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treniseferreira's review against another edition
1.0
A book that had so much promise but was painfully boring and disappointingly low on plot development. Do not read! You'll regret it, like I did.
erikaq's review against another edition
4.0
The book is very much a coming of age story. It borrows heavily from Narnia and yet twists that into something darker and more interesting. The idea of magic school obviously has some conotations of Harry Potter and all of that is fine because by being aware of that, it informs how the book is read and I can see why it's called the adult Harry Potter. It shines in that it is a realistic take on magic and on the consequences that it can have and it doesn't shy away from showing that just like real life, fantasy can have flaws.
Quentin is depressed and listless and his coping mechanism is the Fillory and More books and when it turns out that he can do magic that changes his world and yet it doesn’t thrust him into a different land or world where he can actually do anything with those powers past learn how to use them which in a way makes the whole thing pointless and yet that's exactly what the book is pointing out. We get to see Quentin have the typical college life and after he’s done with school, he really does nothing except to hang out with his friends and get drunk and high. Until Fillory turns out to be real and that changes things.
But going to Fillory and going on a quest is nothing like what he could have expected and the reality is that he and his friends are not prepared to face that but somehow they do and there are concequences to that.
The book does so well at establishing interesting and relatable and broken characters. It deals with an adult take on what it would be like if a fantasy world were real and what that would actually be like especially taking into account the difficult and often complex relationships that adults have with both friends and lovers.
Overall I enjoyed it and I'll check out the sequels.
Quentin is depressed and listless and his coping mechanism is the Fillory and More books and when it turns out that he can do magic that changes his world and yet it doesn’t thrust him into a different land or world where he can actually do anything with those powers past learn how to use them which in a way makes the whole thing pointless and yet that's exactly what the book is pointing out. We get to see Quentin have the typical college life and after he’s done with school, he really does nothing except to hang out with his friends and get drunk and high. Until Fillory turns out to be real and that changes things.
But going to Fillory and going on a quest is nothing like what he could have expected and the reality is that he and his friends are not prepared to face that but somehow they do and there are concequences to that.
The book does so well at establishing interesting and relatable and broken characters. It deals with an adult take on what it would be like if a fantasy world were real and what that would actually be like especially taking into account the difficult and often complex relationships that adults have with both friends and lovers.
Overall I enjoyed it and I'll check out the sequels.
nrm1123's review against another edition
5.0
Harry Potter but for adults! Absolutely loved it!!! Highly recommend!
noom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
God what a book, I ate it up. It's an odd book for sure, but really engaging. The plot is bonkers but never falls apart. The magic system is interesting and the world building is unique.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Violence
wyvy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
cameliaiantuc's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-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
4.25
snikkidee's review against another edition
3.0
Characters: 2 stars
I would've given the characters one star, because they are not at all likeable, but some of them have a slight amount of depth.
Plot: 3 stars
It didn't have a central theme. It felt like multiple books in one.
Writing style: 3 stars
Some of the writing seemed amateur.
Creativity/wow factor/originality: 4 stars
I felt like a lot of this was borrowed from other books, but it was still really creative in it's own right and the part about Brakebills South was very original.
I would've given the characters one star, because they are not at all likeable, but some of them have a slight amount of depth.
Plot: 3 stars
It didn't have a central theme. It felt like multiple books in one.
Writing style: 3 stars
Some of the writing seemed amateur.
Creativity/wow factor/originality: 4 stars
I felt like a lot of this was borrowed from other books, but it was still really creative in it's own right and the part about Brakebills South was very original.
devonforest's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve been watching the TV show before reading this, which I feel has biased my opinion slightly. I felt like this was a slow build up and not as much happened as I had thought- this is probably partly because in the show they speed it up a bit and added a little more action. Usually I’m comparing a movie/show to the book so it’s weird doing it the opposite. Overall, I enjoyed it even if watching the series has swayed my opinion one way or the other.
aceinit's review against another edition
2.0
<<HERE THERE BE SPOILERS>>
Ugh, this book.
On one hand, Grossman manages to do something interesting here. He takes the “magic school” setting that was made so popular by Harry Potter and throws it firmly into the real world. Here, we have young adults going off to magic college but still very much having to deal with the real world and the fact that once you’re done with magic college, you’re more or less stuck going back to that real world and what the heck am I supposed to do with my life now because I just graduated from freaking magic college but there’s not much of a job market for that. It’s getting your Hogwarts invitation a few years too late, with no super-secret wizarding community full of super-secret wizarding career paths to follow. It’s magic for the jaded set, for those of us stuck in the real world, and that aspect of the story fascinated me.
And there are some fascinating bits of writing to be found in these pages. The scene where The Beast makes its first appearance and Quentin’s desperate trek to the South Pole are among those that really, truly stand out and make you think Grossman may yet turn this novel into something worth reading.
On the other hand, the cast, pretty much all of them, are terrible people, and the main character is the worst. I will admit that at first I could relate to Quentin...to being jaded and stuck in a bit of a dead-end existence and feeling like there’s a bit more out there. But as time goes by, and Quentin gets to experience magic school, get the girl, lose the girl and find out that the magical Narnia-esque realm of Fillory that he read about as a kid and always wanted to live and adventure in really is real and that he’s actually going to go there and adventure, he becomes more miserable, bitter and self-sabotaging. Nothing is ever good enough for this kid. Ever. You hand him what he wants, and he finds a way to shit on it and them blame everyone else for the big steaming pile he’s now stuck with.
He gets to go to magic school, but it’s too hard and too much like school.
He gets the girl, then proceeds to ignore the hell out of her, and cheats on her, and then decides that it’s her fault he cheated on her in the first place and she really should forgive him. And the girl he cheated with? Yep, she’s a total vampire who preys on the purity of true love, so, nope, it’s not his fault he cheated. Not at all.
