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Magicians by Lev Grossman
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Magicians (original 2009; edition 2009)

by Lev Grossman

Series: The Magicians (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
10,203670705 (3.44)1 / 460
Haboring secret preoccupations with a magical land he read about in a childhood fantasy series, Quentin Coldwater is unexpectedly admitted into an exclusive college of magic and rigorously educated in modern sorcery.
Member:DiahAskari
Title:Magicians
Authors:Lev Grossman
Info:Arrow Books (2009), Paperback, 496 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

The Magicians by Lev Grossman (2009)

  1. 201
    The Secret History by Donna Tartt (middled, kraaivrouw, Euryale)
    Euryale: No magic, but I thought the tone and setting were otherwise very similar.
  2. 225
    The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (Jannes)
    Jannes: The Magicians wolud not exist if it wasn't for the Narnia books, and is really a kind of loving deconstruction of Lewis' work. What could be better than giving the books that inspired it a try?
  3. 131
    Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman (catfantastic)
    catfantastic: Read the short story "The Problem of Susan" included in this collection.
  4. 157
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (sonyagreen)
    sonyagreen: It's like HP goes to college, complete with drinking and sex.
  5. 168
    Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: Magic is real in a world we recognize--Napoleonic England and contemporary New York.
  6. 40
    The Chronicles of Chrestomanci: Charmed Life / The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones (Anonymous user)
  7. 40
    The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (TFleet)
    TFleet: Both novels are centered in the modern real world, but with a set of young adults who have magical powers. The novels are different takes on the question, "What would the modern real world be like if there were magic?"
  8. 40
    Little, Big by John Crowley (rarm)
    rarm: Fairy tale worlds that reveal a hidden darkness.
  9. 85
    Harry Potter (Books 1-7) by J. K. Rowling (elleeldritch)
    elleeldritch: An adult version of Harry Potter (and Narnia), albeit with a different (but still interesting) magic scheme.
  10. 41
    The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (rnmcusic)
  11. 20
    Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (Cecrow)
  12. 31
    The Once and Future King by T. H. White (wandering_star)
    wandering_star: I thought of making this recommendation when reading the magical education section of The Magicians, which reminded me of the first book of The Once and Future King. But the wider idea - that magical powers can't stop us from making stupid human mistakes - is also relevant to both books.… (more)
  13. 20
    Shadowland by Peter Straub (Scottneumann)
  14. 20
    A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer (beyondthefourthwall)
    beyondthefourthwall: Teenagers suddenly plunged into the magical-boarding-school experience and, once their training is behind them, having to figure out who is trustworthy, what they need to do with their lives, whether they are being summoned into leadership roles, and maybe - just maybe - where their reality is coming from in the first place.… (more)
  15. 10
    The Vanishers by Heidi Julavits (BeckyJG)
  16. 10
    Phantastes by George MacDonald (charlie68)
    charlie68: Similar themes.
  17. 43
    Among Others by Jo Walton (Jannes)
    Jannes: Both are fantasy or fantasy-sih books about fantasy readers and how the stories you read hape you and affect your sense of the world.
  18. 10
    Bedtime Story by Robert J. Wiersema (ShelfMonkey)
  19. 21
    How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu (lobotomy42)
    lobotomy42: Similar combination of a genre setting, an unlikeable protagonist, and an inward-looking plot.
  20. 10
    Vita Nostra by Sergey Dyachenko (KatyBee)

(see all 33 recommendations)

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Group TopicMessagesLast Message 
 FantasyFans: The Magicians - Lev Grossman25 unread / 25Jenson_AKA_DL, April 2019

» See also 460 mentions

English (664)  German (1)  French (1)  Swedish (1)  All languages (667)
Showing 1-5 of 664 (next | show all)
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.

( )
  jazzbird61 | Feb 29, 2024 |
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. ( )
  caedocyon | Feb 23, 2024 |
"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! ( )
  deborahee | Feb 23, 2024 |
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. ( )
  AMKitty | Feb 21, 2024 |
Magic
  BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 664 (next | show all)
”Magikerna” marknadsförs som ”Harry Potter för vuxna”, men i själva verket är det en ovanligt vacker sorgesång över hur det är att lämna barndomen. Det var faktiskt bättre förr, när man kunde uppslukas helt av leken.
added by Jannes | editDagens nyheter, Lotta Olsson (Feb 4, 2013)
 
This isn't just an exercise in exploring what we love about fantasy and the lies we tell ourselves about it -- it's a shit-kicking, gripping, tightly plotted novel that makes you want to take the afternoon off work to finish it.
added by lampbane | editBoing Boing, Cory Doctorow (Oct 20, 2009)
 
It’s the original magic — storytelling — that occasionally trips Grossman up. Though the plot turns new tricks by the chapter, the characters have a fixed, “Not Another Teen Movie” quality. There’s the punk, the aesthete, the party girl, the fat slacker, the soon-to-be-hot nerd, the shy, angry, yet inexplicably irresistible narrator. Believable characters form the foundation for flights of fantasy. Before Grossman can make us care about, say, the multiverse, we need to intuit more about Quentin’s interior universe.
 
Somewhat familiar, albeit entertaining... Grossman's writing is intelligent, but don't give this one to the kids—it's a dark tale that suggests our childhood fantasies are no fun after all.
added by Shortride | editPeople, Sue Corbett (Aug 31, 2009)
 
Grossman has written both an adult coming-of-age tale—rife with vivid scenes of sex, drugs, and heartbreak—and a whimsical yarn about forest creatures. The subjects aren’t mutually exclusive, and yet when stirred together so haphazardly, the effect is jarring. More damaging still is the plot, which takes about 150 pages to gain any steam, surges dramatically in the book’s final third, and then peters out with a couple chapters left to go.
added by Shortride | editBookforum, Michael Shaer (Aug 14, 2009)
 

» Add other authors (5 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Lev Grossmanprimary authorall editionscalculated
Bramhall, MarkNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kaminski, StefanNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sámi, LászlóTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Schäfer, StefanieÜbersetzersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
I'll break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
And deeper than did ever plummet sound
I'll drown my book.

--William Shakespeare, The Tempest
Dedication
For Lily
First words
Quentin did a magic trick. Nobody noticed.
Quotations
That guy was a mystery wrapped in an enigma and crudely stapled to a ticking fucking time bomb. He was either going to hit somebody or start a blog.
Space was full of angry little particles.
He had no interest in TV anymore - it looked like an electronic puppet show to him, an artificial version of an imitation world that meant nothing to him anyway. Real life - or was it a fantasy life? whichever one Brakebills was - that was what mattered, and that was happening somewhere else.
No one would come right out and say it, but the worldwide magical ecology was suffering from a serious imbalance: too many magicians, not enough monsters.
"Never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink," he said. "Though I guess that presupposes that there is a wine I wouldn't drink."
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Haboring secret preoccupations with a magical land he read about in a childhood fantasy series, Quentin Coldwater is unexpectedly admitted into an exclusive college of magic and rigorously educated in modern sorcery.

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