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)

I loved this

I heard a lot of mixed reviews before finally deciding to give this one a listen. I honestly have no idea what those people were talking about. As a long-time lover of fantasy fiction I thought Grossman did an excellent job of combining all of the tropes/themes I remember from my childhood books, with an slap right in the face that reminds you that reality is reality no matter where you to.
Depression follows you. Magic cannot save you. Sometimes you can win and still lose.

I'm going to given this one a couple of weeks and then read it again!

Self absorbed character.

Performance was good. Story was marred by a pretty unlikable lead character. Not recommending it to others.

Reminiscent of Narnia and Harry Potter

I really liked the content of this book, but felt that it suffered from some pacing issues.

The basic premisses of this story is that the main character, who is obsessed with a series of books reminiscent of the Chronicles of Narnia, has his life change when he discovers and get accepted to a magical college.

The book is not really about the magical college however. It is more about the main character's depression and his desperate desire for something different, to know what his life is about.

The Magicians suffers from some pacing issues. An entire year of school can go by in a few paragraphs. I never really got a good feeling about what life was like at the school or what the classes were like. The book spent some time on the first year "practical applications" which was good. However, it did not capture the wonder and awe of magic in the same way as Harry Potter did. Incidentally Harry Potter is obliquely referenced throughout the time at the school.

But as I said, this story is not really about the magic. It's about the characters. And the strange pacing does help in some ways to emphasize the pseudo fugue state of the main character.

The author does a good job of pulling together a lot of little details throughout the book. There are a lot of things that you forget about that come back later.

I was not a huge fan of the narrator (in particular his female voices). He had a dower tone, but it did suit the book. I would not necessarily avoid him, but he would need to match the book.

To get the most out of this book, I think it is best if you have read the Chronicles of Narnia, in particular the Magician's Nephew. There are many nods and references to it.

All in all, I would recommend this book, but with the caveat that it would not be for everyone.

Great narrator, annoying main character

I enjoyed the world, the magic, and the clever writing, but the main character was insufferable. I understand the author's point, but I've never disliked a main character more. I may have a different opinion after I listen to the next two. The story is enjoyable enough to finish, I think.

love it

must read. one of the best books to be created on this Earth and will leave you wanting more!

An epic that's better than its protagonist

The central character, Quentin, really needs a slap, but the scope of this story outweighs the irritation you'll feel with him. Great reading too.

Bramwell

The voice actor is amazing by far my favorite setting himself world's apart from the rest.6

too slow

Although I did find it to be a Harry Potter for young adults, The story took way to long to get to the point, there is a lot of going on but not really nothing at all, not until I wan into hour 9 did the true plot of the story begin, everything up until then was all back ground and a lot of back ground. I think some things could have been left out. I also had to up the speed of the reader to 1.5 this seem to be a nice speed to listen to not to fast but not to slow. overall it was an entertaining book only due to the fact that I was able to increase the speed of the narrator. if not it would have been painfully hard on the ears.

Good Story

The story is pretty good. It's no Harry Potter or King Killer Chronicles, but it is entertaining. It is a bit of a mix between the Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter. In fact, he straight up steals from Chronicles of Narnia, but it is an interesting take on the classic story. The Narrator was pretty good, but sometimes it was hard to distinguish between characters in a back-and-forth conversation. All in all it's a good listen.

Refreshingly strange pacing

The main character is not someone who you particularly like, but he is someone who so accurately displays nuanced human emotions. Grossman's interests and influences are fairly evident throughout the book and for me they resparked some fanciful wonder while reading. This book is a wonderful modern fantasy that I can't wait to read more of. Bramhall did an excellent job narrating as well. Each character's voice was distinct and consistent. His emotion and flow of speech was what brought this story to life.