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Synopsis
Lev Grossman’s new novel THE BRIGHT SWORD is out now! The New York Times bestselling novel about a young man practicing magic in the real world, now an original series on SYFY “The Magicians is to Harry Potter as a shot of Irish whiskey is to a glass of weak tea. . . . Hogwarts was never like this.” —George R.R. Martin “Sad, hilarious, beautiful, and essential to anyone who cares about modern fantasy.” —Joe Hill “A very knowing and wonderful take on the wizard school genre.” —John Green “The Magicians may just be the most subversive, gripping and enchanting fantasy novel I’ve read this century.” —Cory Doctorow “This gripping novel draws on the conventions of contemporary and classic fantasy novels in order to upend them . . . an unexpectedly moving coming-of-age story.” —The New Yorker “The best urban fantasy in years.” —A.V. Club Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A high school math genius, he’s secretly fascinated with a series of children’s fantasy novels set in a magical land called Fillory, and real life is disappointing by comparison. When Quentin is unexpectedly admitted to an elite, secret college of magic, it looks like his wildest dreams have come true. But his newfound powers lead him down a rabbit hole of hedonism and disillusionment, and ultimately to the dark secret behind the story of Fillory. The land of his childhood fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he ever could have imagined. . . . The prequel to the New York Times bestselling book The Magician King and the #1 bestseller The Magician's Land, The Magicians is one of the most daring and inventive works of literary fantasy in years. No one who has escaped into the worlds of Narnia and Harry Potter should miss this breathtaking return to the landscape of the imagination.
The Magicians: content & age rating
Intended for adult readers (18+).
This darkly subversive fantasy contains explicit sexual content, strong language, substance abuse, and mature themes of depression and disillusionment. Despite the magic school setting, it's firmly adult fiction with on-page sexual encounters and alcohol/drug use.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, steamy sexual content, and strong language. Content notes include substance abuse, depression, and on-page sex (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Adult readers who loved Harry Potter and Narnia will find a much darker, more cynical take on magic school fantasy with complex coming-of-age struggles.