A Deadly Education

A Novel (The Scholomance, Book 1)

De: Naomi Novik

Narrado por: Anisha Dadia

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver comes the first book of the Scholomance trilogy, the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic.

FINALIST FOR THE LODESTAR AWARD • “The dark school of magic I’ve been waiting for.”—Katherine Arden, author of the Winternight Trilogy

I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life.

Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans.

I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world.

At least, that’s what the world expects. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me like one more evil thing that’s crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school certainly does.

But the Scholomance isn’t getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone’s idea of the shining hero, but I’m going to make it out of this place alive, and I’m not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either.

Although I’m giving serious consideration to just one.

With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates a school bursting with magic like you’ve never seen before, and a heroine for the ages—a character so sharply realized and so richly nuanced that she will live on in hearts and minds for generations to come.

The magic of the Scholomance trilogy continues in The Last Graduate and The Golden Enclaves

“The can’t-miss fantasy of fall 2020, a brutal coming-of-power story steeped in the aesthetics of dark academia. . . . A Deadly Education will cement Naomi Novik’s place as one of the greatest and most versatile fantasy writers of our time.”—BookPage (starred review)

“A must-read . . . Novik puts a refreshingly dark, adult spin on the magical boarding school. . . . Readers will delight in the push-and-pull of El and Orion’s relationship, the fantastically detailed world, the clever magic system, and the matter-of-fact diversity of the student body.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Reseñas de la Crítica

“I loved this book. It’s such a nail-biter, it’s funny, it’s thought-provoking, and it’s such a good read.”—BuzzFeed

“Novik deliciously undoes expectations about magic schools, destined heroes, and family legacies. A gorgeous book about monsters and monstrousness, chockablock with action, cleverness, and wit.”—Holly Black, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“At the Scholomance, monsters are everywhere and the breakfast might kill you, but the wonderful cast of characters will grab ahold of your heart and you’ll never want to leave this deadly school. Naomi Novik skillfully combines sharp humor with layers of imagination to build a fantasy that delights on every level. I loved this brilliant book.”—Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series

“Eyeball-meltingly brilliant . . . Novik is, quite simply, a genius.”—Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken

“Hilarious and wild! Take any fictional magic school, make it as over-the-top dangerous as possible, and populate it with a bunch of snarky teenagers; the result is pure batshit fun.”—N. K. Jemisin, New York Times bestselling author of The City We Became

“A Deadly Education is a nightmare from which I never wished to wake: savage, inventive, and soulful. Novik grasps the totems of childhood that linger in your mind—schools of magic, curses, cutthroat classmates, monsters—only to twist them into a grand new tale that’ll make you believe in magic again.”—Pierce Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Age

“A Deadly Education is a book that lives up to its gobsmacker of an opening sentence and follows right through to its shocker of an ending that promises more to come. Naomi Novik is relentlessly innovative and entertaining.”—Terry Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Druid

“Friendship in spite of itself; danger that doesn’t quit—what a wildly magical ride!”—Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author of Tempests and Slaughter

“The magic and mystery of this chillingly lovely novel will appeal to both YA and adult fans of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. . . . An unresolved ending leaves readers eager for the next installment.”—Library Journal (starred review)

Strangely Addicting

A Deadly Education does something really unique: it gives you an extremely unlikable protagonist and makes you actually like her and want her to succeed. Our feisty little ball of bitterness and vitriol spends most of the book hating on everyone around her - all the while fighting off all manners of scary creatures (including nasty humans). But the book is strangely catching and once you start reading, it is hard to put it down.

Story: El joins the deadly school for mages knowing it is likely a one-way ticket to the grave. Many students don't survive the creatures that infest the halls and the ones that do survive tend to be from wealthy guilds who stick together. A lone straggler like El is a waving red flag to every supernatural creature that prowls the grounds. But it should be no surprise that a girl whose every spell is destructive and who has been prophesized to destroy the mages might have a few aces up her sleeve. But it won't be easy to survive, especially alone.

The story revolves around El meeting other students and slowly earning respect and friends among the other stragglers. Along the way, she'll also have to work with the guild elites - many of whom have no qualms about killing her. One of those, a 'white knight' but incredibly dense young man named Orion, will become fixated on her, sure she is the one sucking souls and killing fellow students. As expected, El treats him (Orion) with disdain. But they are among the strongest in the school and each with different skillsets that might just be needed to learn exactly what is happening to the school. If they don't kill each other first.

The mystery is the school itself: it is in its own dimension and wasn't created to be deadly. But something has clearly gone wrong over the centuries and it is becoming more and more dangerous. The elders are unable to remove the dangers but at the same time want only the best mages and so force their children to attend. The school is a crucible to test skill and mettle and the guilds write off the student deaths as being from students who could not survive in the magical world anyway.

Of note: those expecting a Harry Potter should look elsewhere. El is a hard, bitter character (but incredibly funny in her own snarky way) and this is not a 'feel good' type of book. As well, some think the 'mance" in Scholomance means romance and don't realize it means magic. There isn't much romance here at all in this first book.

In all, I listened to the Audible version and had mixed feelings on the narration. Some was very good but other accents and voices were joltingly odd or felt inappropriate for the character. She did an excellent job with El, though.

This was an addictive read that had me invested right from the beginning. I never wanted the story to end and greatly look forward to the next book in the series.

what an interesting world build!

I was initially skeptical of how I would like this book, but I've enjoyed other things written by the author. The main character is almost insufferably mean spirited right out the gate. However, in-world reasoning for her moody skepticism and caution is quickly established, and by the end of the book the very personality traits I initially didn't appreciate became some of my favorite things about the main character. I'm looking forward to more in this series.

I loved it

I found this to be a really great new take on being a young wizard. Growing up fighting for survival makes the main character the angstiest of teens, but the story and writing were great and touching overall

Such a fun book!

This book scratched an itch for me I didn't know I had. Witty, Fascinating and quickly paced. The only regret I have reading this book is that I will have to wait a few months for the next one to come out!

So great

Novik has written another wonderful yarn. Fun, sad but none-the-less joyous, and redemptive. Genius