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A review by alaris
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I think few people would turn down a chance to check out a favorite fictional place, even with a strong chance that it'd turn out to be wildly different than you'd imagined. But the sexist, racist and ableist streams running through this make it super tedious to read.
There are interesting moments in this, until they're done with school. The characters are just so unlikable and spoiled and immature. I understand they're all early 20s when they go to Not-Narnia and most people are making very stupid choices then, and a lot of "well how do I actually live as an adult?" missteps are understandable. But every main character seems set up to be as unlikable and un-interesting as possible - which is actually difficult to achieve. Quentin's misogynistic, everyone's arrogant and bored, it was just impossible to care about any of them after they finished with the school. (And they weren't interesting before they finished.)
The writing quality seemed super inconsistent. I'm glad the author apparently got help for his own depression after writing this, but it would be hard to find a book that makes obvious depression in characters less sympathetic than this does - which is sad, as a reader struggling with that. I'd suggest avoiding this entirely, if you also struggle.
There are interesting moments in this, until they're done with school. The characters are just so unlikable and spoiled and immature. I understand they're all early 20s when they go to Not-Narnia and most people are making very stupid choices then, and a lot of "well how do I actually live as an adult?" missteps are understandable. But every main character seems set up to be as unlikable and un-interesting as possible - which is actually difficult to achieve. Quentin's misogynistic, everyone's arrogant and bored, it was just impossible to care about any of them after they finished with the school. (And they weren't interesting before they finished.)
The writing quality seemed super inconsistent. I'm glad the author apparently got help for his own depression after writing this, but it would be hard to find a book that makes obvious depression in characters less sympathetic than this does - which is sad, as a reader struggling with that. I'd suggest avoiding this entirely, if you also struggle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Sexism