The Magicians

A Novel

By: Lev Grossman

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

A thrilling and original coming-of- age novel about a young man practicing magic in the real world.

Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he's still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.

He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn't bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation, he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin's fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart.

At once psychologically piercing and magnificently absorbing, The Magicians boldly moves into uncharted literary territory, imagining magic as practiced by real people, with their capricious desires and volatile emotions. Lev Grossman creates an utterly original world in which good and evil aren't black and white, love and sex aren't simple or innocent, and power comes at a terrible price.

©2009 Lev Grossman (P)2009 Penguin

Critic reviews

"This is a book for grown-up fans of children's fantasy and would appeal to those who loved Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Highly recommended." ( Library Journal)
"Provocative, unput-downable....one of the best fantasies I've read in ages." ( Fantasy & Science Fiction)
" The Magicians is to Harry Potter as a shot of Irish whiskey is to a glass of weak tea." (George R.R. Martin)

Entertaining

The level of detail is articulate and engrossing. Human emotion drives the story. Interesting Narrator.

better than the show

completely different from the TV show but way more entertaining. looking forward to the next book.

Made magic whiny

This book had the potential to be awesome, but somehow the author managed to make it whiny and boring. Books like Harry Potter or The Name of the Wind treat magic and the learning thereof interesting. The Magicians gets close at times, but it ultimately keeps devolving into whiny tangents about how, even though the character is experiencing all these amazing things, it's not good enough. It kept reminding me of a petulant child complaint that they didn't get EXACTLY what they wanted for their birthday. That said, the narration was fairly well executed, and I couldn't bring myself to finish the story, so maybe it gets better towards the end. However, 2/3 into the book I kept waiting for it to pick up and stop sounding like an angsty high schooler and it never did. Not the worst read, but if you have a hunger for magic and adventure, there are lots of other books that can fill that need for you.

A fantasy reality

I feel compelled to give my opinion on The Magicians. It proves to be a coming of age fantasy which actually deals with what it means to grow up. It does not deal with the superficial simple personality traits found in traditional and contemporary fantasy, like honor or responsibility. Instead the characters inhabit the world in a very real way, and have an emotional depth to them which is incredibly real. The world itself is a backdrop to this emotional journey and is used to great effect. Also the prose is first rate; better than possibly any other fantasy; and right up there with the likes of Guy Gavriel Kay.

This is not an escapist fantasy. It will take you to a world, but the world is not the focus. Instead it is the flawed characters are the focus. The story will weigh on you and it is not a happy one.

meh

Would you try another book from Lev Grossman and/or Mark Bramhall?

I might try the next in the series... but honestly, I found this book, not just the story, but the writing style underwhelming.

How could the performance have been better?

If the narrator wasn't so pretentious while mispronouncing simple words.

Was The Magicians worth the listening time?

Not at all.

Any additional comments?

Between the off-putting narrator's reading style and the exposition-heavy story that seemingly led nowhere, there was little to like about this book. Actually, I shouldn't say that it led nowhere, there was some action around chapter 24 (of 27), but by this point, I cared so little for the characters, I just wanted the book to end.

Engaging

It was an engaging book, but the characters were not too likeable by the end. However, I listened to the entire book and lost some sleep because I wanted to know what happened. Also, the language (urban slang) was amusing. Well written. Somewhat whiny narration, but the narrator was probably trying to get into the character's psyce. The main character was very whiny.

Starts a little slow but worth the read. The ending is amazing!!

Starts a little slow but worth the read. The ending is amazing!!

The author takes time to build characters so remember this is a three book series.

The main character isn't exactly likeable...

The main character made me think of Holden Caufeild. Quentin is more ambitious and shows more emotion but has the same dreary sort of outlook that doesn't resonate so much depression as it does being a whiner. HOWEVER in the end I kind of liked that. It wasn't like we as readers were supposed to live through the main character as we so often do with fiction and it was more like the relationship a viewer has with a character in a movie.

The story was interesting and had good pacing. Overall I would recommend this book.

Interesting, dark take on traditional fantasies

Narration was good overall, had some lack of variety in voices, but you could mostly keep track of who was talking when.

not really impressed

language. thank you for your imagination but what people act this way? the ending was disappointing