The Magicians (Grossman novel)
Cover of The Magicians
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| Author | Lev Grossman |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Contemporary fantasy/High fantasy/Parallel universe |
| Publisher | Viking/Penguin Books |
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Publication date
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2009 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 402 pp (first edition) |
| ISBN | |
| LC Class | PS3557.R6725 M34 |
| Followed by | The Magician King |
The Magicians is a 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 college of magic in New York. His novel started as a dream about a beast invading a magical classroom, while Highlander served as inspiration for the world.
The novel received critical acclaim, and was followed by The Magician King (2011) and The Magician's Land (2014). It was adapted as a television series that currently airs on Syfy.
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 land called Fillory. On the day of his Princeton interview, he instead is examined for entrance to Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, the only school for magic in North America. He, along with 19 others, is accepted to the university and he moves there at once.
It soon becomes apparent that magic is incredibly difficult and tedious to learn, as each spell must be varied in dozens of ways, depending on factors such as the phase of the moon and the closest body of water. The curriculum involves learning many old and lost languages, and seemingly endless hand positions. Despite this, Quentin and Alice Quinn are able to move up a year by compressing their first year of studies. One day during class, an otherworldly horror referred to as "the Beast" enters Brakebills and eats a student before the rest of the faculty are able to drive it away.
Third year students are assigned a Discipline. Though Quentin cannot be assigned one, 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 Quentin and Alice begin a relationship.
Upon graduation, Quentin and the other Physical Kids spend their days and nights in hedonistic pursuits. While still looking for a purpose, his erstwhile classmate Penny arrives with news about travel between worlds and Quentin discovers that Fillory is real.
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