mrs_mander_reads
Written on Oct 4, 2021
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The Sunday Times bestseller!
FINALIST FOR THE LODESTAR AWARD
In the start of an all-new trilogy, the bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver introduces you to a dangerous school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death -- until one girl begins to rewrite its rules.
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Enter a school of magic unlike any you have ever encountered.
There are no teachers, no holidays, friendships are purely strategic, and the odds of survival are never equal. Once you're inside, there are only two ways out: you graduate or you die.
El Higgins is uniquely prepared for the school's many dangers. She may be...
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The Sunday Times bestseller!
FINALIST FOR THE LODESTAR AWARD
In the start of an all-new trilogy, the bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver introduces you to a dangerous school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death -- until one girl begins to rewrite its rules.
____________
Enter a school of magic unlike any you have ever encountered.
There are no teachers, no holidays, friendships are purely strategic, and the odds of survival are never equal. Once you're inside, there are only two ways out: you graduate or you die.
El Higgins is uniquely prepared for the school's many dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out untold millions - never mind easily destroy the countless monsters that prowl the school.
Except, she might accidentally kill all the other students, too. So El is trying her hardest not to use it . . . that is, unless she has no other choice.
With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates a heroine for the ages - a character so sharply realized and so richly nuanced that she will live on in hearts and minds for generations to come.
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'Hilarious and wild! Take any fictional magic school, make it as over-the-top dangerous as possible, and populate it with a bunch of snarky teenagers; the result is pure batshit fun.'
N.K. Jemisin, three-time Hugo Award winner and author of The Fifth Season
'Novik deliciously undoes expectations about magic schools, destined heroes, and family legacies. A gorgeous book about monsters and monstrousness, chockablock with action, cleverness, and wit.' Holly Black, #1 New York Times bestselling author
'The Scholomance is the dark school of magic I've been waiting for, and its wise, witty, and monstrous heroine is one I'd happily follow anywhere-even into a school full of monsters.'
Katherine Arden, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale
'The wonderful cast of characters will grab a hold of your heart and you'll never want to leave this deadly school ... a fantasy that delights on every level. I loved this brilliant book.'
Stephanie Garber, #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Caraval series
'Eyeball-meltingly brilliant. Novik is, quite simply, a genius.'
Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken
'Sharp, witty, and darkly effervescent, A Deadly Education is Naomi Novik's fresh take on the concept of the magic school. One of my favorite reads of the year.'
Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls
'Fresh, smart, and delightfully unique. It's Hogwarts with higher stakes and sharper claws, and I absolutely loved it.'
Alix E. Harrow
'A nightmare from which I never wished to wake. Savage, inventive, and soulful, Novik grasps the totems of childhood that linger in your mind-schools of magic, curses, cutthroat classmates, monsters-only to twist them into a grand new tale that'll make you believe in magic again.'
Pierce Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Age
- ISBN10 1529100852
- ISBN13 9781529100853
- Publish Date 29 September 2020
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 8 December 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Cornerstone
- Imprint Del Rey
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 336
- Language English
Reviews
brdsk
Written on Mar 29, 2021
A fun read with a different magic school full of darkness and an almost apocaliptic feel. A thought out and detailed worldbuilding is exciting to read. I find an actual story as important as a full fledged world in fantasy work, and this book delivers on both accounts. I found so-called "info dumps" quite fascinating and hope to see more in the next book. (Although it may be annoying to those that can only enjoy dialog and action driven books.)
I appreciated the themes of balance and price for magic and one's actions through the story. Together with a technical approach to magic skills that go beyond the classic "think it very hard and wave your wand", it adds realism to this world.
The heroine is a a snarky antisocial teenager who manages to be realistic and engaging. Her backstory makes her often rude behavior easy to understand as a defence mechanism, and left me rooting for her. The book covers a very short time frame, but the heroine still manages to go through interesting changes and personal growth. I hope there is more development for secondary characters in the future book as well, as they are only mildly explored thus far.
The slightly rumbling inner monologue writing was definitely a highlight for me, adding personality and humour to the simplest expositions.
Overall, 7 hours well spent and I'm looking forward to the second book.
I appreciated the themes of balance and price for magic and one's actions through the story. Together with a technical approach to magic skills that go beyond the classic "think it very hard and wave your wand", it adds realism to this world.
The heroine is a a snarky antisocial teenager who manages to be realistic and engaging. Her backstory makes her often rude behavior easy to understand as a defence mechanism, and left me rooting for her. The book covers a very short time frame, but the heroine still manages to go through interesting changes and personal growth. I hope there is more development for secondary characters in the future book as well, as they are only mildly explored thus far.
The slightly rumbling inner monologue writing was definitely a highlight for me, adding personality and humour to the simplest expositions.
Overall, 7 hours well spent and I'm looking forward to the second book.
thepunktheory
Written on Nov 20, 2020
It took me a hot minute to get fully into this book. I don't know why. But all accounts, I should have loved it from page one. Nevertheless, I...Read more
Full review on my blog coming soon!
