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tregina's review
2.0
There are a lot of things to like about this novel, things that I normally gravitate towards like magical schools and realistic relationships. But there came a point where it was just gross to be in Quentin's head with him, with his entitlement and his misogyny, and I never got past that. The novel itself is an unholy marriage between Harry Potter and Narnia with a level of grit over the whole thing, but the pacing and structure were off and so even the elements that I did like never came together for me into a satisfying book.
dcliz's review
3.0
I'm not sure what to make of this book. I was definitely irritated by the Brakesbill portion, which despite the fact that the author was "playing with the trope" of Harry Potter--including a couple of cheeky references--was, in reality, clearly indebted to the world J.K. Rowling's artfully created. I am annoyed by an unresolved detail:
And if Book I was inspired by Harry Potter, then the other books clearly borrowed elements from other classics: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Alice and Wonderland; a Wrinkle in Time. But it didn't bother me as much, perhaps because by this point it had become clear that the entire novel was almost an homage to these earlier works. I'm not sure whether the author was trying to insert himself into this anthology, and if he was, whether he succeeded.
I will say that the themes of the search for happiness and meaning in life resonated, making the novel as a whole more satisfactory. I'm also curious whether the circumstances in which I read the book--almost all at once, on the 6th & 7th day of being home sick--influenced my reaction to it. In any case, I suppose I will pick up the next book in the series, to see if the story gets better now that the foundation has been laid.
Spoiler
What DID happen to the two people in the 2nd year whose spots Quentin and Alice took?And if Book I was inspired by Harry Potter, then the other books clearly borrowed elements from other classics: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Alice and Wonderland; a Wrinkle in Time. But it didn't bother me as much, perhaps because by this point it had become clear that the entire novel was almost an homage to these earlier works. I'm not sure whether the author was trying to insert himself into this anthology, and if he was, whether he succeeded.
I will say that the themes of the search for happiness and meaning in life resonated, making the novel as a whole more satisfactory. I'm also curious whether the circumstances in which I read the book--almost all at once, on the 6th & 7th day of being home sick--influenced my reaction to it. In any case, I suppose I will pick up the next book in the series, to see if the story gets better now that the foundation has been laid.
kellyb's review
3.0
It amazed me how much of this book I did not even remember a little bit upon re-reading it. There were times when Quentin got a little too emo for me, and I totally love emo, but in general this was a wonderful story. Given how much of this book I forgot, I really look forward to re-reading [b:The Magician King|10079321|The Magician King (The Magicians, #2)|Lev Grossman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316177353s/10079321.jpg|13362064] before I can finally get around to [b:The Magician's Land|19103097|The Magician's Land (The Magicians, #3)|Lev Grossman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386012841s/19103097.jpg|24330801].
catiew's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like this book can be summed up in three points
1. Every single character is a terrible person
2. It features a scene where everybody is turned into Arctic foxes and then have sex with each other (as Arctic foxes)
3. I'm completely unclear as to whether this is satire of or homage to the "classics" of high fantasy
I'm glad I didn't buy this one - I borrowed it from the library. And despite my major misgivings about some of what happens, I might read the sequels - but again, I'll be borrowing them from the library. I recommend it if you want to think "wtf?" at the end of every chapter.
1. Every single character is a terrible person
2. It features a scene where everybody is turned into Arctic foxes and then have sex with each other (as Arctic foxes)
3. I'm completely unclear as to whether this is satire of or homage to the "classics" of high fantasy
I'm glad I didn't buy this one - I borrowed it from the library. And despite my major misgivings about some of what happens, I might read the sequels - but again, I'll be borrowing them from the library. I recommend it if you want to think "wtf?" at the end of every chapter.
raygainford's review against another edition
5.0
This is just what I needed to read after finding out that the tv adaptation is being finishing after the current season (I highly recommend watching it). It's gonna be hard not to read all 5 of these in quick succession!
ky_venn's review against another edition
I DNF’d this book about maybe 30% in? The writing is kind of strange to me, and I feel like some scenes just abruptly end and it really took me out of the story. Plus the TV show is light years better!
yumeshi's review against another edition
3.0
I couldn't decide between 3* and 4*, but looking at all those bad reviews and everything I felt sorry for this book, because it really is a good book. The only reason I was thinking about giving it only 3* is the fact that I had watched the TV show and after that I started with the book, which is always a problem for me. But it turned out the story is very different from the TV show, so it made it better.
The characters are not very likable, which was the biggest issue for me, especially Quentin, but I think it was meant to be that way.
The story is very interesting and I'm looking forward to reading the next book, although I feel like I'm going to take a break and read something nice and happy with characters i can root for xD
There's also the fact that many people say that this is like Harry Potter for adults and I have no idea how could someone who has read this book come up with that. Maybe they thought it would sell better thanks to that? I don't know, but I think people judge this book wrongly thanks to that.
The characters are not very likable, which was the biggest issue for me, especially Quentin, but I think it was meant to be that way.
The story is very interesting and I'm looking forward to reading the next book, although I feel like I'm going to take a break and read something nice and happy with characters i can root for xD
There's also the fact that many people say that this is like Harry Potter for adults and I have no idea how could someone who has read this book come up with that. Maybe they thought it would sell better thanks to that? I don't know, but I think people judge this book wrongly thanks to that.
claudiaferreira's review against another edition
1.0
As 400 páginas mais pobres que já li, não se deixem enganar, não tem nada de arrebatador, não é comparável, nem de longe, a CS Lewis ou a JK Rowling, é aborrecimento de fio a pavio.
O contexto promete, as personagens também mas vai-se lendo sempre na espectativa de que haja algo de excepcional na próxima página, na próxima linha, que faça todo o livro valer a pena...
Fecha-se e foi um grande NADA.
O contexto promete, as personagens também mas vai-se lendo sempre na espectativa de que haja algo de excepcional na próxima página, na próxima linha, que faça todo o livro valer a pena...
Fecha-se e foi um grande NADA.