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A thrilling and original coming-of-age novel for adults 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.
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3.5 stars. Harry Potter/Narnia combo with sex, drugs, alcohol all tied in as the magical kids are college-aged students.
You know, I actually really enjoyed this, despite expecting not to after hearing a bad review from a friend. Worth a read.
If you want to read this book because you like the tv series, probably don't. There are some things that were skimmed over in the first season that the book clarifies but this is a case where I think the adaptation really improved the story overall. The show is fun and magical with a loveable cast of complicated characters with their own desires and motivations while the book is a slow march through several years of watching Quentin drift aimlessly, hoping that the next thing he stumbles into will cure his perpetual dissatisfaction and his life will finally begin. I don't think it's a bad book necessarily, but if you're craving more from the show I'd suggest some fanfiction instead. (And if you haven't seen the show, go watch it!)