Book Review: The Magicians

I mentioned last week that I had started a new book called The Magicians by Lev Grossman and in a general way the beginning of the book reminded me of the Harry Potter series & Hogwarts. I should repeat though that this isn’t a book for little kids as it is much darker and more mature. Ok, so on to my review:

This book opens with Quentin’s whirlwind introduction to and acceptance into Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy. This is a school for the most brilliant students who are recruited from all over the place. They suddenly find themselves magically transported to the school for an impromptu entrance exam. Think of a school full of kids with Hermione-like intelligence and you’ll get a picture of what it’s like there. I’m afraid Ron and Harry wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the difficulty of the school work at this place! Melancholy and disillusioned Quentin finally starts to feel like he’s found a place where he belongs once he settles in and starts classes. He’s always loved the idea of magic because of his favorite series of childhood books that take place in the magical land of Fillory, a Narnia-like world that Quentin always wished he could escape to.

Life at Brakebills takes some getting used to though. Due to the side effects of some old spells that help conceal the school from outsiders, time at Brakebills is almost 3 months behind the regular world. Learning magic is also less exciting than it is in Quentin’s Fillory books. At school it is tedious and difficult to learn even the most basic spells. Despite the challenges though, Quentin finds himself enjoying his new life. The book progresses pretty quickly at this point and Quentin rapidly flies through his first few years at Brakebills. This is the part of the story that I liked best so I would have liked it if the pace hadn’t been so rushed. Suddenly Quentin is a third-year student, the year when everyone is sorted into their disciplines. Quentin and his friend Alice are placed with the Physical Kids, a group consisting of three older students named Eliot, Janet, and Josh. Their bond as a group is strengthened during a long, school-wide Welters tournament (a magical game that’s sort of like chess on a life-sized board and not nearly as exciting as Quidditch).

And then the story gets weird. Trust me, you’ll know exactly where I’m talking about if you read it. I don’t want to post spoilers so I’ll just say that the rest of the book takes Quentin and his friends on adventures beyond the school as they develop into magicians and learn more about the world of magic. The book is tragic, exciting, funny, disturbing, and captivating all at the same time.

Overall I would say this is an engrossing read and I would recommend it. Just don’t expect to love it as much as the Harry Potter series (or the Narnia books) if you were a big fan of those. The characters aren’t as endearing and the tone is much more melancholy but this grittier take on the fantasy genre is a good read for anyone who likes to imagine what it would be like if magic really was real.