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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
Full disclosure: I received an ARC of this from the publisher.
This is a retelling of The Magicians from Alice's perspective, in a graphic novel format. It doesn't add anything new, and because Alice is such an outsider looking in, she doesn't even feel like she's at the center of the action. There's nothing surprising here to someone who has read the novel. I suppose if you found the novel difficult to read because the characters are generally unlikable but you want to know what happens, you could read this instead. Had this covered more of Alice's childhood orher time as a niffin, it would have been more worthwhile.
It's not bad, but I don't think this really adds much to the Magicians universe.
This is a retelling of The Magicians from Alice's perspective, in a graphic novel format. It doesn't add anything new, and because Alice is such an outsider looking in, she doesn't even feel like she's at the center of the action. There's nothing surprising here to someone who has read the novel. I suppose if you found the novel difficult to read because the characters are generally unlikable but you want to know what happens, you could read this instead. Had this covered more of Alice's childhood or
It's not bad, but I don't think this really adds much to the Magicians universe.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.
I requested The Magicians: Alice's Story even though I'm unfamiliar with Lev Grossman's series and the television show. I know both are popular... but this graphic novel is what finally piqued my interest. I thought it would give me a good feel for the characters and the setting, and I was intrigued by the promise of magic and a mythical world.
Unfortunately, the story felt long and was unexciting. We see what Alice was like as a child, observe her relationship with her parents, watch her obsess over an unresolved issue with a sibling, and then witness her time spent at school. Things picked up when the group went to Fillory, but it was also unimpressive. I felt like certain aspects of this story could've been left out to make this a quicker read, but the details started to feel tedious after awhile. I'm sure it was an interesting story for people familiar with the series, since they're already acquainted with the characters and the setting, but I would not recommend this for someone just starting out.
If you are familiar with this series, did you expect the ending? I thought it was rubbish and unnecessary. It made me angry. I did enjoy how everything eventually connected, but I felt like a lot of bad had to happen before something good came out of it.
An interesting story, a peculiar setting, and unique characters make up The Magicians: Alice's Story. I may try the series at some point in the future, and that might make me like this one more. As it stands, it was mostly enjoyable but ultimately unremarkable.
Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on September 7, 2019.
I requested The Magicians: Alice's Story even though I'm unfamiliar with Lev Grossman's series and the television show. I know both are popular... but this graphic novel is what finally piqued my interest. I thought it would give me a good feel for the characters and the setting, and I was intrigued by the promise of magic and a mythical world.
Unfortunately, the story felt long and was unexciting. We see what Alice was like as a child, observe her relationship with her parents, watch her obsess over an unresolved issue with a sibling, and then witness her time spent at school. Things picked up when the group went to Fillory, but it was also unimpressive. I felt like certain aspects of this story could've been left out to make this a quicker read, but the details started to feel tedious after awhile. I'm sure it was an interesting story for people familiar with the series, since they're already acquainted with the characters and the setting, but I would not recommend this for someone just starting out.
If you are familiar with this series, did you expect the ending? I thought it was rubbish and unnecessary. It made me angry. I did enjoy how everything eventually connected, but I felt like a lot of bad had to happen before something good came out of it.
An interesting story, a peculiar setting, and unique characters make up The Magicians: Alice's Story. I may try the series at some point in the future, and that might make me like this one more. As it stands, it was mostly enjoyable but ultimately unremarkable.
Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on September 7, 2019.
A very readable tale of college-aged malcontents, riffing off Narnia and other such secondary world fantasies for children. Competent prose, but the book was held back by the fact that all the characters but one were radically unlikable, even by the standards of the day.
I'm such a sucker--I will buy anything that is compared to Harry Potter.
This is sort of Harry Potter-ish (except I think the comparison is a lazy one) in that the main character goes to a magic school he'd never heard of before he got there.
Quentin is a high school student, still vaguely obsessed with a set of books he read in childhood about a place called Fillory. (Think Narnia.)
Then he ends up accidentally at a school for real magicians, which is of course top secret. (His parents are put under a spell to think that he's been accepted into this incredibly illustrious college.)
I prefer Harry Potter, I think, but I really liked this one, too.
It's definitely worth the read. :)
This is sort of Harry Potter-ish (except I think the comparison is a lazy one) in that the main character goes to a magic school he'd never heard of before he got there.
Quentin is a high school student, still vaguely obsessed with a set of books he read in childhood about a place called Fillory. (Think Narnia.)
