The Magicians (6 points)

                Since around the time "The Magicians" TV series came out, I had heard of it. I always saw the series advertised with adult characters. At the start of the book, I was a bit confused because the characters were in their late teen years. I'm assuming the TV show is about the characters later on in the book. I have not seen the series though so I don’t really know.

               The book in some ways feels like it isn't very original because I have seen stories of wizard schools in various books and films. However, the book is a little different in showing one character’s story over the course of many years. At the beginning of the book, Quentin is not yet attending college. He tries to go to Princeton but he is then lead to Brakebills College. One major difference between this book and other wizard school stories is that it takes place at a college. Many wizarding schools in films and books are for younger children and teens as they are just discovering their powers.

                After doing some further research on the differences between the TV show and book, I found that the way the story is told is a bit different. Like I mentioned earlier, the TV show begins by focusing on the characters as their college years come to an end while the book begins with the end of their high school years. The book is about Quentin. There are other characters that have an important role in the book but they are not given major storylines that are outside of Quentin’s storyline. The TV show does this differently by giving several characters a major storyline.

                The most interesting aspect of this book is its way of telling stories of multiple genres. At first glance, this is a story about a magical college. This story alone is very interesting. However, “The Magicians” adds an additional aspect which is a sort of coming-of-age story. Unlike the “Harry Potter” series, “The Magicians” is about characters becoming adults. When the book begins, Quentin is a teenager preparing for college. By the end of the book, his college years have come to an end and he is starting a new life.


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