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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
A coming of age story that includes magic. Quentin is unhappy and is always looking for the "thing" that will make him happy. When he discovers Brakebills, a magic school, he is running from unhappiness in his real life. At Brakebills he learns all the basics and more in magic. From there he goes out into the world always looking for the elusive happiness and his real life. The book is broken up into four sections. The first is about magic school. I thought the author told a good story about Quentin and his journey to become happy. However, there were some side stories that I felt left unanswered questions. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I liked Quentin and wanted him to figure out who he was a whole lot quicker than he did. I enjoyed reading about the Fillory books and the Chatwin siblings. Fillory is kind of like Narnia and Quentin read the Fillory books much longer and believed in them more than the average kid. I thought his hope that Fillory was out there was an interesting one.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not my favourite read — sigh. I was really hoping to like this one. But it just felt like I was forcing myself to keep reading. By the last couple of chapters, I was clearly skimming the text just so I could finish. Very disappointing — will not be continuing with the series.
Often when I give a book a 3 star rating, it's because the novel didn't inspire strong feelings in me one way or another. It was forgettable. It's quite the opposite for The Magicians. I felt very strongly about this book, both good and bad, at all times.
You'll hear the comparison to Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia constantly with this novel. That's because Grossman borrows heavily from both. Lev Grossman has set his novel in urban New York City, with the wizarding/magician school in upstate New York. The characters are grittier, not as cute and friendly and loveable, and more angsty than Harry Potter, but otherwise, the plot set-up is the same. This made the novel very difficult to get into at first. I wasn't drawn in with Quentin's character and the initial tone of the book didn't seem like it would be something I was into. Once it got going, I felt more interested, however.
The plot set-up was unusual (in a bad way). We begin with an exceeding quick version of Quentin's four years of school, which took up approximately half the novel. This was interesting, but I was confused why Grossman was spending so much time on this aspect when it didn't seem to be moving the plot forward.
As the main conflict finally seemed to kick in (more than halfway through the novel), I had a couple observations. First, I appreciated the fact that after graduating, Quentin felt some sense of feeling lost and disconnected. As a recent graduate, I felt that I could connect to this. It made for an odd narrative arc, however. We just get the exciting time spent at school, and then suddenly are slammed into this depression more than halfway through the book, with the main conflict yet to come.
This main conflict was heavily borrowed from Chronicles of Narnia. Fillory is Grossman's version of Narnia, and the similarities are quite obvious. We have speaking animals, animal-gods, religious imagery, and humans who crash into the world and are appointed kings and queens. I didn't mind their travels in Fillory and the conflict, but I found the difference between the first half conflict and the second half jarring.
I found Grossman's ideas interesting, even if extremely derivative. There were some solid ideas and themes that were explored. But there were also a lot of problems, and one of the toughest things for me personally was how the plot was developed in this first book.
You'll hear the comparison to Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia constantly with this novel. That's because Grossman borrows heavily from both. Lev Grossman has set his novel in urban New York City, with the wizarding/magician school in upstate New York. The characters are grittier, not as cute and friendly and loveable, and more angsty than Harry Potter, but otherwise, the plot set-up is the same. This made the novel very difficult to get into at first. I wasn't drawn in with Quentin's character and the initial tone of the book didn't seem like it would be something I was into. Once it got going, I felt more interested, however.
The plot set-up was unusual (in a bad way). We begin with an exceeding quick version of Quentin's four years of school, which took up approximately half the novel. This was interesting, but I was confused why Grossman was spending so much time on this aspect when it didn't seem to be moving the plot forward.
As the main conflict finally seemed to kick in (more than halfway through the novel), I had a couple observations. First, I appreciated the fact that after graduating, Quentin felt some sense of feeling lost and disconnected. As a recent graduate, I felt that I could connect to this. It made for an odd narrative arc, however. We just get the exciting time spent at school, and then suddenly are slammed into this depression more than halfway through the book, with the main conflict yet to come.
This main conflict was heavily borrowed from Chronicles of Narnia. Fillory is Grossman's version of Narnia, and the similarities are quite obvious. We have speaking animals, animal-gods, religious imagery, and humans who crash into the world and are appointed kings and queens. I didn't mind their travels in Fillory and the conflict, but I found the difference between the first half conflict and the second half jarring.
I found Grossman's ideas interesting, even if extremely derivative. There were some solid ideas and themes that were explored. But there were also a lot of problems, and one of the toughest things for me personally was how the plot was developed in this first book.
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
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:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The magic system is very interesting and fun to read about.
I absolutely despise Quentin. I find him a pathetic mopey sadboy. I understand that’s the point. It does not help.
Also the author spends a lot of time describing the breasts of basically every female character within seconds of her first appearance.
CW: there is an animal sex scene that seriously makes me think Lev Grossman is into furry.
I absolutely despise Quentin. I find him a pathetic mopey sadboy. I understand that’s the point. It does not help.
Also the author spends a lot of time describing the breasts of basically every female character within seconds of her first appearance.
CW: there is an animal sex scene that seriously makes me think Lev Grossman is into furry.