"The Magicians," by Lev Grossman

In honor of Syfy's premiere of their new TV series, "The Magicians," this week, I decided to read its namesake and inspiration, by Lev Grossman.

The book follows Quentin Coldwater, a high school senior, at the start of the book, through five years of magical studies at the secretive Brakebills University, and the inevitable adventures that follow such an education.

Quentin, in a uniquely refreshing change of pace, may in fact be the world's first clinically depressed fantasy protagonist. He spends large portions of the story looking for something - anything - that will finally fill in the gaps for him. While some readers might find his character a bit on the whiny side - he's at a magical university, shouldn't he be grateful? - I find him more to be one of the few accurate depictions of clinical depression in fantasy literature. Moreover, the narrator doesn't seem to expect any of this to "fix" Quentin, as many books and films depicting depressed or mentally ill characters often do. It gives the book a dark and slightly melancholic twist that adds a certain depth to the story.

The story itself seems to take its cues from much of the other great fantasy literature of our time. Indeed, one can find elements of Harry Potter, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, even Arthurian mythology. Rather than making it seem unoriginal, it almost makes the story more realistic, especially when you factor in the story's own fantasy land, Fillory. As though these elements appear not because of their influence on its author, but because they are, in fact, based in reality, and must, therefore, have an influence on the world around us.

Grossman's writing style reads a bit like coffee with your English professor - conversational, but elevated, sophisticated even. It seems well-suited for a book that is set, for the most part, at a university. The latter third of the book, on the other hand, reads a bit like a play-by-play of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign - very fast paced and combat-focused - also appropriate for its accompanying adventure. 

The book's pace seems to mirror its writing style, in that the first 70% of the story is all background information - interesting, but seemingly unrelated once you get to the actual action in the last third of the book. That final 30% moves incredibly fast, and could easily have been expanded to include more information, and, in fact, probably should have. They seem to go straight from entering the game to fighting the final boss, with minimal adventuring in between. Nonetheless, Grossman balances these segments in a way that doesn't seem forced or boring. The long introduction seems rather to draw in the reader and amplify the tension, making the concluding third all the more satisfying.

The ending itself, without giving too much away, has a unique twist to it as well. Several, in fact, some of which are more obvious than others. And while some questions remain unanswered, most likely to be addressed in the second and third books of the trilogy, for the most part, the reader is left satisfied, if a little unsettled, much like the story's protagonist. While it's a very different ending from most fairy tales, it seems befitting, refreshing even.

Having seen the first two episodes of the TV series, I can tell fans that there are a number of differences. I have yet to decide whether these changes will be for the better or worse, but I can say I like what I've seen so far - especially the addition of a side plot which follows the Hedge Witches, who are addressed offhand in exactly two places in the book, and who I look forward to learning more about.

Despite its unusual style - or perhaps because of it - this was a book that kept me eagerly turning page after page, anxious to see what happened next, and I look forward both to reading the sequel and seeing what Syfy does with its television counterpart.



Overall Rating: (4 stars)