0 Reactions

The Magicians (Grossman novel)The Magicians is a new adult fantasy novel by the American author Lev Grossman, published in 2009 by Viking Press. It tells the story of Quentin Coldwater, a young man who discovers and attends a secret college of magic in New York. The novel received critical acclaim and was followed by a sequel, The Magician King, in 2011 and a third novel, The Magician's Land, in 2014.

A television series adaptation of the novels premiered on Syfy in 2015. Grossman has also worked on two comic books stories based on his novels.

Plot
Quentin Coldwater is a high school student from Brooklyn who, along with best friends James and Julia, attends an advanced school. He loves a series of books called "Fillory and Further", which involve the children of the Chatwin family discovering a Narnia-esque magical land called Fillory. On the day of his Princeton interview, Quentin is instead transported to Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, the only school for magic in North America. He passes the tests and interviews and is accepted as one of twenty new students.

After beginning his studies at Brakebills, it becomes apparent that magic is difficult and tedious to learn. The curriculum involves learning many old and lost languages and innumerable hand positions. Despite this, Quentin and his classmates Penny and Alice are allowed to move up a year by compressing their first year of studies. Penny fails the special exam and stays behind, then later fistfights Quentin out of jealousy. One day during class, a bored Quentin tampers with a spell. An otherworldly horror referred to as "the Beast" enters Brakebills, eating a student before the faculty are able to drive it away.

Third year students are assigned a Discipline. Although Quentin's Discipline does not manifest itself to the teachers, he and Alice are sorted into the Physical magic group. The Physical Kids also include Eliot, Josh, and Janet, who are a year above them. During the spring semester of their fourth year, they are all sent to Brakebills South in Antarctica where they practice in silence and isolation. Quentin and Alice begin a relationship. During a summer vacation, Quentin is confronted by Julia about Brakebills. She reveals that she took the entrance exam at the same time as Quentin, but failed. As per protocol, her memory was wiped of magic's existence or the school itself, but it did not work correctly and she has become deranged and obsessed with learning magic. Quentin tells her the school's location, hoping she will have her memory properly erased.

Upon graduation, Quentin and the other Physical Kids live in Manhattan and spend their days and nights in hedonistic pursuits, still looking for a purpose. Quentin drunkenly sleeps with Janet, abruptly ending his relationship with Alice. Penny arrives with news about travel between worlds: he has left Brakebills early after spending his time on specialized study of the Neitherlands, a realm between many worlds. Fillory is real; Penny has come into possession of a button that will allow others to travel there with him.

The magicians enter Fillory and search for a quest, finding it more dangerous and divided than the books indicated. Eventually, they set out for Ember's tomb to retrieve the crown of Martin Chatwin, the eldest child from the "Fillory and Further" books, to establish themselves as the new Kings and Queens of Fillory. They are disturbed by the violent trials they endure before meeting Ember, the ram god of Fillory, in the tomb. However, the group learn that Ember has been weakened and is being kept prisoner in the tomb, and his brother, Umber, is dead. Against Ember's instructions, Quentin blows a mysterious horn, which summons the Beast; he is revealed to be Martin Chatwin, who sacrificed his humanity in order to stay in Fillory forever and has taken over. He intends to destroy the button so he can never be banished. After a brutal fight, in which Penny's hands are eaten, Alice sacrifices herself to kill Martin.

Six months later, Quentin awakes after a long recovery in the care of Fillorian centaurs. The other magicians returned to Earth, fearing that Quentin would never awaken from his coma. Penny chose to remain in the Neitherlands, entering a mysterious library. Quentin becomes depressed and disillusioned, especially when Jane, the youngest Chatwin, visits and reveals herself to be the Watcherwoman, previously thought to be a villain. By using a time-traveling device, Jane pulled the strings throughout her siblings' and Quentin's stories, finally succeeded in killing Martin by leading Quentin and his friends to the confrontation. Quentin then travels Fillory to hunt down the Questing Beast, but it is unable to grant his wishes to bring back Alice and heal Penny's hands. Quentin wishes to return to Earth.

Quentin chooses to denounce magic, feeling that power and his search for purpose have only caused problems. Brakebills sets him up in a high-paying office job in New York where he remains depressed and aimless. One day, Eliot and Janet show up with Julia, who has learned magic, asking Quentin return to Fillory with them to become Kings and Queens. They encourage him to accept that everyone, including Alice, were responsible for their own choices on the quest. Quentin joins them.

Free books android app tbrJar TBR JAR Read Free books online gutenberg

Load Full (0)