Kind of depressing and somber book. The one take away I had was be happy with the situation you are in. Don't keep looking for the next thing you think might make you happy. Choose to be happy now. Oh, also, you don't know what you have until its gone. All kind of cliche but true. ( )

I really liked this despite the reaaaally long period of unnecessary description without action in the middle. Enough so that I'm grateful that I have something to move onto to read. Not sure why I'm in such a reading drought.

( )

God. I had issues with this one (male heroes who struggle with hubris and despair and make you want to smack them are the protagonists of about a third of all fantasy novels, from Earthsea to those Young Merlin books I used to read), but it also ate my brain and I couldn't put it down. The manic riffs on Harry Potter and Narnia carry you along at a breakneck pace, but the book doesn't rest too heavily on them; it's also hyperactively original and surprising.

The plot is bizarre, a total rollercoaster. Minds change and change back and change again. And then change back. It's complicated when you think it's going to be simple and straightforward when you've been trained to think that there's no way it could ever be that simple. Questions remain unanswered, depths are hinted at but remain unexplored. But it works, and it pulls together into something surprisingly unified.

It's hard to tell the difference sometimes between writing an obnoxious sexist teenage boy protagonist and actually being sexist, but I think The Magicians probably falls into the former category. Exception: I really don't love that the two gay male characters are a child rapist and a sex fiend whose kinks (we are told, impassively, in one of the author's didactic moments) will prevent him from ever having a stable or loving relationship. ( )

"The Magicians" is one part (adult, darker) Harry Potter , one part Narnia, mixed with a little dash of Terry Pratchett's weirdness. I found this to be a wholly entertaining novel, with an interesting magic system, layers and layers of worlds to explore, and a plot that (while sometimes scattered) kept me flying through this book in less than 2 days.

Here's my more detailed thoughts: (as per my new norm, no book summary here- just my opinions:) )

I loved the combination of magicians, fantasy worlds meshed with urban worlds, different systems of magic, and the academic setting that made up a large chunk of the novel. There are, again, SERIOUS Harry Potter and Narnia vibes here. If you enjoy either of those series, I would recommend this book- HOWEVER: be warned. The main villian in this book creeped me out so badly!! The first time he appears, I got chills and felt a Stephen-King-y ring of fear. There's some seriously dark jumbo going on in this world, but I loved how it was woven into the series with finesse and good timing.
There's also some really great plot twists and set ups in "The Magicians". Although some moments were bizarre and a little weird (the geese?? A lot of the "cave exploring" scenes near the end of the book??) there were some fantastic ones too! I'm not going to say specifics because of spoilers, but I was mainly impressed with a lot of the Chatwick/Fillory revelations.

My major problem with the book is that there are over 6 years (possibly 8? The timeline near the end was a tad confusing) within the 400 pages. There are LEAPS of time crossed over, oftentimes with a passage like "Soon it was December" when the previous page took place in August. I found the rapid passage of time to be quite jarring and irritating. In terms of the writing style, although very descriptive and well built, there are several loooong passages where Grossman tells the reader everything that is going on instead of showing the reader through a character's actions/words/etc.

Okay, let's talk about characters a moment:
You know how there's that joke about the Harry Potter series where no one's favorite character is Harry Potter, despite him being the main character? Yeah, same thing with Quentin Coldwater. Although I sympathized with him at times, overall, he was obnoxious, spoiled, and arrogant. Quentin is so irritating- he keeps getting a better and better life, but is always miserable. I get that's part of his arc and personal discovery, but still, sometimes I just wanted tor each into the pages and slap him.
He also treats a lot of people very poorly (Julia & Alice to name two). He also uses the word "retarded" as an insult to someone (page 324), and then describes a sexual figure as "slutty" (page 335). NOT COOL. Later, Quentin and a group of others are under attack, but Quentin apparently has time to wonder about the sex life of a couple of his friends (page 336). Bro, you are LITERALLY BEING ATTACKED. He really wasn't a spectacular main character; however, I did enjoy getting to see the other cast of character shine around him.
I seriously loved Eliot's and Julia's characters! (I think my knowledge of Julia's may be a bit biased from what I've seen of the TV adaption, but I like her determination!) Eliot seemed like one of the most real and likeable characters, and he's probably the one I'm most interested in seeing what happens to. Penny seems like a great, nerdy badass and I really hope we get to see more of him later in the trilogy!
Alice kept growing on me, but I feel like by the time I finally started to get to know her, she was put aside.
(Also- Richard just seems like a TOTALLY useless character?? He made me uncomfortable for some reason..)

All in all, I found "The Magicians" to be a gripping, fantastical, and dark urban fantasy entwined with classic fantasy tropes that combined to make a very memorable story of magic and growing up. I will definitely be picking up the next book in the trilogy! ( )

With a few minor differences, I would have sworn I was re-reading Lewis’ Narnia stories. Not a bad take on the Chronicles; I will continue the series. But it will take conscious effort not to continue comparing the two tales - to the detriment of the Magicians, unfortunately. ( )