The Magicians

Alice's Story

by Lev Grossman, Lilah Sturges, Pius Bak

Paperback, 208 pages

Published Nov. 10, 2020 by Archaia.

ISBN:: 978-1-68415-633-7

(6 reviews)

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

15 editions

Remy Rose reviewed The magicians by Lev Grossman (Book one of the Magicians trilogy)

or, "The Incels of Narnia"

1 star

I am determined to finish at least the first book, even though I hate it. Actually, maybe it's because I hate it. I don't like to rate or review books I haven't finished, but I feel compelled to talk about how terrible this book is. The author is a frequent offender on r/menwritingwomen, and for good reason. He claims all the misogyny (among other things) is intentional, because the story is "filtered through the mind & eyes of a 17 year old boy". That's a pretty dubious claim on its face, and it doesn't really explain why all the other characters do and say what they do. Maybe I'll flesh this out more when I finish it.

On the other hand, generally the writing itself is decent enough, even if it gets a little purple prose at times. Just watch the show, it's 1000% better than the source material.

EDIT: …

On the other hand, generally the writing itself is decent enough, even if it gets a little purple prose at times. Just watch the show, it's 1000% better than the source material.

EDIT: I finally finished it, which was not really worth doing. I think I would mostly describe this book as "Dresden Files but longer for no reason", except at least Harry is poor in that series. Q is equally as misogynistic and then incredibly wealthy to boot. Oh, and the author's justification turns out to fall extra flat because by the end of the book, he is very much not 17 anymore, but still very much an incel.