Then he ends up accidentally at a school for real magicians, which is of course top secret. (His parents are put under a spell to think that he's been accepted into this incredibly illustrious college.)
I prefer Harry Potter, I think, but I really liked this one, too.
It's definitely worth the read. :)
This started out so promising. A young man is chosen to attend a magic school in upstate NY. But nothing happens, the main character is a douche, he is never happy and never seriously threatened. Even when he causes another student to die, he gets away with it. By 60% through I just couldn't go any further.
Maybe a fungus. Yeah: it grew on me like a fungus.
Read mark: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/99635164
Read Kelly: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/807874806
Read Khanh: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/463025702
Read me:
I had fun. I think the author and his doppelgänger MC have issues. The writing is pretty good, and the universe produced by Mr. Grossman's various preoccupations is compelling.
My cousin thought it was boring as fuck, though—and I think it's because you have to be a certain kind of American fantasy nerd to see how the author is mischievously strumming the tropey fantasy strings to be engaged long enough for the mostly unlikeable characters to grow on you.
As would a kind of lichen, perhaps. Or moss.
I gave this five stars when I finished it; two after I thought about it a bit; three when I read other reviews; and nowfour three again, now that I've had a chance to sort out which is worth more: the author's neuroses, or the story made possible by them.
It's a mix, but I'm leaning towards the latter.
Give it a go.
Read mark: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/99635164
Read Kelly: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/807874806
Read Khanh: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/463025702
Read me:
I had fun. I think the author and his doppelgänger MC have issues. The writing is pretty good, and the universe produced by Mr. Grossman's various preoccupations is compelling.
My cousin thought it was boring as fuck, though—and I think it's because you have to be a certain kind of American fantasy nerd to see how the author is mischievously strumming the tropey fantasy strings to be engaged long enough for the mostly unlikeable characters to grow on you.
As would a kind of lichen, perhaps. Or moss.
I gave this five stars when I finished it; two after I thought about it a bit; three when I read other reviews; and now
It's a mix, but I'm leaning towards the latter.
Give it a go.
Thank you to Netgalley and Boom! Studios for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in any way.
I read The Magicians well over 10 years ago and then reread it a few years ago. The first time I loved it. The second time I was more aware of what was putting people off this book. Even so, it still worked for me. I never did get around to reading the next two books but I did see The Magicians tv show, stranded in season 3 though through no fault of the series itself. So I have a background with this series. As such I was very curious about this graphic novel that would focus on Alice.
Alice was my favorite character of the book because she reminded me of myself in certain ways. So I was quite excited to see we were getting her point of view. But it fell entirely flat. The problem this book has is that it rehashes almost all the scenes of the book with Quintin. So much could have been done with Alice, her family, her brother. But it was just a rehash of the book. Nothing new to find here on the horizon.
I might imagine that if you are a very big fan of the series that you would still want to read this or have it for your collection but in the end I don’t think it is quite worth it for anyone else. Certainly not for new readers.
As for the art, the cover is stunning and grabs your attention. I found some of the backgrounds also very well done, especially once we got to Fillory. The characters could have used some more work.
Adding on to that, I find it interesting to see how the characters were completely based on the book. I think a lot of people have the tv show characters in their mind and might be a little confused with the way the characters are being shown now, regardless of them being true to the book which if memory serves me correct, is correct. It is something to think about when after so many seasons of an interpretation of a book you do a graphic novel addition to the book that is showing a different visualization. Penny for instance is completely dressed as a punk and white in the graphic novel (as he was in the book), and in the tv show is black and more dressed. What is the goal of this addition now, as the last book came out in 2014? Do you want to draw the viewers towards the books with this graphic novel? Perhaps a foreword on this by Lev Grossman would not be amiss.
I read The Magicians well over 10 years ago and then reread it a few years ago. The first time I loved it. The second time I was more aware of what was putting people off this book. Even so, it still worked for me. I never did get around to reading the next two books but I did see The Magicians tv show, stranded in season 3 though through no fault of the series itself. So I have a background with this series. As such I was very curious about this graphic novel that would focus on Alice.
Alice was my favorite character of the book because she reminded me of myself in certain ways. So I was quite excited to see we were getting her point of view. But it fell entirely flat. The problem this book has is that it rehashes almost all the scenes of the book with Quintin. So much could have been done with Alice, her family, her brother. But it was just a rehash of the book. Nothing new to find here on the horizon.
