The Magicians (The Magicians #1)by Lev Grossman Mixing the magic of beloved children's fantasy classics (from Narnia andOz to Harry Potter and Earthsea) with the sex, excess, angst, and anticlimax of life in college and beyond, Lev Grossman's Magiciansreimagines modern-day fantasy for grownups. Quentin Coldwater lives in a state of perpetual melancholy, privately obsessed with his childhood books about the enchanted land of Fillory. When he’s admitted to the surreptitious Brakebills Academy for an education in magic, Quentin finds mastering spells is tedious (and love is even more fraught). He also discovers his power has thrilling potential--though it's unclear what he should do with it once he's moved with his new magician cohorts to New York City. Then they discover the magical land of Fillory is real and launch an expedition to use their powers to set things right in the kingdom--which, naturally, turns out to be a much murkier proposition than expected. The Magicians breathes life into a cast of characters you want to know--if the people you want to know are charismatic, brilliant, complex, flawed magicians--and does what Quentin claims books never really manage to do: "get you out, really out, of where you were and into somewhere better. " Or if not better, at least a heck of a lot more interesting. --Mari Malcolm

I was so excited to read this book, with the esoteric cover and raving reviews about both the book and the author, but what met me inside is something totally opposite to my expectations. They have made many comparisons of this book to Harry Potter. The similarity between these two novels stops at the point that there is a magic school. Where Harry Potter always somewhat had an optimistic look on life despite your circumstances, in the magicians there is a high degree of pessimism. This is definitely for an adult crowd. We follow Quentin, super smart, top of the IQ list kind of high school guys. He is given a series of tests by a school which remains obscured to him until he finds out that he is accepted.  Looking for some higher meaning to life he decides to attend. The book covers a vast time span from the time he is admitted to his life post graduation. In my opinion, this book focuses too much on the negative things life has to offer. There was somewhat of a pointless aspect as to the existence of magic and why these characters were brought into this hidden magical world.  Occasionally, due to the madness magic can imprint on you, students would engage in pointless and numerous acts of sex. After graduating from magic school Quentin finds himself with no direction to proceed, until he finds out that a fantasy world he obsesses over is in fact actually real. Seeing that this life never has fully been satisfying for him he ventures there.  I was a bit disappointed at the end; there was never any closure for any of the characters. I guess that’s why we have the Magician King to come in summer 2011. The author is very selective in his descriptions. At times I found it hard to visualize certain surroundings or circumstances. At other times he was very descriptive in the most superannuated situations. There were some good parts, which were a bit to brief for me. Not sure if I will read the next book in the series. If I do it will be to gain some closure. If you want a read that is totally depressing and looks to the bad side of almost everything life has to offer, definitely a read for you.