Reviews

Los magos by Lev Grossman

katstine's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

The first half of this book felt like a bunch of disconnected events happening over a long period of time. The actual main plot kicks in at about 50% of the way through and then it’s more cohesive. But the whole thing was quite enjoyable despite all the characters being terrible people. My friend described it as “some teenagers go to not-Hogwarts college and discover Narnia is real” and that’s pretty accurate. 

ohyes_that_girl's review against another edition

1.0

I really, really wanted to like this book. But I could not get into it; I was just bored. The characters were annoying and unlikeable and whiny and the plot was so sloooooow.

DNF at about 50%

dianagrilo's review against another edition

2.0

I wasn't sure what to expect when I got this book. I thought it would be a little different as I had seen comments that it had very little of Harry Potter. I think in an effort to be different the characters spend most of the book drunk, which I found a little off. Not that it's that unbelievable, but it gets a little old since it is the only way they have fun, specially since they are in a freaking magic school. I do have more thoughts on the ending, I didn't like it even though the scale and violence of it made sense in the great scheme of the book. But I don't want to give anything away so...

bantwalkers's review against another edition

3.0

It's been a few days since I finished this book, and promptly moved on to Beautiful Creatures. This one I picked up for a respite between volumes of the bulky, but super-mega-awesome, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel. And The Magicians may suffer from the completeness of the latter and the quick, lovey, mystery-packed former. That may infer that I didn't like it, I liked it quite a bit. However, I think my view of it may suffer by being read around the same time as two similar but better books (and I've only read 1/3 of Jonathan Strange, so my feelings about that could change too.)


So, here's what I like about The Magicians and why I'm glad the Alex committee picked it. There are a few problems I had with it, but I will leave those on the cutting room floor.


Quentin Coldwater is smart, lonely, and obsessed with the fantasy world of Fillory (think Narnia). He's preparing for his final year of high school and the upcoming rigors of an Ivy League education (fingers crossed.) He pines over his best friend's girlfriend and does close-up magic tricks to busy himself in-between getting straight A's and beyond. That is until he discovers the magic and wonder he's always escaped into is actually real. He's been invited to start classes at Brakebill's, a very elite school for magicians (think Hogwart's College.) But he soon finds magic isn't the awesome, ideal, fantastic art he's believed it to be. It's difficult and painful, and he has to study hard just to do the basic spells. The Magicians pays great respect to the fantasy that's come before it, very clearly tipping it's hat to Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia, but it adds the cold-harsh reality of college, becoming an adult, and how our dreams and dream worlds may not be all they are cracked up to be.


(ok. I got a little wordy yesterday when I was writing that synopsis. So I quit and came back to the review today.)


So . . . while thinking about what I liked about the book last night, that's after I wrote the synopsis for this review, I realized it takes the darkness of the last 4 Harry Potter books to the next level. This book is considerably more dangerous than any of the boy wizard's adventures, but this isn't technically the story of a boy wizard and his friends. That's not to say The Deathly Hallows wasn't dangerous, Grossman just ups the ante in The Magicians. Magic in this universe is literally painful, and everything has to go just right, or it plain won't work. In the Potter series if a spell goes slightly amiss then hilarity ensues. In The Magicians if a spell is done wrong, well a magical beast is unleashed that may or may not eat the students.


Also, the characters here aren't automatically granted what they want. They have to work and struggle to become magicians, and I think that makes their journey in the end more heroic, more satisfying. Of course, some may argue that Quentin is a tool, and he is. But I connected with his loneliness. And he does work his tail off for everything he gets. He's not just some magical person who has always had the gift and will, without a doubt, defeat the enemy in the end. That's never a certainty. Not the way it is in the other books. That makes for more of a thrill when it comes to the end. We think we know the outcome, we want the "hero" to prevail, but it isn't a guarantee.


I like that. I like that it challenges readers in a different way. It wants them to believe in wonder, but not to take it for granted. It wants us to remember the world is dangerous, so why wouldn't other worlds be dangerous as well?

eavers's review against another edition

adventurous tense 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

3.75

highkingtay's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.75

colinbrooksbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

robiok's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

No other rathing feels RIGHT. 

gracenextdoor's review against another edition

5.0

When this book first came out, it was one I repeatedly recommended to my husband, but never saw myself reading. I was afraid of the "Harry Potter for adults" reviews and descriptions of a depressed protagonist obsessed with his favorite childhood books. It seemed a bit...much. When SyFy adapted the books, I watched them with my husband and *loved* it, but still didn't feel compelled to read the source.

Finally, my husband urged me to read them, and I conceded. The Magicians follows Quentin Coldwater, a high school senior, who struggles with finding his path in life. Not-so-secretly in love with his friend's girlfriend and still obsessing about Fillory, the magical land from the beloved children's series of his youth, Quentin is an oddball loner with no ideas about what his future will be. When an interview for Yale takes an unexpected turn, Quentin finds himself at Brakebills, a school for magic. His owl had finally arrived.

If you're here for a "grown up Harry Potter," of course you'll leave disappointed. It's very different. Book 1 does not = year 1. Quentin makes friends, falls in love, but oddly finds that magic doesn't magically fix everything. He's still the same person, with the same insecurities and self-doubt he had before he found out magic was real. He's not an innocent eleven-year-old boy wizard. He's a young adult trying to navigate the world on his own, amidst his depression and strange, violent encounters with an utterly creepy villain.

If you, like me, watched the series first, I want to say how delighted I was to find how closely the characters on screen matched those on the page. TV Quentin IS Quentin. As is Eliot. And Janet/Margo. The tv show might take a lot of artistic license, but the books are there. Out of order with a lot of changes (and fantastic musical numbers), but they're there nonetheless. This book was even more enjoyable to read than it was to watch. And that's saying something.

rockatanskette's review against another edition

I just can't do it. Quentin is too annoying and all the reviews say he doesn't get any better. Also, the way the narration describes women is disgusting and I'm tired of it.