan on reading the other books in the series and will probably check out the show.
I have a tough time enjoying a book when I really dislike all the main characters.