Lilah Sturges

Let’s talk about what this book is not.

It’s not Harry Potter; only Harry Potter is Harry Potter.

It’s not an edgier Harry Potter for adults; that would be Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden.

It’s not The Catcher in the Rye; while Holden Caulfield, as is the wont of clever teenagers everywhere, realizes that the adult world is awash in hypocrisy and double-dealing and mercilessly judges everyone for it, even he doesn’t wallow in self-pity as much as The Magicians’ protagonist. And Holden show more doesn’t indulge in the same behavior he excoriates in others.

So what is The Magicians? It’s C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia in an alternative universe where the travelers from our world are profanity-spewing, bawdy, badly behaving adults and there’s no Aslan — or probably God, for that matter. This isn’t a spoiler: Author Lev Grossman lets the reader in on Fillory, the un-Narnia, in the first few pages of this 400-plus-page tome.

Unsurprisingly, I would have enjoyed The Magicians more had someone other than Quentin Coldwater — yes, that’s the actual name for a character that figuratively throws cold water on everything — not been our protagonist. The boy’s Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh — exhaustingly disappointed and carping, even though he’s had a great life so far and has now had his dream come true: the revelation that magic is real and that he’ll be making a living from it. As Eeyore Quentin himself recognizes in the novel’s first few pages:

I should be happy, Quentin thought. I’m young and alive and healthy. I have good friends. I have two reasonably intact parents — viz., Dad, an editor of medical textbooks, and Mom, a commercial illustrator with ambitions, thwarted, of being a painter. I am a solid member of the middle-middle class. My GPA is a number higher than most people even realize it is possible for a GPA to be.

But why would having every advantage in life and then being selected to attend a secret magical college — which every kid alive would give an arm for — be any reason not to sing, “Poor, poor pitiful me”?

After Quentin’s acceptance to Brakehills College for Magical Pedagogy (a Hogwarts college of sorts), I really thought that Quentin had finally found where he belonged. He makes some friends, becomes an excellent magician (natch!), and even develops a romance. Does that stop him from being Debbie Downer? You’re joking, right? This is Quentin!

About 65 percent into the book, we return to the Fillory that’s promised in the book’s first few pages, which improved the book; however, by then, I loathed Quentin and most of his pals so much that I really didn’t care, and Quentin, if anything, became even more obnoxious. Also, the first 65 percent (11 hours of this 17-hour book on Audible that I’ll never get back) proved such a slog that there’s absolutely no way I’ll ever tackle the sequel.

Actually, if I hadn’t been reading The Magicians as a buddy read, I never, ever would have even lasted to that 65 percent mark when the book became bearable. I realize that I’m being as much of a curmudgeon as Quentin Coldwater, but that’s fitting, isn’t it? show less

Summary: Ali Baba, the Prince of Thieves, is looting a war-ravaged city of the fallen Empire when he runs across a magic bottle. In it is not the genie that he'd hoped for, but instead a bottle imp who cannot grant wishes, but does have a special skill at knowing things. He leads Ali Baba to a goblin camp, wherein lies a powerful weapon: a sleeping princess who can only be awakened by a kiss. But once Ali Baba sneaks into the encampment, he finds not one but two sleeping women: Briar Rose, show more and the Snow Queen. He wakes the princess, but almost as soon as they escape from the goblins, they find themselves in the clutches of the also-freshly-awakened Snow Queen... the same Snow Queen responsible for centuries' worth of terrible deeds at the right hand of the Emperor himself.

This volume also includes a one-off noir detective piece in which Beast is out in the Mundy world, tracking a femme fatale who's a bit more fatale than the typical variety.

Review: The various spin-offs of the main Fables story arc have had varying degrees of success (at least, if we measure success in terms of how much I liked them), with Peter and Max among the best, and the recent Werewolves of the Heartland not really working for me at all. But I think one of the best things about the Fables universe in general is that it offers such seemingly endless possibilities for storytelling; that the universe is fertile and rich enough to provide material for the spin-offs in the first place. I'm not entirely sure how this volume overlaps with the main series - we've of course met Briar Rose and the Snow Queen before, but it's been long enough since I read the main arc that I don't entirely remember how they wound up in the goblin camp. (Or whether or not we even know how they got there, to tell the truth.) But the good news is, this story stands on its own quite well, and manages to present both a solid re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty origin story, as well as an interesting "modern-day" story in which the Fables from different stories overlap and interact. Plus, there's just as much action and humor and true love (or maybe just true love's kiss, which is a whole different matter) as you could wish, plus a Firefly joke or two thrown in for good measure.