Girlfriend has a nice little revenge fuck on the side? Now he’s so disgusted that he can’t even look at her because she’s no longer pure. (I am not making this up. The previous two points are almost verbatim from the book.)
And then there’s Fillory. Mystical, magical Fillory. The land he read about as a kid (hint: it’s Narnia meets Hogwarts in the “amazeballs all kids dream of going there and want it to be real so badly that it is physically painful that it’s not” department) and dreams of going to that actually turns out to be real and, OMG, he’s going there and everything will be perfect and awesome and amazing and did I mention perfect?
Except that once he gets the chance, he waffles because, no, the way they’re going about gaining access is not “right.” And, then once they actually do go, well, wait, this crap is hard and we have to, like, do stuff that might be dangerous and I so did not sign up for that. Can’t I just go home and be an accountant instead?
Oh, wait, now I’m an accountant. Except that I won’t actually work. And, crap, why the hell did I graduate from freaking magic school just to get some dead-end desk job I barely have to show up for in the first place? I want to go on adventures dammit! Magical adventures!
Quentin is a terrible, terrible person.
The remaining cast—Alice, Janet, Penny, Elliot, and the rest—are, at best, one dimensional and largely interchangeable. Though there is a lot of potential with Alice in particular, it gets thrown by the wayside because any actual aspects to her personality are subject to the incredibly warped perspective of Quentin’s viewpoint and, god forbid we get to really know and care for anyone who isn’t him. Because, by jove, if we’re not going to like Quentin (and trust me, we’re not), then Quentin’s going to make damn sure you don’t like anyone else, either.
It kind of baffles me that this book is a trilogy, and apparently a successful one. How do people want to continue to read about such flat or downright reprehensible characters? How can they endure another 300-400 pages of whining and never being satisfied with anything and making everyone else miserable because you can’t put your big boy underwear on and deal with the fact that you’re a shit human being who needs to learn a little gratitude?
I don’t get it. I just don’t.
Ugh, this book.
On one hand, Grossman manages to do something interesting here. He takes the “magic school” setting that was made so popular by Harry Potter and throws it firmly into the real world. Here, we have young adults going off to magic college but still very much having to deal with the real world and the fact that once you’re done with magic college, you’re more or less stuck going back to that real world and what the heck am I supposed to do with my life now because I just graduated from freaking magic college but there’s not much of a job market for that. It’s getting your Hogwarts invitation a few years too late, with no super-secret wizarding community full of super-secret wizarding career paths to follow. It’s magic for the jaded set, for those of us stuck in the real world, and that aspect of the story fascinated me.
And there are some fascinating bits of writing to be found in these pages. The scene where The Beast makes its first appearance and Quentin’s desperate trek to the South Pole are among those that really, truly stand out and make you think Grossman may yet turn this novel into something worth reading.
On the other hand, the cast, pretty much all of them, are terrible people, and the main character is the worst. I will admit that at first I could relate to Quentin...to being jaded and stuck in a bit of a dead-end existence and feeling like there’s a bit more out there. But as time goes by, and Quentin gets to experience magic school, get the girl, lose the girl and find out that the magical Narnia-esque realm of Fillory that he read about as a kid and always wanted to live and adventure in really is real and that he’s actually going to go there and adventure, he becomes more miserable, bitter and self-sabotaging. Nothing is ever good enough for this kid. Ever. You hand him what he wants, and he finds a way to shit on it and them blame everyone else for the big steaming pile he’s now stuck with.
He gets to go to magic school, but it’s too hard and too much like school.
He gets the girl, then proceeds to ignore the hell out of her, and cheats on her, and then decides that it’s her fault he cheated on her in the first place and she really should forgive him. And the girl he cheated with? Yep, she’s a total vampire who preys on the purity of true love, so, nope, it’s not his fault he cheated. Not at all.
Girlfriend has a nice little revenge fuck on the side? Now he’s so disgusted that he can’t even look at her because she’s no longer pure. (I am not making this up. The previous two points are almost verbatim from the book.)
And then there’s Fillory. Mystical, magical Fillory. The land he read about as a kid (hint: it’s Narnia meets Hogwarts in the “amazeballs all kids dream of going there and want it to be real so badly that it is physically painful that it’s not” department) and dreams of going to that actually turns out to be real and, OMG, he’s going there and everything will be perfect and awesome and amazing and did I mention perfect?
Except that once he gets the chance, he waffles because, no, the way they’re going about gaining access is not “right.” And, then once they actually do go, well, wait, this crap is hard and we have to, like, do stuff that might be dangerous and I so did not sign up for that. Can’t I just go home and be an accountant instead?
Oh, wait, now I’m an accountant. Except that I won’t actually work. And, crap, why the hell did I graduate from freaking magic school just to get some dead-end desk job I barely have to show up for in the first place? I want to go on adventures dammit! Magical adventures!
Quentin is a terrible, terrible person.
The remaining cast—Alice, Janet, Penny, Elliot, and the rest—are, at best, one dimensional and largely interchangeable. Though there is a lot of potential with Alice in particular, it gets thrown by the wayside because any actual aspects to her personality are subject to the incredibly warped perspective of Quentin’s viewpoint and, god forbid we get to really know and care for anyone who isn’t him. Because, by jove, if we’re not going to like Quentin (and trust me, we’re not), then Quentin’s going to make damn sure you don’t like anyone else, either.
It kind of baffles me that this book is a trilogy, and apparently a successful one. How do people want to continue to read about such flat or downright reprehensible characters? How can they endure another 300-400 pages of whining and never being satisfied with anything and making everyone else miserable because you can’t put your big boy underwear on and deal with the fact that you’re a shit human being who needs to learn a little gratitude?
I don’t get it. I just don’t.