Review: Lev Grossman’s ‘The Magicians’

I saw this described somewhere as “the least magical book about magic I’ve ever read,” and found it much to be the case. The story has possibility, but it lacks spark.

A thinly-veiled pastiche on Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia, it adds little to either. There are some moments - the magical college setting of Brakebills provides most of them -  but I would have liked to see more than a faint gloss of originality thrown over what comes across as little more than a technically competent crossover fanfic. I don’t mind fanfic, but I expect more from a ‘real’ book.

There’s a sequel in the works (and it is very left open for one) so maybe Grossman will take the opportunity to go a little farther out and add some real depth of his own. But after reading this, I can’t say I have a lot of faith in that possibility - or much of an urge to read it.

1 Notes/ Hide

  1. duncatra posted this