Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

26 reviews

werewolfhooligan's review

adventurous challenging funny fast-paced

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

5.0

i unironically love how much of this book is lev grossman just telling me things upon things in unbroken narration. the prose is dense but flows incredibly, and the pacing feels consistent despite how many times we paused the approximate recounting to see a single moment in its entirety. i do wish that we had spent more time in the moment with the characters, because the descriptions always leave me wanting a more intimate look at the friend group, but the relationship as described wasn't unbelievable to me because we didn't get that extra time. there was a lot of ground to cover in this book and it's a fun read the whole way through. really speaks to my narnia child heart.
ps i'm obsessed w the technical aspects of the magic system, and the ways that different characters operate within them. it all feels very practical, which is a funny thing to say about a book with so much absurd spellcasting in it, but true. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug use

Minor: Sexual violence

ronan_lesh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Suicide

latsin's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

crescentsays's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

maximus_midnight's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism

cambion's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia and Murder

Minor: Mental illness

csmall73's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

 

 

Its a strange story. Quentin is swept into a magical world of breakbills and magical college essentially. His entire time at breakbills is encompassed in the first part of the book. There’s no threats or quests. Seems more like a diary of his time there. 

 

Reading about some of the sexual encounters of his peers was odd and detached. I found Quentin’s and Alice’s fox encounter weird and borderline SA. I say borderline because it appears so but also he was unprepared for his animal brain at the time. Then the ensuing relationship seems detached like a friends with benefits but not? 

 

All seem lost in fucking, philosophical discussion, wine and lack of real motivation. Like bunch of rich kids that never had a job or purpose in life. Existential crisis. Amidst this existential crisis Quentin cheats on Alice. 

 

Fillory, keeps popping up in passing as well as other worlds but no real connection with the story other than a childhood fascination with the world. 300/402 pages with nothing insight. Then all of a sudden a forgotten side character happens upon a way to Fillory. Out of the blue. I don’t understand why penny would come to them specifically after having issues in school with one another and distancing himself from them specifically. 

 

Alice is an underestimated queen. Quentin is a petty asshole about the breakup and the consequences that come his way. 

 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

chibisparx's review

I didn’t finish because I got tired of reading about the main character thinking about groping the blonde, blue-eyed women he encounters in the book. I understand he’s a late teen/early 20-something, but how many times do I have to read the same thing? It icked me out enough that I’m done.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Mental illness, and Sexism

distractible's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, and Violence

Minor: Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Sexual content

tbd24's review

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I rather like this series, this is the second time i’ve read it and there are just really great turns of phrase in the prose. I love world building and this book embraces that times three, the magic system is cool and complicated and the characters are never just good people. Quentin is shitty and obnoxious but like what 17 yr old “gifted kid” isn’t? There’s a few questionable moments, the author loves to make women suffer viscerally a little too much in my opinion, but at least he still remembers to make them people. Overall, it’s a good read and an interesting series

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Excrement, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail