The Magicians (The Magicians, #1)

by Lev Grossman

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Imagine a world where anyone can perform magic, if they work hard enough and are smart enough.  Magic is one of the world's best kept secrets, but it runs in the veins of every influential organization worldwide.  This is the world of The Magicians, where only the best of the best are recruited to Breakbills.  But what to do after that?

The Magicians is a great adventure in fantasy and magical realism.  Most people are familiar with the popular Syfy show, but the book is deep and deliberate and fantastic.  There are similarities, and there are changes, but I don't want to talk about the show.  Just the book.

Lev Grossman's writing style is incredible.  His writing is very deep and detailed.  Most books I find I can read quickly, lightly - I had to absorb every syllable of The Magicians.  The carefully crafted world is a mix of imagination and science.  It's so close, I almost feel like I could touch it.  That is the most incredible type of world-building - the sort where you feel like you can reach out and move aside an invisible curtain and behind it is magic.  I am hooked.

That said, The Magicians is never a story about a handful of kids saving the world.  Quentin, Josh, Janet, Eliot, and Alice are not shiny people.  They are selfish and manipulative and pretty much just a holy mess.  I liked that the characters were not entirely likable.  I latched right on to Eliot - he seems like the character with the most room to grow.  It's easy to like the characters but not approve of them.

The books is broken into two halves - Breakbills and Filory.  They're both interesting in their own way.  I've heard people compare The Magicians to the Harry Potter series, but I think that Filory has definite edges of Narnia.  It's refreshing to have a new adult story with the same magical feel as the middle grade novels I loved growing up.

And yes.  The Magicians advertises as an adult novel, but the characters are college students and it feels more new adult to me.

I wasn't a fan of the show and had no intention to read the book before it was given to me as a gift.  I'm glad I did read it - I absolutely enjoyed it.