I read The Magicians and was rather annoyed. The characters have discovered they have the ability to do magic and go to a special school for magic. They all graduate and find their way to another world, Fillory, which they have all read about in a series as stories as children. It's as if Narnia has become real, but isn't any tamer than real life is like most children's books. This world was much darker than Lewis and quite irritating. The characters seem to spend most of the time sleeping together, doing drugs or getting drunk. When they make their way to Fillory, it is violent, grim, and magical. The god of Fillory is dying and the author seems to take as many jabs at Lewis as possible. I finished it in May and couldn't bring myself to read the next one.
For whatever reason, I decided to try the sequel. It is more or less based on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but much darker and again is "more real". The main characters have decided to grow up. Quentin, the main character decides he wants to be a hero and takes responsibility for his actions. While still somewhat bracing, I found this story much more interesting, the characters deeper and the plot compelling.
Grossman has a way of making the familiar fresh here. Since this is a series, I will read the next book and look forward to whatever surprises he has ahead. Hopefully I won't be disappointed.
No comments:
Post a Comment