8 THE FALCON REVIEWS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017

BOOK REVIEW

A fantasy masterpiece or lesson in narcissism?

Grossman creates one interesting character in The Magcians
LEXIE BROEMMER lynite Quentin Coldwater, who con- During his exhausting and god-aw- he treats her and basically every
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF stantly whines about how terrible his ful 17 years, hes always loved the girl or woman in the story terribly.
life is. At the beginning of the novel, Fillory and Further books, which are On top of being a narcissist, hes also a
George R.R. Martin, the author of he is attending a prestigious private a little bit Harry Potter and a whole lot misogynistic pig.
the acclaimed Game of Thrones series, school. He is exceptionally smart Narnia, and always wanted to be part of The Magicians covers about four
once said that the Magicians is to and comes from a very rich family. that world. The Fillory and Further or five years of Quentins life and sees
Harry Potter as a shot of Irish whiskey The only thing that could really be books are all about the (maybe) fiction- him into his early 20s, yet he still never
is to a glass of weak tea Hogwarts perceived as a hardship (this word is al Chatwin siblings and their magical changes. Its amazing, really. So is the
was never like this. being used lightly) is the fact that hes adventures in Fillory. Even when he fact that Grossman himself seems to
Hes wrong. completely in love with his best friend, Pevensie-style (the Pevensies are the think himself too sophisticated to write
Nothing nothing compares to Julia, who is completely unavailable siblings who are transported to Narnia a character who is actually human.
Harry Potter. as she is dating his other best friend, via wardrobe) stumbles into Brakebills Despite the fact that the novel is
In Potter, there is childlike wonder James. Despite having everything he College for Magical Pedagogy and unbearable at times, it is interesting
with magic. There is innocence a could ever want besides Julia, that is discovers that magic is, indeed, real, enough that if readers can make it
kind of purity that is present through- Quentin is empty and basically hates he quickly turns magic into something through the whole thing, they will want
out the to read the
entire se- next book,
ries even The Magi-
though cian King,
the in the series
storyline to see what
gets pret- will hap-
ty dark. pen next.
This Theres also
comes a third book
from the called The
fact that, Magicians
while Land.
Harry, Mar-
Ron, tin is right
Hermi- about one
one and thing,
all the after all.
other Hogwarts
charac- is nothing
ters battle like The
with the Magicians.
obvious, Without
outward being prud-
evil ish, Rowling
(Volde- obviously
mort) tells a story
and even with morals.
the possibility of evil inside them- everything. Hes basically a precocious borderline loathsome for himself. On the other hand, Grossman tells a
selves, they actually are good people. and pretentious jerk who fails to see Back to the Julia thing. Quentin tale about the pursuit of drugs, sex and
Throughout Potter, the characters dont anything good that happens to him. forgets her pretty quickly once he gets alcohol that celebrates hedonism and
just maintain their innocence. They And, OK, thats fine. A lot of stories to Brakebills, which is fine, It was just an almost sociopathic character.
actually develop. Even J.K. Rowlings start this way with the main character a crush, and he doesnt see her much The Magicians was adapted for
prose develops with each novel to show lost and unhappy no matter how good anymore, so he doesnt think about television in 2015. The show, now in its
how the characters are growing in their she or he has it because that character her at all. Instead, he starts thinking second season, airs on Syfy. Its simply
magical education and as people. has yet to find a purpose. about his fellow classmate, the small based on the novels in the series, so
In The Magicians, written by Whats amazing, though, is that and insanely intelligent Alice (the only theres no telling if Quentin and his
Lev Grossman, there is no character Quentin never changes. Hes never not-terrible character in the book who friends are as horrible in the show as
growth. This is especially true of the happy because he finds the worst in doesnt deserve her fate). This, too, they are in the book.
main character, 17-year-old Brook- every single situation. would be fine, except for the fact that