The Magicians

So I read George R.R. Martin's blurb for THE MAGICIANS and I thought this will be an excellent read. Never judge a book by it's blurb.

Lev Grossman took the concepts raised by Harry Potter and the Narnia books, added a heavy dollop of Donna Tartt's THE SECRET HISTORY, a liberal teaspoon of Dungeons & Dragons, and came out with a perfectly serviceable story about magic and it's role in the world. However, the story is not all that pleasant and probably a little more world-weary than the usual urban fantasy.

Grossman seems preoccupied at first with the notion that this is how a school for wizards would really be and peppers his descriptions with digs at the Potter series. His characters swear, molest, fornicate, badger, bully, and drink with abandon. They don't really care about magic or learning, but with their own selfish natures. As the story evolves, it becomes apparent that these lost souls will be just as lost when they graduate as when they started school.

At this point, the characters jump into the Narnia-like world that is the underlying current of the novel. There they get to act out their heroic fantasies only to find that reality and dreams are completely separate from each other. All in all, the point of the book seems to be that life never really lives up to what we would like. A noble sentiment, but one I've read enough to make this book seem like a chore.

I truly respect what this book attempted to do - to re-take the fantasy genre from the youth market. However, I had many stops and starts with the book and even had to use two different libraries to get through it due to the amount of holds on the title. I'm surprised this book isn't generating the chatter that other mainstreamed fantasy books did upon their release. Perhaps the subject matter too closely mirrors the Harry Potter phenomena to draw in the public imagination.

In the end, I have mixed feelings. I enjoyed some of it, but other parts seemed too derivative. It's not a bad book, but it is not my cup of tea.