The Magicians by Lev Grossman

BlackBriar · Aug 19, 2009

Has anyone here read this yet? Supposed to be Harry Potter, and Narnia for adults. Except I thought HP for adults was The Name of the Wind, but since this story is set in the modern world, maybe the claims are right. The reviews (GRRM did one) all over the place seem good, except for a few at amazon.

So, has anyone read it yet?

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 19, 2009

Nope. But I saw it in Walden Books, and I almost bought it. It seemed interesting, but I hope it's better than NotW. You know, magic academy for adults, not crap mary sue magic scchool for adults.

Kitty Pryde · Aug 19, 2009

The author says it's Harry Potter for adults because it's a magical school in the real world, rather than a magical school in a quaint kiddy-safe version of the real world. So there's sex and drugs and rock n roll! Like Harry Potter + All The Bad Stuff People Do While They're In College. I haven't read it yet but I want to.

BlackBriar · Aug 19, 2009

I hope it's as good as NotW Liosse, but from one reviewer I read that he wanted to slit his wrists along with the MC after reading the book. Hopefully it's not as emo as that though.

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 19, 2009

As much as it pains me to say this, you can't really trust reviewers. I hated NotW. But you seem to like it. Tastes are different. If someone is making silly claims like the reviewer you emntioned, it's even more likely you can't trust them.

BlackBriar · Aug 19, 2009

Other reviews say it is sad and depressing too. I tend to shy away from books where the MC spends his time whining. Also the author was in a state of divorce when writing it. Still, adult HP sounds good, and maybe this will head the way of Dresden.

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 19, 2009

CupofDice said:
Other reviews say it is sad and depressing too. I tend to shy away from books where the MC spends his time whining. Also the author was in a state of divorce when writing it. Still, adult HP sounds good, and maybe this will head the way of Dresden.

Ooh... Whining is bad. Darn. And the cover blurb sounded so nice.

Smiling Ted · Aug 19, 2009

Took a look on Amazon.

Sounds like they're also forgetting to mention A Wizard of Earthsea in Grossman's list of...ah...primary texts.

Darn. I wish I were a Time book critic too, so when my derivative fantasy got published, it would come out in hardcover with a cool jacket design.

Kitty Pryde · Aug 19, 2009

Smiling Ted said:
Took a look on Amazon.

Sounds like they're also forgetting to mention A Wizard of Earthsea in Grossman's list of...ah...primary texts.

Darn. I wish I were a Time book critic too, so when my derivative fantasy got published, it would come out in hardcover with a cool jacket design.

Problem is, the cover doesn't look like a fantasy novel, it looks like a literary novel. So all the fantasy folks will storm past it on the way to the safety and comfort of the SFF section, and all the lit folks who pick it up will say, wizards? wth? and then set it back down.

I know who LG is, I read his blog regularly, I read a thing ON his blog ABOUT his new fantasy book, but when I saw that book at the Big Box Bookstore, I thought, err, must be some other dude! and walked right past it. It's kind of a weird marketing choice, like they're trying to position it as not-fantasy, but it seems too genre-y for that to work.

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 19, 2009

First when I saw it not in the sff section, I was like: "wth?" Then I was like "The Magicians", must be some literary novel about stage magicians or some other sort of trickster. Then I picked it up, and was like... "Sounds okay, but I can only buy two books, so I'll buy Scar Night and Iron Angel instead."

Now I'm like: "Sounds like a trainwreck. Guess I have to get it."

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 19, 2009

I'm reading through the reviews on amazon, and a lot of the positive ones are bringing up things like "deconstruction", "homage", etc... All that shit that litfic likes to throw around to make itself sound sophisticated. But it also sounds like an interesting book. I'll have to dig some nickels out of the couch cushions.

Parametric · Aug 19, 2009

Joe Abercrombie talked it up, so I'm intrigued.

Smiling Ted · Aug 19, 2009

Liosse de Velishaf said:
First when I saw it not in the sff section, I was like: "wth?" Then I was like "The Magicians", must be some literary novel about stage magicians or some other sort of trickster. Then I picked it up, and was like... "Sounds okay, but I can only buy two books, so I'll buy Scar Night and Iron Angel instead."

Now I'm like: "Sounds like a trainwreck. Guess I have to get it."

It ain't a trainwreck for Grossman if you pay for it.

Smiling Ted · Aug 19, 2009

Liosse de Velishaf said:
I'm reading through the reviews on amazon, and a lot of the positive ones are bringing up things like "deconstruction", "homage", etc... All that shit that litfic likes to throw around to make itself sound sophisticated.

And that's why it has a fancy cover.
So it will be a deconstructive hommage, instead of a derivative piece of dreck.

K_Woods · Aug 19, 2009

Well, consider me suckered into rubbernecking at the Amazon reviews. And lo and behold, I find a gem of a review that insists it's not fantasy, despite the fantasy elements. Which he lists out. But nope, not fantasy.

:Wha:

Uh. Cognitive dissonance much?

If I touch this one, rest assured it's going to be from the library shelf.

ebenstone · Aug 19, 2009

I'm about a hundred pages in and it's really good. Not great or earth-shattering, but very good. It owes just as much to "A Catcher In The Rye" as it does to Harry Potter. And I didn't like Catcher.

Anyway, I'm sure there are reasons for the marketing...like they want it to look less fantasy and more literary...but as a fantasy reader I'm enjoying it. I'll let you know more when I finish it.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

BlackBriar

Bricoleur

Liosse de Velishaf

Kitty Pryde

i luv you giant bear statue

BlackBriar

Bricoleur

Liosse de Velishaf

BlackBriar

Bricoleur

Liosse de Velishaf

Smiling Ted

Ah-HA!

Kitty Pryde

i luv you giant bear statue

Liosse de Velishaf

Liosse de Velishaf

Parametric

Smiling Ted

Ah-HA!

Smiling Ted

Ah-HA!

K_Woods

9 of 10 Overlords prefer Evil Pie!

ebenstone