Reviews with content warning for Addiction - The Magicians

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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pbeeandj's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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emcbuckett's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

This is basically a combination of Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia except with a lot more alcohol and sex. The author refers to the workings of his main characters body far more often than is necessary or helpful.

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kyriross's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

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

3.5

The story itself is amazing. The magic system is well realized, the elements of the story are wildly creative, and the prose is exceptional. The themes and morals of the story are clear, but masterfully woven throughout so that they aren't obnoxious or pedantic.

The issue is primarily with the pacing. The rapid shifts between chapter-long detail of one event and single-sentence passage of time tends to give a reader whiplash. There also just wasn't enough- of Brakebills or

Fillory

. The other sections were good and valuable, but I wish we had more time in those places.

The characters are also extremely non-diverse, and uniformly unlikeable. It would have been nice to have at least one character who isn't deeply unlikable.

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_lilyeliza_'s review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

3.25

goddamn this book was frustrating. at first it was fun, then by about 200, i was sick of it. i think that’s kind of the point, you progress with the mindset of quentin as you go. but it makes it so hard to finish this book. the pacing is very hard to read. it goes so so fast, but it feels like they’ve done nothing. it’s supposed to be the same frustrations as quentin, but once again, it’s a struggle to finish this book. the worldbuilding is also frustrating, as it feels like there is no worldbuilding until quentin himself is experiencing it. there’s no worldbuilding outside the plot, even simple things like the entire backstory of the library (something quentin wouldn’t know) aren’t explained until he walks into the library for an arbitrary reason.

the best example of this is right before he goes to brakebills south, he goes “i’ve always wondered about the mystery of the fourth years”, but he hasn’t wondered! we’ve never heard about this until right now!

also quentin is just an asshole!! his struggles are relatable and sympathetic and it’s easy to empathize with him, but gosh it’s frustrating. he feels entitled in his own story, we see it play out over and over again. he believes that he deserves to be the main character, and the fact that he hasn’t stumbled into a quest means that he gives up on it all. i understand what we’re looking at, but to ONLY see the world through his eyes is just frustrating. he becomes so apathetic and insensitive. he spends the entire book being incredibly self centered, but it feels like he never learns.

alice dying for him so that he can go to become king is the most frustrating shit. they fixed all their problems right at the end and now she’s a martyr so he can go save the day!! no bitch, you’re still a dick and you don’t deserve this.

but yeah, it’s a technically good book and makes very good critiques of its own characters. but at the end of the day, i think books should be enjoyable to read and this one was not. also, the fox thing was weird and lowkey creepy.

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haleyrayreads's review

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dark lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.5

The concept of this book is great, the characters are okay, but the plot drags a bit. I appreciate not being dragged through separate books for each year of school but the transition between years could be abrupt and unclear at times.

The story is mainly driven by character who are pretty one note and their motivations are questionable at best. Their main quest is motivated by ‘well we aren’t doing anything else right now.’ and it takes forever to get to that point. This first 2/3 if this book was so slow. However, once they’re off on their quest the story moves at a more brisk pace that’s refreshing until the main antagonist is taken care of. After that it goes on several chapters too long. It felt like every time a chapter ended I thought that was the end, then there was even more story that served no purpose than to allow readers to wallow in our narrator’s sorrow. This could have been cut in half or more and gotten the same point across.

The concept is great and it’s a fun story with some adjustments, but the pacing, character development, and casual use of ableist and fatphobic language would make me hesitate to read this particular book again.

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jmeier's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I would give this book a five if it weren't for the mild to moderate ableism, racism, and overall attitude of white privileged. The characters are all white. The setting is all white. The narrator and protagonist us multiple disability slurs and is deeply judgemental of neurodiverse coded characters. I love the story, but it reads like something from the 80s at points, not 2009.

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lauralintunen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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