Reviews

i didn’t expect to like this book so much. when people compared it to harry potter i was prepared for some underwhelming magic and world-building but i was honestly blown away by how intricate and brutal this magical world is. but like where are the adults. who thought it would be a good idea to let a bunch of kids run amok in a magic school. this is why gwen higgins is a teen mom.

i love all of the characters in this book. every single one, even the side side characters, has depth and complexity. joanne wishes she could write characters like this. el is predisposed to do “evil” and hurt people, but tries so hard to do good without wanting to even be thanked for it. but my girl was also out there girlbossing and gaslighting and slay queening and we stan. orion is just a lonely boy trying to live up to everyone’s herculean expectations of him and who latches on to the first person that doesn’t treat him like a god. i wish aadhya and liu were my besties.

i’m so glad i already have the last graduate to read.

arojo1's review against another edition

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5.0

SO fun and unique!!!! I loved this story and the premise of a magic school without teachers. It’s like a futuristic Hogwarts but much deadlier. It was honestly refreshing reading something so fantastical without deep drama. Looking forward to book 2.

karenmsecrest's review against another edition

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Don’t like the audio narration. Will consider reading the physical book (maybe the Harry Potterishness will be less glaring)

saranadin's review against another edition

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5.0

This is a 4.5, it was a full 5 until the last dumbass line, which took this entire series straight for cliché city, very upsetting, and because of some rules, I'll probably only find out why exactly that line was said, at the end of the next book, so yeah unpleasant

lukesanby's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

El is an anti-social loner, and destructively powerful. She has worked to survive her magical education at the Scholomance with stubborn sarcasm and alternative angst. Graduating requires alliances, and this is the last year she can build those relationships. She went in with a plan, and she means to follow it.

But when the school hero, Orion Lake, insists on saving her, El finds everything she believes about herself, the people around her and the school itself upended.

A Deadly Education is a masterclass of how to reveal information to the reader when the protagonist isn’t new to the world, written in the 1st person perspective, past tense. It is the first book of THE SCHOLOMANCE trilogy.

The frequent attempt to compare this trilogy to Harry Potter is lazy, the trilogy is in better company with Lev Grossman’s THE MAGICIANS trilogy. The depth of trauma and issues like drug abuse aren’t explored in this book, but the tone is similar—this is not an inconsequential romp made for children. At least I can’t remember Harry using quite so many four-letter-words to describe fellow students the was El does, and enthusiastically.

If you are familiar with Novik’s other stories, you’ll know to expect the influence of European folklore. What you might not expect is the vast roster of creatures, called maleficaria in the series inspired by folklore, classic fantasy, TTRPG and card game monsters, and Science Fiction constructs.

The 13 chapters glide by, paced to perfection with a story structure subtle enough that you might not realise it is there at all.

A WORD OF WARNING: do not look up the Maleficaria to see fan art and the like. I looked up what a maw mouth looks like, to see if the image in my head was accurate and google auto complete had the biggest spoiler from book three.

To read more, go to: https://lnsanby.co.uk/2024/06/24/book-review-a-deadly-education-by-naomi-novik/

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