The Magicians

Locations
Call Number: Fantasy / Grossman, Lev, Adult Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Grossman, Lev
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fantasy / Grossman, Lev	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fantasy / Grossman, Lev	4-week checkout	Due 05-08-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Grossman, Lev	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Grossman, Lev	4-week checkout	Due 04-30-2024

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

The Magicians submitted by halofriendly on July 23, 2011, 5:57pm One book, split into four books, with the same characters throughout, BUT such a change in plot with each book that it caught me a bit off-guard sometimes. I almost gave up on it in the beginning because it is very Harry Potter-esque, but this time, the characters cuss quite a bit, find themselves in sexual situations that involve more than snogging, and tackle the idea of magic in a much more pessimistic, "real life" way than HP ever did. The ending wasn't what I expected and, to be honest, felt a bit weak, but ultimately, I'm glad I persevered and read through to the end.

Good submitted by 0liviap0pp on August 13, 2011, 10:33am This is a great book. Very though provoking.

Probably the best book I've read in two years. submitted by eknapp on November 9, 2011, 3:07pm I've heard this called Harry-Potter-for-adults. I'd say that's superficially accurate. Brilliant, unhappy high school student Quentin gets recruited to Brakebills, a secret, exclusive, magical wizard university. There the similarities end.

After graduating, Quentin and his friends set off on an adventure in the magical land of Narnia. I mean Fillory. The book covers a lot of ground.

It's not really about the magic though. As interesting and cool as Brakebills and Fillory are, they're just backdrops. It's all about a chronically unhappy kid growing up and finding his place in the world, it's about the importance of purpose, it's about relationships and self-discovery, love and grief and friendship, all that good stuff. The Magicians doesn't look like an epic but it feels like one.

There really isn't a central antagonist, no Voldemort or Sauron or White Witch to tie the acts together. So don't expect an easy black-and-white good-vs-evil story. It's just a journey. Stuff happens, followed by more stuff. It bogs down a bit at a couple points, but the payoff was well worth it.

Grossman's writing struck a chord with me. He has a way with similes and metaphors, and Quentin kept doing or experiencing minor little things that were just a bit embarrassing or shameful or rarely noticed/acknowledged. It made his world and characters feel very true, very real. I totally got sucked in by the protagonist, even when I didn't much like him. I felt by turns ecstasy, depression, triumph, and fury on Quentin's behalf.

As much as I loved this book, I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. It can be a downer at times. Be warned.

A great book about weird young people submitted by pkooger on July 19, 2012, 11:27am Grossman's story is a lot like Quentin, the main character of the book. It's brilliant, melancholy, and more than a little strange. Above all else, it is exciting. I read the whole thing in one weekend.

Angry Rich White Kids & Their Problems (with magic) submitted by carcarcar on August 31, 2012, 10:45am This book was a good read, it kept my attention for the most part and it combined my love for Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia. It definitely has a dark side and the last 75 pages are really what made up my mind about the book. However, as much as I did like reading this book, it is essentially a book about pretentious young white teens whose problems revolve around having too much money and not knowing their 'purpose'. I told a friend that this is Harry Potter for affluent cynics.

The magic world reality? submitted by Allison B on July 24, 2013, 6:18pm I have to admit, I go for the Harry Potters all the time. Magic, adventure, fascinating foods and events, it's all you could hope for. But this is what it would probably be like in real life. Drudgery, mixed with some fun. Hazing, picking courses of study, taking basic classes you don't necessarily like and may even hate - finding out that magic has its dull side and the stories aren't what they seem, but also taking on responsibility, like any adult coming into their chosen field.

It certainly can be a downer, as mentioned before, but I think it is well worth the read.

Read it! submitted by allie0 on July 8, 2014, 11:51am This book is a must for teens and adults who enjoyed the Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia series.

Good, but Somewhat Unsettling submitted by amykmilligan on August 4, 2014, 4:57pm There were many things I loved about this book. As a lifelong fan of the work of C.S.Lewis, I appreciated this book as what very nearly amounts to a fan fiction sequel to the series. It also captures much of what stories like Harry Potter do - the idea that there is a whole secret world out there, including a school of magic and secret portals to a Narnia-like world.

