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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
What would happen if Harry Potter painted a pessimistic, but (sadly) probably more truthful picture of magicians in the present.
Needs more magic / fake Narnia and less Holden Caulfield lite.
Warning for too much casual objectification of women + a weird amount of describing other people as acting autistically.
I'll probably read book two though as I'm told it's more about Julia, but I'm only invested in her because of the tv version. Maybe just watch this on tv.
Warning for too much casual objectification of women + a weird amount of describing other people as acting autistically.
I'll probably read book two though as I'm told it's more about Julia, but I'm only invested in her because of the tv version. Maybe just watch this on tv.
Has probably been described as "a grown-up Harry Potter". Interesting premise, but I found main/viewpoint character often unlikeable. I think my favorite thing about the book is how well it captures being young and very school-smart, and the ways that experience shapes you -- for better and for worse. I also liked the pastiche of the Narnia books that all the characters have read, which becomes more important later on.
Reread this one after watching the show, enjoying the show, and being mad at the show for not being the book. Really enjoyed it the second time around (first time was November 2013), there were some lovely details that I had forgotten in the intervening years -- including character details. Like how much I both identify with and hate Quentin. And how unequivocally I like Alice.
But the measure of a good book is not how much one would enjoy hanging out with the characters. The Magicians is kind of a cross between a bildungsroman and a picaresque story: Quentin grows up and changes and we see how it happens, but he is also unchanging for the bulk of the narrative in his egoism and self-pity. Which I kind of super loved. I also have always wanted to read a story where the main character was not the hero, and this is the first one I've come across -- I think Grossman succeeded.
But the measure of a good book is not how much one would enjoy hanging out with the characters. The Magicians is kind of a cross between a bildungsroman and a picaresque story: Quentin grows up and changes and we see how it happens, but he is also unchanging for the bulk of the narrative in his egoism and self-pity. Which I kind of super loved. I also have always wanted to read a story where the main character was not the hero, and this is the first one I've come across -- I think Grossman succeeded.
Oh geez. So this book was hard going for me. The first half to two thirds of it didn't really have a direction. Stuff was going on but there was no end goal for the characters which made it really hard to get through for me. The characters are really unlikable, but not in always a bad way. Although I got extremely frustrated with the main character and his decisions.
I would have rated this a 2 stars, but that last 100 or so pages really sucked me in. They finally found a purpose and that was refreshing. Because of those last 100 pages I will most likely be picking up the next book.
This book was marketed as an adult Harry Potter and I think that gave me way high expectations. Protip: do not go into this book thinking its an adult Harry Potter, you will not be happy.
I would have rated this a 2 stars, but that last 100 or so pages really sucked me in. They finally found a purpose and that was refreshing. Because of those last 100 pages I will most likely be picking up the next book.
This book was marketed as an adult Harry Potter and I think that gave me way high expectations. Protip: do not go into this book thinking its an adult Harry Potter, you will not be happy.
4.5
I would have given it a 5 but there were just a few scenes while they were in Fillory that I found very dull. Overall I really enjoyed the feeling of this book. No one was all together good or bad and I always love that. I read people comparing this to HP in a negative way, but honestly, other than there being a magic school, I did not get a HP vibe from this at all. The feeling of the book was totally different and tbh, the only similarity really was that there was a magical school.
Now there COULD be a case to say that when they were in Fillory it was very close to what I imagine a Narnia from the POV of young Edmund would look like, but I have always been in love with Narnia, and Edmund specifically, so I was a-okay with that even if I found the parts at Brakebills more interesting.
Anyway I plan to continue with the trilogy and highly recommend.
I would have given it a 5 but there were just a few scenes while they were in Fillory that I found very dull. Overall I really enjoyed the feeling of this book. No one was all together good or bad and I always love that. I read people comparing this to HP in a negative way, but honestly, other than there being a magic school, I did not get a HP vibe from this at all. The feeling of the book was totally different and tbh, the only similarity really was that there was a magical school.
Now there COULD be a case to say that when they were in Fillory it was very close to what I imagine a Narnia from the POV of young Edmund would look like, but I have always been in love with Narnia, and Edmund specifically, so I was a-okay with that even if I found the parts at Brakebills more interesting.
