Reviews with content warning for Death - The Magicians

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The Magicians by Lev Grossman

31 reviews

mieshka's review

Didn't think this would be my first (quasi)review on this site, but I guess this one disappointment is louder than the many beautiful moments I had with other books.

I DNF'd this many years ago because the main character annoyed me. Then, I watched the TV adaptation and enjoyed it. As part of that experience, I realized that most of my complaints about Quentin were actually intentional character flaws that were the whole point of the story.

So I decided to give it another shot. I went in with the intent to interpret every ick in the narration as belonging to the main character, but so much feels like it's been summarized that it's hard to think of it as anything but a prose problem. The narration is somehow both pretentious and dull, and all the characters feel absolutely flat.

I was planning to finish this book and just not continue the series, but then I realized I was dreading my regular reading time and decided to call it instead.

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rainylavender's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

When reading the Magicians, I thought I would be the target audience of this book as someone who loves fantasy and has depression. A good chunk of my criticism comes from me not being the target audience of this book. You know how at the end of certain kids movies and stories about magic, the kid loses the ability to see/experience magic at the end when they grow up? I've always hated that. I thought that magic is something that adults should get to experience too and you shouldn't grow out of that whimsy and fun. This book is like the adult version of that.

Quentin gets everything he wants and still he can't enjoy it. I get that's what depression is, trust me, I do. But I thought maybe he'd overcome it instead of following that theme the entire book. The book seems to end with him having decided magic is bad, but then in the last second Janet, Eliot, and Julia all show up to whisk him back to Fillory, so what was the point of everything? I'm sure this is just the preamble to a moral told by the other two books, but this book beat the horse so hard I don't have any desire to keep reading. The twists of them being manipulated by the Beast and killing all the good people while working for the bad people felt contrived to me, just done for shock value to really lay in that this is a "dark" and "not like other fantasies" fantasy but I also saw it coming a mile away because of how overdone that trope is. I also get that the point of Alice is that Quentin isn't supposed to realize how good he has it till she gone but I can't stand the way he treats her the entire book and her turning into a niffin at the end just felt like a cheap way to give Quentin character development that should've happened ages ago. And I can't stand Quentin. I can't stand his attitude, his faulty logic, and his sexism. I get that these are all traits to feed the moral and plot but it goes on for so long with very minimal change to the point where I'm just exhausted.

This book left me tired. The worst part is, I expected to love it.

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crescentsays's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I went into The Magicians hoping for an immersive and magical experience, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. The main character, Quentin, is insufferably whiny and self-centered, making it hard to root for or even care about him. His lack of growth and depth made the journey feel like a slog.
On the positive side, the setting of Brakebills was captivating. The magical school had so much potential to shine as the central focus of the story. Unfortunately, the plot sprawled beyond the school into areas that felt unnecessary and less engaging. If the book had just focused on the school and its intricacies, I think it could have been something truly special.
Instead, the narrative leaned heavily on plot over character development. I found myself detached from the characters, unable to form any real connection to their struggles or triumphs. The emphasis on moving the story forward at the expense of deeper emotional engagement left me cold.
While some readers may enjoy the darker, grittier take on fantasy, The Magicians just didn’t work for me. If you’re looking for a more character-driven or school-centered story, this might not be the one for you. That said, I am too curious not to at least try the next book.

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maximus_midnight's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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charlieisaweapon's review

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adventurous emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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readbycarina's review

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bookbelle5_17's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Review of The Magicians

By: Lev Grossman

Quentin Coldwater lives a mundane existence, and his only comfort is his favorite childhood fantasy series, the Fillory books. During his college interview he finds out that not only is magic real, but there’s a school where you can learn magic. Living a life as a magician might be more complicated and complex than he realizes and Fillory itself is real.

This is a fantasy series that is definitely for adults with its more mature themes such as depression and using magic as an outlet. All the students depend on magic and use as a way to cope with their problems. As a main character Quentin is selfish and is never satisfied. He hopes magic will make him happy, but when things become easy for him, he gets bored. He is a flawed character that has main character syndrome as he thinks the world revolves on his problems. Each character we meet has issues outside that magical world of Brakebills and magic helps them cope. Alice doesn’t have the best relationship with her parents and doesn’t feel like you can’t live up to the burden of magic. She doesn’t want it take over her life. Eliot is a black sheep in his family and as a gay young man he doesn’t fit in with. Brakebills and magic becomes his solace. Janet seems like an angry, scared, and girl that plays the bitch to survive. Josh is someone who has magic he can’t control or understand. Brakebills treats magic a like a science and academia, and we see Quentin’s progress, but it does allow his opinion of magic to evolve. Grossman explores how magic isn’t as a sugary, fun as we think it is. The first part is like a messier version of Hogwarts and the second part is an edgier Narnia. I like how because there are so many stories about magic schools, Grossman doesn’t spend time focusing individual school but treats it like being in college. There is a darkness and grittiness to this world that is kind of charming in its way.

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