Denise H. reviewed on 1/25/2010

When I first came across this book when browsing on amazon, I thought it sounded like something I would really take a liking to. After reading it, I am very torn as to whether I would recommend it to others. The premise is simple enough - a young kid, who is seemingly caught in a black hole of depression throughout the entirety of the story, ventures into a world of magic when he goes to a "magic" college and then some more... I must say that Grossman's prose are more than impressive. His descriptions are intricate and can paint a very good picture sometimes. But while reading The Magicians, I found myself craving dialogue. I think the main problem with this story for me was that Grossman got so tied up in his descriptions that he missed the captivating elements of true storytelling. I like to sum this up by saying, "show me" rather than "tell me." It took me longer than anticipated to finish The Magicians simply because of the fact that there wasn't much interest there for me. Perhaps I didn't identify with Quentin, the main character. Or perhaps it was the overkill on the description? In summary, the story was nice to read once, but I don't think it will remain on my library shelf for a second turn of the pages.

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