By: Lev Grossman
2.5 Stars
Cleanliness (See “About” for scale): Disgusting (20+ curse words, multiple sexual scenes, descriptions of body parts, violence, blood, and death.)
Perhaps my expectations were too high for this book. When it was recommended to me, multiple people said it was an adult version of Narnia and Harry Potter wrapped up in one. While, yes, I did see the influence of both on the storyline, it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as either series. In fact, I would go as far as to see that The Magicians is fairly boring.
Don’t get me wrong, this book is not a bad fantasy novel, it’s just not a great one. I couldn’t seem to get into the story, and I didn’t like a single one of the characters. Much of the dialogue and relationships between the characters felt off and more fitting of a soap opera.
I did enjoy some of the world-building at the beginning of the book, however. The beginning of the story and the main character’s introduction to magic was very enjoyable to read. I believe if you enjoy fantasy and have never read Narnia or Harry Potter, then you might possibly enjoy Grossman’s novel – it just wasn’t for me.
Audra's Book Blabbing 
Oh darn, I bought this second hand and have it in my queue to read. I appreciate your review and I think I will still read it someday since I own it đŸ™‚
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You may end up liking it a lot more than I did!!
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I liked this book but I agree that the author is not Phillip Pullman or Brandon sanderson. There are plenty of novels to discover before this one that are much better but for me, the reading was not unpleasant.
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I think I would recommend reading this one before reading other popular novels if you’re going to read it at all. I agree that it’s not a bad read – a decent way to get into this kind of fantasy! Thanks for commenting!
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