Anyway I plan to continue with the trilogy and highly recommend.
A very good read. It takes all the magical realism of the books I read as a child and actually puts people who act like real people instead of characters inside them.
I felt like alot of this was Narnia. I realize that it isn't and I let it go, but Narnia kept tugging at me. Less so with Harry Potter or Middle Earth.
Maybe it has to do with the real feelings of depression and angst the characters had. Not enough to make me want to bash them over the head to stop them from talking, but enough to remind me what it felt like in college when I didn't have direction and people like your folks were assuming you'd do "great and wonderful things" simply for having the college degree. The special snowflake syndrome was just beginning.. and I think this book speaks to that. Magic is real, and yet is doesn't change things and make them better. It is just another aspect of the every day world. It doesn't make you smarter, funnier, prettier and all that. It is your ability and you either use it and you don't.
I recommend this to anyone who doesn't need their magic lands to make them happy in the end. The only thing that makes you happy is you.
I felt like alot of this was Narnia. I realize that it isn't and I let it go, but Narnia kept tugging at me. Less so with Harry Potter or Middle Earth.
Maybe it has to do with the real feelings of depression and angst the characters had. Not enough to make me want to bash them over the head to stop them from talking, but enough to remind me what it felt like in college when I didn't have direction and people like your folks were assuming you'd do "great and wonderful things" simply for having the college degree. The special snowflake syndrome was just beginning.. and I think this book speaks to that. Magic is real, and yet is doesn't change things and make them better. It is just another aspect of the every day world. It doesn't make you smarter, funnier, prettier and all that. It is your ability and you either use it and you don't.
I recommend this to anyone who doesn't need their magic lands to make them happy in the end. The only thing that makes you happy is you.
This is my 3rd time (maybe 4th?) reading this book and it remains both joyous and maddening. I didn't love it on my first read, and yet I still got attached to it. There are chapters that are so well-written I want to copy them down, and yet others are all over the place. If it was more consistent, if perhaps the narrative timeline were refined a bit, perhaps it would be a five-star book for me some day instead of always falling between 3 and 4.
The first chapter is so strong. And it's not the only bit that is fall-over good. The ideas and the worldbuilding will sometimes be incredibly brilliant and other times seem half-assed. But the one thing it does consistently and well is to turn your expectations of a fantasy novel on their head. And it dares to have an unlike-able protagonist. These days many of us love unlike-able female protagonists, but we still struggle with unlike-able men. I kind of love all unlike-able protagonists, and so I kind of love Quentin even though he is the worst and I would never want to be friends with him.
Re-reading the entire series and looking forward in particular to the other books, which I don't know nearly as well.
The first chapter is so strong. And it's not the only bit that is fall-over good. The ideas and the worldbuilding will sometimes be incredibly brilliant and other times seem half-assed. But the one thing it does consistently and well is to turn your expectations of a fantasy novel on their head. And it dares to have an unlike-able protagonist. These days many of us love unlike-able female protagonists, but we still struggle with unlike-able men. I kind of love all unlike-able protagonists, and so I kind of love Quentin even though he is the worst and I would never want to be friends with him.
Re-reading the entire series and looking forward in particular to the other books, which I don't know nearly as well.
Really ended up enjoying this book.
I get some of the Harry Potter comparisons. Mostly the whole lone boy discovers magic and is whisked away to a secret magical school. I honestly felt it was a lot more like Narnia.
The characters here feel very real, and full of angst. if you don't like damaged characters that drink A LOT haha this might not be your book.
I will say I loved the first part, it lost me bit in the middle and then loved when it picked back up in the last part.
I will say the pacing felt off for me, things moved very quickly but not in a good way, more just skipping over a lot.
looking forward to seeing what happens in the sequel.
I get some of the Harry Potter comparisons. Mostly the whole lone boy discovers magic and is whisked away to a secret magical school. I honestly felt it was a lot more like Narnia.
The characters here feel very real, and full of angst. if you don't like damaged characters that drink A LOT haha this might not be your book.
I will say I loved the first part, it lost me bit in the middle and then loved when it picked back up in the last part.
I will say the pacing felt off for me, things moved very quickly but not in a good way, more just skipping over a lot.
looking forward to seeing what happens in the sequel.
