Reviews

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

roseyrose42's review against another edition

1.0

You know. I honestly really enjoyed the TV show. It was cheesy, it was fun. Figured why not read the book?

Wrong.

All I'm saying is, the main character should be in a Fedora. I felt gross after reading some of the lines in here.

fantasynovel's review against another edition

4.0

I really, really, really thought I would love this book. From what I gathered, it would be like a revamped Harry Potter, only darker. And in many ways, it was. It was basically a response to Harry Potter, to Narnia, to Oz, to all the children's fantasy from that last century. Instead of following the lives of children, the book portrayed older, college-aged teenagers exploring the magical world and their burgeoning magical abilities. The problem? I really hated these college-aged teenagers. They came with annoying angst and lovers' quarrels and way too much alcohol. The main character, Quentin, did several insufferable things like

Spoiler

cheating on his girlfriend and then becoming furious when she slept with someone else

. The only parts of the book I liked dealt with the magic itself; times when the characters honed their abilities. The only parts of the book I loved dealt with Fillory, the Narnia-esque fantasy books that the Quentin was obsessed with. In some ways, this part of the book allowed me to return to the time when I read Narnia, only instead of Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy Pevensie wandering through a wardrobe into Narnia, the five Chatwin children in various ways fell into Fillory. Fillory even had magical gods who, like Aslan, were in the shape of animals: Ember and Umber, the two magical rams who governed Fillory and sent the children back at the end of each adventure. However, the annoying college teenagers, constantly drunk and angry with each other, spoiled Fillory for me. I will be reading the next book, but I really hope there'll be some significant character development.

lindsayaunderwood's review against another edition

3.0

I went back and forth with really liking this book and being not all that into it. Pretty much everyone agrees that this is a dark and gritty version of Harry Potter. I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect. It felt kind of how Harry potter would go if you and a bunch of your friends were transported there in high school... Not much interest in bravery and a lot of interest in benign moody.

However, where harry potter gets you with the characters, this book does not. Part of that can't be helped I suppose, in a book like there where the author was trying to cover serious ground. There wasn't much room for detail when it came to each students' time at brakebills.

Luckily, the last 50 pages of the book really secured my interest and I'll definitely read the next book.

hales2000's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

mizz_performer's review against another edition

3.0

The story was interesting but the women characters are really one dimensional stereotypes. Used by the main character (who is like a toddler) and picked up like toys only when someone else wants them.

laura__'s review against another edition

Time flies too fast in the book

deathmetalheron's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective sad fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Violence

Minor: Drug use

kikala's review against another edition

4.0

So angsty in that oh so addictive way. I bought the second before I was even done with the first.

klparmley's review against another edition

1.0

This is just all over the place. Grossman couldn't decide what story he want to tell so he told everything that came to mind as it occurred to him.

carladay83's review against another edition

2.0

I can appreciate what this book is trying to say. Even if magic were real, it wouldn't necessarily happy. Especially if you struggle with depression. Still, the book as a whole is boring. I could have forgiven it a lame, self-centered and nihilistic main character if something interesting was happening around him. The story doesn't really pick up until the very end and it drags getting there. More realistic it may be but who reads fantasy for that kind of realism. I think I'm going to stick with the TV show.