My caution, though, is not that it has more adult issues, or even that it is a darker book than the classic fantasies that it pays homage to. My issue is that I the characters are sometimes very flat and often deeply un-redeemable. I found it very hard to care about them because I found it very hard to *like* them.

Saying that, I am glad I read it and I really enjoyed all of the extremely well-versed nuances and nods to fans of the genre. The writing is good, sophisticated and engaging and the story holds together well.

Magicians submitted by Fevvers - STAR473 on August 29, 2014, 12:17am This book broke my heart, and I love it for doing so. Moments magical, mundane, breathtaking, terrifying, funny, relatable, and alien - all highly readable. I laughed, I cried, it changed my life. It is set in the "real" world up to a point, so the characters make their own jokes about Harry Potter and other pop culture/magic/fantasy references, but it's not a pastiche or homage, though the Narnia books do get skewered pretty throughly. It's fun, but also brutal. Beware.

Abysmal submitted by mrajraspn08 on January 8, 2015, 1:35pm I'm going to risk controversy by saying I absolutely hated this book. I have heard it called the new Harry Potter, but I found it a very pale imitation (even an attempted rip-off) of that series and the Narnia series. It tries and fails. The story line is better suited for a short story, not a four hundred page novel, the characters are one-dimensional, and the magical "rules" are just insulting to anyone with half a brain. I found nothing redeemable in this book.

Just, no... submitted by obennett on June 24, 2016, 8:04pm I wanted to like this book. I really did.

The plot is interesting, but it's so incredibly all over the place, the main character is utterly intolerable, self absorbed, and sexist, and the whole time the story came across as a badly done rip off of Narnia and Harry Potter.

Read it if it really sounds interesting to you, but don't go in expecting too much.

Grown Up submitted by Judeyblu on July 26, 2016, 10:19pm This trilogy takes Potter and Narnia to a fantastic place.
Satisfying read!

Not Impressed submitted by ajstemp on June 27, 2018, 12:06pm I was interested in the summary of this book, since I tend to like fantasy, and it matched up with a lot of the parts of that genre I enjoy; however, I ultimately didn't end up enjoying the book. The characters weren't interesting and the plot took a lot of unnecessary turns. I know it's received mixed reviews, but I personally wouldn't recommend it.

Cynical but compelling submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on August 12, 2018, 1:36pm A depressing version of "Harry Potter at a college level goes to Narnia."

The concept is a good one: What if, in our regular ol' world, magic *was* real? What if you had to have some inborn... something... but then had to work at it to gain the skill to use your ability, just like pretty much everything else? And what if you thought that *this* was the something that would make life worthwhile?

Also excellent are occasional quips and insights that just delighted me, like one guy hypothesizing that a girlie magazine for sentient trees would be called "Enthouse." Or when one girl's senior project was to trap a single proton using both physics and magic, but then her advisors couldn't decide if the proton was in there or not. I mean, come on. Those are great!

But the main character never, ever stops thinking that his life is just too boring. He graduates (after an isolated and socially reclusive five years) and we have to read way too many pages of him partying and using heavy drugs. There are unresolved questions, like why each class has exactly 20 people, and how two can manage to skip a grade without disrupting that. And the fantasy world they end up in never, ever stops feeling like Narnia to me.

My partner described it as cynical, but compelling. I'd say that's right on target. It would be a great book if it was more optimistic.

Beautiful submitted by sellis612 on July 2, 2019, 10:34pm An amazing combination of all things fantastical- a mix of Harry Potter, LoTR, and Narnia - for adults

a dark take on Narnia submitted by mlmchale on August 26, 2020, 3:53pm The Magicians is a wonderful play on C.S. Lewis' Narnia books. Instead of providing Christian parables for children, though, the story follows college-aged protagonists through significantly darker turns. While I wouldn't suggest it for children, it's a fantastic read for anyone college-aged or older who is familiar with the genre.

Dark submitted by chowcy on August 28, 2020, 8:49pm This is definitely geared towards an older audience even though it has a Harry Potter vibe to it. It is much darker and more vulgar than the TV show. I did not really like the main character, and the plot seemed a bit disjointed, so overall, I would not read the rest of the books in the series.

Rifkf submitted by Anthany on July 20, 2021, 6:24pm Adccsfgncndn