Thursday, December 30, 2010

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Quick, does this plot sound familiar: a teenage boy, who is unhappy with his life, suddenly finds himself in a mysterious school that teaches magic, where he begins a series of adventures that reveal his destiny? If you said Harry Potter you are not alone, for even The Magicians can't help but make reference to the book series by J.K Rowling, as if to say, “yes, Ms. Rowling, I know I stole your idea.”

If that wasn't bad enough, this book is riddled with awful dialogue that sounds like an over eager child trying to look cool. “I drop the F-bomb!” the book seems to proudly boast. “And I mention things like sodomy, and the drug ecstasy, as well as other controversial things.” But instead of being intrigued (or for that matter shocked), the audience is left rolling their eyes.

As a big science fiction and fantasy fan this book was not a complete waste, for I enjoy tales of magic and parallel worlds. Objectively speaking, however, this book was pretty awful.

1 1/2 out of 5 stars