I might imagine that if you are a very big fan of the series that you would still want to read this or have it for your collection but in the end I don’t think it is quite worth it for anyone else. Certainly not for new readers.
As for the art, the cover is stunning and grabs your attention. I found some of the backgrounds also very well done, especially once we got to Fillory. The characters could have used some more work.
Adding on to that, I find it interesting to see how the characters were completely based on the book. I think a lot of people have the tv show characters in their mind and might be a little confused with the way the characters are being shown now, regardless of them being true to the book which if memory serves me correct, is correct. It is something to think about when after so many seasons of an interpretation of a book you do a graphic novel addition to the book that is showing a different visualization. Penny for instance is completely dressed as a punk and white in the graphic novel (as he was in the book), and in the tv show is black and more dressed. What is the goal of this addition now, as the last book came out in 2014? Do you want to draw the viewers towards the books with this graphic novel? Perhaps a foreword on this by Lev Grossman would not be amiss.
When I saw this on Netgalley, I just knew I had to request it. I haven't actually read the initial trilogy by Lev Grossman, however, I have seen the first season of the TV show. I absolutely loved it but I am yet to get up to date, but after reading this graphic novel, I really feel like watching it all right this second.
This graphic novel follows the story of the first book in The Magicians trilogy, but following it from the point of the view from the beloved Alice Quinn. I will admit, I don't know how closely the novel follows the original story plot wise, so I won't comment on that. From the parts of the TV show that I have watched, Alice was one of my favourite characters from the beginning so I was intrigued to read about her point of view.
I absolutely loved this book. The illustrations were wonderful, and the colours within each panel was phenomenal. I can't speak highly enough of the illustrations that Bak provided for this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the multiple panels on each page.
The story line of this novel was paced wonderfully overall. I did feel like it was a bit slow in the beginning, but this was mainly to just set the scene of Alice venturing to Brakebills. However, once she gets into Brakebills, the story line and plot just goes up the next level. I absolutely loved the contrasting story lines that this novel entailed; at and during school, and then after graduation and entering the real world.
The only reason I gave this a 4 and not a 5 is purely because I want to leave room for potential (and hopeful improvement) once I finally read the initial trilogy and watch the TV show in full. I want to be able to compare this novel to the original story line and see if there are any small or major deviations from the original plot. I will also admit, I did expect Fillory to be a bit more magical and extravagant, but I think that's just how much I have built it up in my head, rather than what it may or may not be experienced as.
Thank you very much to BOOM! Studios for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
This graphic novel follows the story of the first book in The Magicians trilogy, but following it from the point of the view from the beloved Alice Quinn. I will admit, I don't know how closely the novel follows the original story plot wise, so I won't comment on that. From the parts of the TV show that I have watched, Alice was one of my favourite characters from the beginning so I was intrigued to read about her point of view.
I absolutely loved this book. The illustrations were wonderful, and the colours within each panel was phenomenal. I can't speak highly enough of the illustrations that Bak provided for this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the multiple panels on each page.
The story line of this novel was paced wonderfully overall. I did feel like it was a bit slow in the beginning, but this was mainly to just set the scene of Alice venturing to Brakebills. However, once she gets into Brakebills, the story line and plot just goes up the next level. I absolutely loved the contrasting story lines that this novel entailed; at and during school, and then after graduation and entering the real world.
The only reason I gave this a 4 and not a 5 is purely because I want to leave room for potential (and hopeful improvement) once I finally read the initial trilogy and watch the TV show in full. I want to be able to compare this novel to the original story line and see if there are any small or major deviations from the original plot. I will also admit, I did expect Fillory to be a bit more magical and extravagant, but I think that's just how much I have built it up in my head, rather than what it may or may not be experienced as.
Thank you very much to BOOM! Studios for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I liked this more than I expected to, but it turns out I prefer the trashy TV series loosely, loosely based on it much more.
I came by The Magicians from the show, so much of my review is going to be a little biased based on my love for the show - some things good, and some things bad, and them being compared to how they are on the show. Blanket statement - after reading this book, I love the show better, and I am at a 3.5 stars for this book (but Goodreads doesn't have half stars so I rounded up from my love for the show to a 4). I will advise discretion for alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and for mention of sexual assault.
