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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
This was a fun filler book to read this week while I was waiting for Ernest Cline's Armada to come out tomorrow. Kind of Catcher in the Rye meets Harry Potter meets Chronicles of Narnia. It's not as bad as that sounds. It did get a little draggy in places, but overall it was a fun and interesting read.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love the world that Grossman has created in the magicians. The blending of and poking fun at popular fantasy worlds and tropes is well done. The setting of Brakebills and the culture of the school is delightfully dark and academic. It’s the type of world I want to crawl into. There is a mixture of ridiculous excess and belief in immortality that only the young or magically gifted can truly embody.
I think that Grossman attempted to push back against the idea of overarching narrative and quest in fantasy books. Quentin regularly bemoans how real life is not like that. It wove an undercurrent of melancholy and depression through the doldrums of the book. However ultimately there was a quest, however accidentally it was stumbled upon.
Quentin is thoroughly unlikeable character. Self absorbed and alternating between being an overpowered god-like being to being utterly useless, he maintains a terrible sense of confidence or actual sense of self. Everything happens to him and he never takes any responsibility for the supposed woes that befall him. Quentin feels disdain for everyone else that isn’t actively serving him. Also the internalized homophobia is not well veiled.
The rotating cast of Quentin’s friends never feel fully developed with their motives and actions remaining less than clear. The scorn that Quentin feels for others colors all the other characters to the point it becomes hard to really see any of them.
The plot meanders largely without direction for far too long. I think this book could have been divided or heavily edited to better effect.
This was a rare book that I found the show to be vastly superior. The show places Quentin not as the center of the magical universe. The diversity and character development is top notch. I love and hate the characters in equal measure instead of feeling frustrated and disappointed. Highly recommend the show.
I think that Grossman attempted to push back against the idea of overarching narrative and quest in fantasy books. Quentin regularly bemoans how real life is not like that. It wove an undercurrent of melancholy and depression through the doldrums of the book. However ultimately there was a quest, however accidentally it was stumbled upon.
Quentin is thoroughly unlikeable character. Self absorbed and alternating between being an overpowered god-like being to being utterly useless, he maintains a terrible sense of confidence or actual sense of self. Everything happens to him and he never takes any responsibility for the supposed woes that befall him. Quentin feels disdain for everyone else that isn’t actively serving him. Also the internalized homophobia is not well veiled.
The rotating cast of Quentin’s friends never feel fully developed with their motives and actions remaining less than clear. The scorn that Quentin feels for others colors all the other characters to the point it becomes hard to really see any of them.
The plot meanders largely without direction for far too long. I think this book could have been divided or heavily edited to better effect.
This was a rare book that I found the show to be vastly superior. The show places Quentin not as the center of the magical universe. The diversity and character development is top notch. I love and hate the characters in equal measure instead of feeling frustrated and disappointed. Highly recommend the show.
Loveable characters:
No
adventurous
dark
medium-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
Trying to do too much without filling developing the characters or plot. Plot jumps around with many gaps — two halves of the book also feel very non-cohesive. Not a lot of character development either— main character essentially feels exactly the same at the end despite numerous “life changing” experiences. Those who compare this to Harry Potter need to rethink.
However, does feel like an adult version of the Chronicals of Narnia, but not in a good way
However, does feel like an adult version of the Chronicals of Narnia, but not in a good way
2.5 stars
After not reading a book in about five months, i finally picked one up as soon as summer vacation started. I heard from Hank Green that this book (or at least the tv show) is amazing, and i was immediately disappointed.
"Book I" is extremely confusing. It's like, what, five years in like 225 pages? Very boring pages, at that. It took me a while to realize what really irked me about it. Everything introduced was told, not shown, a very important part of being an engaging story. Very important characters were underdeveloped. I'd actually say that all of them were underdeveloped - except possibly Alice, but there was really nothing particularly unique about her or any of the protagonists for that matter. It took me the majority of the time just to read that first "book".
There were only two redeeming parts of this book to me. One: that magic is more complicated than a word and a flick of the wand or something (not bashing HP or any other thing, it was just a new thought). Two: the last seventy five pages or so were actually good and i actually wanted to read them. They were action packed and lots of loose threads that had been annoying me for a while were tied up.
After not reading a book in about five months, i finally picked one up as soon as summer vacation started. I heard from Hank Green that this book (or at least the tv show) is amazing, and i was immediately disappointed.
"Book I" is extremely confusing. It's like, what, five years in like 225 pages? Very boring pages, at that. It took me a while to realize what really irked me about it. Everything introduced was told, not shown, a very important part of being an engaging story. Very important characters were underdeveloped. I'd actually say that all of them were underdeveloped - except possibly Alice, but there was really nothing particularly unique about her or any of the protagonists for that matter. It took me the majority of the time just to read that first "book".
There were only two redeeming parts of this book to me. One: that magic is more complicated than a word and a flick of the wand or something (not bashing HP or any other thing, it was just a new thought). Two: the last seventy five pages or so were actually good and i actually wanted to read them. They were action packed and lots of loose threads that had been annoying me for a while were tied up.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes