Modern Meh

Sep-Nov 2016
The Magicians Trilogy – Lev Grossman - Penguin, 2016
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This is a highly-lauded urban fantasy that has been described as Harry Potter for grown-ups. Which it is, in part - it starts with the recruitment of the series protagonist, a clever but socially inept young man called Quentin Coldwater, to Brakebills, an elite hidden college for aspiring magicians. However, Quentin is obsessed with a series of fantasy books about a magical land called Fillory, which unsurprisingly turns out to be a real place that is darker than its chronicler has made out. It is clear what Grossman is about - like many other post-postmodern fantasy authors, he wants to write about two series that he clearly loves while simultaneously critiquing them. But while one pastiche is largely successful, the other is less so.
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