Now, while the Magicians has mostly been said to be a Narnia meets Harry Potter kind of tale, or an adult Harry Potter, the thing is that it explores the darker side of both settings. What if Narnia wasn't the idyllic quest that it was? What if a whimsical land had it own set of problems, and the humans who get roped into those are out of their depth? What if you get your wish and go to Hogwarts, but you still aren't happy? The book superficially glides over the topic of Quentin's depression (which is better handled in the show, IMO) but it also talks about how magic, though seemingly a miracle, is not always a solution. Sometimes your problems are because of what you are, and not where you are.
The world of Brakebills and Fillory, while explained in much detail, still feels surreal when it comes from Q's POV. Perhaps it is his failing as a protagonist, but we don't get much characterization for other characters either. The story's sole focus is Q and how his journey of being a brilliant student, a talented magician and a questor doesn't ever end - he is always on the lookout for the next adventure, thinking it will fill some hole inside him. Parental neglect is slightly touched upon with regards to him, as well as Alice, his best friend and girl friend. The other characters, Penny, Eliot, Josh and Janet get more prominence from part 2 of the book - as well as the various relationships between them, and how they affect the dynamic between Q and Alice. The overall mood of the book, though is sombre, and like a downward spiral - it doesn't have much humor, and doesn't evoke much emotions on the part of the reader (or I am just too cold a person to care much).
Now, while this is about magic, the mythology of the magic itself comes across as clinical. There is no wonder as there is in Harry Potter - it is simply a tool that they study hard at, and succeed at. As my reading buddy pointed out - 'I wish there would have been more magic'. People who read the book only will perhaps be disappointed by how the magic is presented, without much description unless it is something major. It is like the book is saying - the magic? that is not important! And in some ways I agree with it - the story is not about the wonder that is magic, or the haven that is Brakebills, it is how all these kids who hit the jackpot and get to manipulate reality itself react to the powers. It is mainly about the magicians and what magic does TO THEM. Even in the case of the Beast, it is presented as the cause for his creation from what was before, though I kinda like the show's version better. (Don't blame me - I vastly prefer the show over this book, especially because how it handles some storylines better).
Overall, a decent start to the series, but I need something to make me invested in the characters too, not just the storyline.
Now, while the Magicians has mostly been said to be a Narnia meets Harry Potter kind of tale, or an adult Harry Potter, the thing is that it explores the darker side of both settings. What if Narnia wasn't the idyllic quest that it was? What if a whimsical land had it own set of problems, and the humans who get roped into those are out of their depth? What if you get your wish and go to Hogwarts, but you still aren't happy? The book superficially glides over the topic of Quentin's depression (which is better handled in the show, IMO) but it also talks about how magic, though seemingly a miracle, is not always a solution. Sometimes your problems are because of what you are, and not where you are.
The world of Brakebills and Fillory, while explained in much detail, still feels surreal when it comes from Q's POV. Perhaps it is his failing as a protagonist, but we don't get much characterization for other characters either. The story's sole focus is Q and how his journey of being a brilliant student, a talented magician and a questor doesn't ever end - he is always on the lookout for the next adventure, thinking it will fill some hole inside him. Parental neglect is slightly touched upon with regards to him, as well as Alice, his best friend and girl friend. The other characters, Penny, Eliot, Josh and Janet get more prominence from part 2 of the book - as well as the various relationships between them, and how they affect the dynamic between Q and Alice. The overall mood of the book, though is sombre, and like a downward spiral - it doesn't have much humor, and doesn't evoke much emotions on the part of the reader (or I am just too cold a person to care much).
Now, while this is about magic, the mythology of the magic itself comes across as clinical. There is no wonder as there is in Harry Potter - it is simply a tool that they study hard at, and succeed at. As my reading buddy pointed out - 'I wish there would have been more magic'. People who read the book only will perhaps be disappointed by how the magic is presented, without much description unless it is something major. It is like the book is saying - the magic? that is not important! And in some ways I agree with it - the story is not about the wonder that is magic, or the haven that is Brakebills, it is how all these kids who hit the jackpot and get to manipulate reality itself react to the powers. It is mainly about the magicians and what magic does TO THEM. Even in the case of the Beast, it is presented as the cause for his creation from what was before, though I kinda like the show's version better. (Don't blame me - I vastly prefer the show over this book, especially because how it handles some storylines better).
Overall, a decent start to the series, but I need something to make me invested in the characters too, not just the storyline.