S c i e n c e Fic t ion & Fan t asy 3 1
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
FANTASY F GROSSMAN, L.
For adults who loved the Harry Potter books, but found the characters’ heroic qualities a bit unbelievable, there’s Brakebill’s College for Magicians. Young Quentin Coldwater is the kind of boy who has always been waiting for something amazing to happen to him, so he’s not as surprised as he should be when he’s admitted to Brakebill’s. However, Brakebill’s is less of a wonderland and more of a boiler room. The magic they teach is real, the workload is backbreaking, the ridiculous hand gestures painful and monotonous. It’s a place that trains young people for alcoholism as much as it does magicianhood, and then sets them loose with near infinite power in a world they’ve had little experience in. This is a dark parody, but an enjoyable and fully realized one. Read it not expecting great things from its characters, and you’ll love it all the more when they surprise you. The magicians in question are not heroes, but they are people; people can grow. – Matthew Z. Wood