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  • The Magicians

  • The Magicians, Book 1
  • By: Lev Grossman
  • Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
  • Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (315 ratings)

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The Magicians

By: Lev Grossman
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
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Publisher's Summary

In a secret world of forbidden knowledge, power comes at a terrible price....

Quentin Coldwater's life is changed forever by an apparently chance encounter: when he turns up for his entrance interview to Princeton, he finds his interviewer dead - but a strange envelope bearing Quentin's name leads him down a path very different from any he'd ever imagined.

The envelope, and the mysterious manuscript it contains, leads to a secret world of obsession and privilege, a world of freedom and power; and, for a while, it's a world that seems to answer all Quentin's desires. But the idyll cannot last - and when it's finally shattered, Quentin is drawn into something darker and far more dangerous than anything he could ever have expected....

©2016 Lev Grossman (P)2016 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about The Magicians

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • B.W
  • 21-05-2016

I think someone forgot to include a narrative

Talk about squandering a good idea. A group of largely unloveable characters experience an adventure with no discernible point. Along the way they fail to demonstrate any personal growth or character development and generally get on the readers nerves.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Rix
  • 04-05-2017

great idea, poor execution

What did you like best about The Magicians, Book 1? What did you like least?

the idea of a realistic magical world as very intriguing, however very quickly I came to realise that realistic seems to translate into depressing. Quintin is a terrible character to follow, and his mood swings can throw you easily out of a scene. There were plots that we were following and then weirdly neglected for no good reason.

The ending saved the story. There was enough happening that was satisfying that make me finish it but I would not be recommending it to people.

What was most disappointing about Lev Grossman’s story?

plots that went nowhere was the most frustrating. Interesting ideas were cut short with basic explanations that were never questioned. The story might be a warning for the rich kids of the world that have no direction in their lives beyond spending daddy's money but that isn't enough to save it from its many weaknesses.

What about Mark Bramhall’s performance did you like?

The reading was good, with enough differences between character voices to follow along easily. An easy and calming voice.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

This book is a tv show, and my friend has watched the first season. We compared notes. If the show has brought you here, do not bother with the book. They are drastically different.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Save your time and watch the tv series instead

I read this book because I watched the tv adaptation and really liked it. I thought, of course the book must be better. I was wrong. The problem is that the characters are not developed enough. They don't really grow, and there's no nuance. I think the author was going for gritty, but their drunkenness and apathy just put me off. They are one-dimensional. The thing that really got me was that the author can't seem to decide whether the readers should hate Janet or not. She's nice, then she's the worst of the worst, then she's good again. I also didn't connect with the protagonist. He came across as whiny and defeatist.
I will not be reading the sequels.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Why?

I was told that this was a good book in a good series. I struggled to finish this, and I will not be reading the others.
It felt like a crossover between Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia, but done poorly. It dragged on and on, giving you far too much detail on stuff you couldn't care less about, glossing over things that could, maybe, have been interesting. I feel like a lot of it was setting up for the sequels, but it put way too much into that.
I'm not actually certain that the author realises that women are humans. In one part of the book, Quentin's professor (a woman whose cleavage he kept staring at, thus we had to hear about it, over and over, along with the brests and physical appearance of every female character in the book) had "unladylike" sweat patches under her arms. It was not relative to the story at all.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

.

its a slow start to the book but then it just keeps building to the point that you cant stop

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Just watch the TV show.

If I was Lev Grossman, I should be mortified to write such and embarrassing sexist, abelist load of claptrap from such wonderful ideas. Quentin is an insufferable jerk with not one redeeming trait. The word 'retard' appears and the story could have done without the description of r_pe. Elliot, Janet and Josh receive so little development that when we arrive at the end of the book it's quite unbelievable. Despite the universe being almost a direct rip off of "the lion, the witch and the wardrobe" with just enough changed to say it's new, Lev has executed this poorly and even though I purchased the next books, I'll be asking for refunds. Any time I wish to return to Fillory I can rewatch episodes of The Magicians. I can't recommend them highly enough.
The voice actor had an annoying variety of character voices but was overall alright.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

well below average

one of the worst books I have read it was hard to finish and I really just could not get into it the main character was far to self pittying and it just really wasn't the book for me I hope the second one is better than the first

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Sam
  • 11-08-2017

Good Book to Read, Very Slow Audiobook

What did you like best about The Magicians, Book 1? What did you like least?

The narrator creates very distinct personas for each character, and performs them with real personality behind the words. (but he does like to pronounce the "w" in words with "wh" like "wwwwho")

What was most disappointing about Lev Grossman’s story?

This is the sort of story that value world building above all else. I imagine you could ingress yourself into it on paper, but for an audiobook I like to anticipate the action. I kept thinking "this is where the plot begins!", only to have this part of the story fizzle out, just another random scene without real conflict. It took almost the whole book to realise the only development happens in the psyche of the protagonist, as his mental health deteriorates, but it is so repetitive in an audio medium that it was still hard to appreciate. The story only picks up about 12 hours in, making the first 3 quarters of the book seem inconsequential and needing a good trimming down.

Have you listened to any of Mark Bramhall’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No, but this one is fantastic, and I might look for more just based on the narrator.

Did The Magicians, Book 1 inspire you to do anything?

If I find a second hand paperback, I might pick it up, as I suspect I would get a better insight into mental health, but its a hard thing to appreciate in audio, given how it is written.

Any additional comments?

Just get it paperback, I reckon its worth it over audiobook. Just too slow and seems so unimportant for the first 10 hours of listening. Its hard to appreciate it with such an unpleasant protagonist

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

rich exploration of fantasy scapes and personality

great. exciting. slow start but worth hanging in for the climactic finish. creative. a rich fantasy.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Probably my favorite novel

Loved the realism of the characters. They are all flawed in their own ways, but still lovable and relatable. The main character in particular, isn't an exceptional hero chosen by a prophecy, he's just a guy struggling to find happiness and doing what he can. I loved the relationships between the characters too. There's no eternal and perfect love or friendship or even hatred between them, instead there are friends who care greatly about each other but still make each other suffer from time to time, people who can't seem to fit in, and people who were part of the group, but who you didn't really know that we'll and don't really want to see again after you've separated.
I loved the worldbuiding too, and in particular the magic, which again is not just amazing and all powerful , but which is also really hard and sometimes boring work. You have to be into that worldbuiding to really love this novel, as most of the book is centered around that as well as the evolution of the characters instead of having a quest given in chapter one and that takes 90% of the story and makes it so predictable.
Finally, I am a big fan of the narrator. Great voice (almost ASMRy), great accent, very convincing even when doing the female characters.

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