Quentin Coldwater, 17 and unhappy is preparing to interview for a place at Princeton but he finds his interviewer dead and is handed an envelope which leads him to Brakebills College and a world of magic he never knew existed. 

 

I was led to read the books after having seen the TV series which I loved and I was curious to read the source material, although I knew the books would be very different structurally as the storytelling in the TV series does not adhere to them chronologically. 

 

The Magicians approaches magic from a much harsher viewpoint from an adult perspective, for a start the students are all at college/university level rather than just starting secondary school. For Quentin he is a teenager who is lost in life looking for a purpose constantly disappointed with himself and in others.  His only solace is the love for a series of books that he started reading as a child set in Fillory.   Now he discovers that magic actually exists and is thrown into learning a complex, powerful and dangerous skill for which it is a great responsibility to wield such power. 

 

Quentin and his fellow students Eliot, Alice, Penny, Janet and Josh navigate through this new world - Quentin learns the devastating consequences for making a mistake.  I really liked the characters flawed as they are often arrogant, profligate, reckless, cruel but at times kind, brave and courageous. 

 

The things that happen in the book are sometimes humourous, curious and also chilling and shocking because when they happen it is unexpected and when it first happens it is such a short sentence, not graphic but makes you stop and gulp and so much more effective than giving us all the gory details. 

 

I really enjoyed the story and it kept me wanting to turn the pages to follow their adventures in the world of magic.  You so want Quentin to find the happiness and peace that so eludes him.