It took me a hot minute to get fully into this book. I don't know why. But all accounts, I should have loved it from page one. Nevertheless, I was fascinated by the premise and ended up reading up on the Scholomance a fair bit. 10/10 would recommend doing that if you enjoyed the book!
I'm not sure if it was the worldbuilding that startled me or if it simply was the protagonist. El is a tad annoying and, to be honest, acted quite bitchy a number of times. I got quite annoyed with her at the beginning but she did grow on me. So, after a rocky start, I soon got sucked into this dark and scary world full of monsters and magic.
Once those initial difficulties were overcome, I was here for it 100%. The world-building is amazing and I am so intrigued by the system of magic. I've read my fair share of books featuring magic, and I can't help but marvel at how unique the approaches to magic are oftentimes. I just love that there will be a sequel just so I can learn more about how magic works here.
Also, the book ended with a pretty significant cliffhanger. I need to know what all that is about, so I hope Naomi Novik is a fast typer and the sequel will be out soon. In A Deadly Education not a lot happens, while at the same time a lot of shit goes down. I feel like I'm unable to capture the specific essence of this book, it just has such a different vibe from everything else I've read recently.
It took me a hot minute to get fully into this book. I don't know why. But all accounts, I should have loved it from page one. Nevertheless, I was fascinated by the premise and ended up reading up on the Scholomance a fair bit. 10/10 would recommend doing that if you enjoyed the book!
I'm not sure if it was the worldbuilding that startled me or if it simply was the protagonist. El is a tad annoying and, to be honest, acted quite bitchy a number of times. I got quite annoyed with her at the beginning but she did grow on me. So, after a rocky start, I soon got sucked into this dark and scary world full of monsters and magic.
Once those initial difficulties were overcome, I was here for it 100%. The world-building is amazing and I am so intrigued by the system of magic. I've read my fair share of books featuring magic, and I can't help but marvel at how unique the approaches to magic are oftentimes. I just love that there will be a sequel just so I can learn more about how magic works here.
Also, the book ended with a pretty significant cliffhanger. I need to know what all that is about, so I hope Naomi Novik is a fast typer and the sequel will be out soon. In A Deadly Education not a lot happens, while at the same time a lot of shit goes down. I feel like I'm unable to capture the specific essence of this book, it just has such a different vibe from everything else I've read recently.
Joséphine
Written on Nov 18, 2020
Initial thoughts: I... have mixed feelings. I've had Uprooted on my bookshelf for a few years now but for some reason, A Deadly Education ended up being my first Naomi Novik book. I've not been much on bookstagram lately but this I did see this one pop up a fair bit lately, and since I didn't have to wait too long for the audiobook to come through on Overdrive, I decided to give it a go.
I hope that the sequel to A Deadly Education will offer a lot more substance now that the world building is behind us. I enjoyed the concepts and ideas as well as the writing style enough that I am curious to continue. Besides, magical boarding schools have a way of suckering me in. Still, The Last Graduate needs to bring so much more for me to care about the third book in this trilogy.
I hope that the sequel to A Deadly Education will offer a lot more substance now that the world building is behind us. I enjoyed the concepts and ideas as well as the writing style enough that I am curious to continue. Besides, magical boarding schools have a way of suckering me in. Still, The Last Graduate needs to bring so much more for me to care about the third book in this trilogy.
Terri M. LeBlanc
Written on Nov 3, 2020
The world of Scholomance so rich and Novik adds her own twist. The only downside is that El rushes through much of the world building business that is necessary to understanding how the every works. She assumes the readers...
Read moreThe world of Scholomance so rich and Novik adds her own twist. The only downside is that El rushes through much of the world building business that is necessary to understanding how the every works. She assumes the readers know it all and I did not. (In fact, I'm still not certain, by the end if I completely understand it all.) A Deadly Education is like that other magical YA series that took the world by storm 20+ years ago, but imagine the only classes are Defense Against the Dark Arts and there are no professors. Got it? Well, you've got A Deadly Education.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
alindstadtcorbeax
Written on Oct 11, 2020
RE-READ #1! 5 Stars AGAINNN! I truly just appreciate the eccentricities of this novel & the dark academia setting with the anti-heroine, and all... just everything about it makes me feel such... wonderment.
I absolutely...Read more
Star Rating: —> 5 Stars
RE-READ #1! 5 Stars AGAINNN! I truly just appreciate the eccentricities of this novel & the dark academia setting with the anti-heroine, and all... just everything about it makes me feel such... wonderment.
I absolutely love this book
_________________
Star Rating: —> 5 Stars
GAHHHH THIS WAS EVERYTHING I WAS HOPING FOR & MORE !!!!
*screams excitedly, albiet a little annoyingly fangirl-y (#sorrynotsorry
RE-READ #1! 5 Stars AGAINNN! I truly just appreciate the eccentricities of this novel & the dark academia setting with the anti-heroine, and all... just everything about it makes me feel such... wonderment.
I absolutely love this book
_________________
Star Rating: —> 5 Stars
GAHHHH THIS WAS EVERYTHING I WAS HOPING FOR & MORE !!!!
*screams excitedly, albiet a little annoyingly fangirl-y (#sorrynotsorry
Beth C.
Written on Apr 12, 2020