I've been dying to review this book but I have had to wait till my feelings about it matured. So as a novice reader would find they tend to like books where they can see themselves as the main character, or where the character has no flaws - ie. Harry Potter, Twilight series, or Superman. The Magicians is about a a boy Quentin, who is obsessed with a magical world similar to Narnia. He's in high school and soon gets an invitation to a secret magical school not unlike Hogwarts. He passes the multiple entrance exams and he's suddenly a student. They quickly dispense of how he was able to ditch his mother and father and real life circumstances to be able to join the school.
The school is a small part of the larger plot but if I remember correctly it takes up most of the first book. The other characters in the book are Alice, his soon to be secretive but very intelligent (like Hermione) girlfriend. Eliot and Janet who are his house leaders for lack of better term, and his friends from old real life times, who he has now ditched. Oh and the strange character Penny who becomes important in later books.
Quentin himself is an interesting character because he is introverted, a perpetual grumpkin, and might suffer from Major Depressive disorder as described in the DSM IV. This is a strange combination, however not rare, for the protagonist. People hate this book because he is hard to identify with (I've read a lot of the reviews), others enjoy his character because he is real. I slowly began to enjoy his character after reading The Monsters (by the Hooblers) and Doctor Haggard's Disease (McGrath), where the character's flaws were the pivotal part of the story. Quentin's flaws add that overall feel to the book. Also it probably addresses mental illness and depression in a very real way.
The book gets time to get into, however after reading all three books one realizes that together they form a pretty good series. The series is now a show on the syfy channel, and they are of course, putting their own twist on it, but it makes it all the more interesting.
If you ever enjoyed the Narnia series, then this book is for you but for adults due to the sexual content, drugs and lots of drinking. Yes a Harry potter for adults. A Narnia-Harry Potter series for adults, however I would like to see this series someday stand on its own. to me Fillory is slowly becoming a very different imaginary world from Narnia.
I fell in love with the series after reading it, letting the adventure of the experience of reading it sink in, and watching the tv series where they change a lot. I think I will review the other books in the series in comparison to the actual tv show series in the future.
I'm giving it a bunch of eights though because it may be a tv show, but it is not a masterpiece, just fun for grown ups and drinking games.
Plot: 8/10
Entertainment: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Writing Style: 6/10
Thought Provoking: 6/10
Recommend: 8/10
The school is a small part of the larger plot but if I remember correctly it takes up most of the first book. The other characters in the book are Alice, his soon to be secretive but very intelligent (like Hermione) girlfriend. Eliot and Janet who are his house leaders for lack of better term, and his friends from old real life times, who he has now ditched. Oh and the strange character Penny who becomes important in later books.
Quentin himself is an interesting character because he is introverted, a perpetual grumpkin, and might suffer from Major Depressive disorder as described in the DSM IV. This is a strange combination, however not rare, for the protagonist. People hate this book because he is hard to identify with (I've read a lot of the reviews), others enjoy his character because he is real. I slowly began to enjoy his character after reading The Monsters (by the Hooblers) and Doctor Haggard's Disease (McGrath), where the character's flaws were the pivotal part of the story. Quentin's flaws add that overall feel to the book. Also it probably addresses mental illness and depression in a very real way.
The book gets time to get into, however after reading all three books one realizes that together they form a pretty good series. The series is now a show on the syfy channel, and they are of course, putting their own twist on it, but it makes it all the more interesting.
If you ever enjoyed the Narnia series, then this book is for you but for adults due to the sexual content, drugs and lots of drinking. Yes a Harry potter for adults. A Narnia-Harry Potter series for adults, however I would like to see this series someday stand on its own. to me Fillory is slowly becoming a very different imaginary world from Narnia.
I fell in love with the series after reading it, letting the adventure of the experience of reading it sink in, and watching the tv series where they change a lot. I think I will review the other books in the series in comparison to the actual tv show series in the future.
I'm giving it a bunch of eights though because it may be a tv show, but it is not a masterpiece, just fun for grown ups and drinking games.
Plot: 8/10
Entertainment: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Writing Style: 6/10
Thought Provoking: 6/10
Recommend: 8/10
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