I also absolutely loved the artwork in this volume. There's some creative panelling and great use of color, and the action sequences and battle scenes in particular are very creatively drawn. But most of all, I absolutely love the issue covers. I would hang a framed print of the picture with Sleeping Beauty and the spinning wheel in my house without a second's hesitation. Just beautiful. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: This volume is perfectly understandable without being up-to-date on the main Fables series, although fans of one are obviously going to enjoy the other, and fans of fairy tales in any form should certainly be reading these books. show less

Summary: For most of its patrons, the House of Mystery is just a bar, a place where the clientele is varied and stories are the only valid form of currency. For those few people who are trapped in the House, unable to leave, it's something substantially more terrifying. Harry, the barman and longest resident of the house, thinks that Bethany - the house's newest occupant - has uncovered something with her doodling: a path to a door that leads out. But in order to get there, Harry, Bethany, show more and Ann the pirate queen will have to venture deep into the labyrinthine basement. And they all know that there are demons lurking in the dark... both the metaphorical, personal variety, as well as the more terrifyingly literal type.

Review: I'm still not very far into this series yet, but it's exactly what I want volume 2 of a new comic book series to be: intriguing. I'm dying to know what's really going on with the house, and with Bethany's connection to it, and why certain people have to stay, and what determines when they're allowed to leave, and all of the other mysteries promised by the title. Bits and pieces are being revealed the further I read, but I do feel like they could be coming a little faster - particularly with regards to the guy in the mask, and the Conception, since I'm not even sure I understand the parts of that we've seen, let alone managed to piece together any details about what's really going on.

But I'm okay with the slower pace, at least for a while, because the stories that are padded around the clues are so interesting. I'm still enamored of the idea of using guest artists (and writers) to fill in the pages where one of the patrons is telling a story, and it lends the books a breadth of style and subject matter that they wouldn't have if they were just focused on the house. The bulk of the book is horror - and pretty effectively done, too, particularly given that this style of gory gross-out monster-horror is not my usual cup of tea. But there are plenty of nods to other genres, and other stories, throughout.

Oh, and for Sandman fans: This book's got Goldie! (And Abel, too. But hooray, Goldie!) 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Same recommendation I made for the first volume: this series will appeal most to Sandman fans for sure, but also Fables or The Unwritten fans who want something a little (or a lot) darker and creepier. show less

Summary: The self-proclaimed best of all Fables, Jack of the Tales (also known as Jack the Giant Killer, Jack Horner, etc.), is back with his own series. After briefly summarizing Jack's Hollywood adventures (from Volume 6 of the main Fables series), this story picks up with everyone's favorite ruffian turned out of his life as a media mogul and hitchhiking with a briefcase full of cash. However, Jack gets picked up by some folks from the Golden Boughs retirement center, where Fables are show more taken until they're forgotten about. Jack's not going to stand for imprisonment, though, so he orchestrates an escape plan... taking some new friends and familiar faces with him.

Review: I was a little bit leery about starting the Jack of Fables series - although I love the Fables universe, Jack was just about my least favorite character, and I didn't miss him at all once he was gone from the main series. However, I've read through all of the main series books that are out, and needed another dose, so I picked it up... and I needn't have worried; Willingham works his magic just as effectively here as in the main books. Jack's actually easier to take when he's narrating his own story, and his macho swagger and bravado goes from obnoxious to funnily obnoxious to almost endearingly obnoxious. I also enjoyed the introduction of the "nearly-forgotten" Fables, and seeing how many folklore details you can pick out of the background is one of the joys of any Fables installment. This hasn't gone rocketing to the top of my list of favorite Fables volumes, but it was a fun little adventure that satisfied my craving, and made me excited to read the rest of Jack's books.

Recommendation: I don't know that this would be understandable without having read the main series books first; a lot of the history and details about what Fables are and how their world works is taken for granted. For Fables fans, though, it's certainly a worthy addition to the universe. show less