The Magicians by Lev Grossman is billed as a more adult version of Harry Potter. And while the first 3rd of the book does indeed meet that billing, the book is so much more and yet so much less. The Magicians follows Harry Potter Quentin Coldwater, a teenager who obsesses over Narnia Fillory, a magical land described in a book series. Quentin stumbles into a college exam that turns out to be so much more. It’s a test of magic and if you pass you can attend Hogwarts Brakebills, a magical college.

As you could guess, Quentin passes and he leaves his friends and attends Brakebills. At Brakebills, the students are taught magic. There is the usual group of students and activities in the college. Quentin flourishes and learns magic. Arguably the best part of this section of the book is the exam, which is a cross between The Goblet of Fire and Bear Grylls. Then the book changes and becomes a slacker novel.

Quentin, his friends and other recent graduates go out into the real world and try to find their way. They are confused, angry and generally not sure what they are going to do with their lives. After many nights of drinking, fighting and having sex (sometimes all at one time), the plot twist is upon us. Fillory is real. A friend of the group comes back with that information and shows them how to go there (through an intermediate world). Here the book takes a Narnia turn and the group goes to deal with events in Fillory.

While the book is enjoyable (Lev Grossman does a great job writing it), I had a few issues with it. First the book felt like a trilogy compressed into 400 pages. The book length meant that each section felt a little rushed in some places. One example is Quentin’s friend Julia. Julia was Quentin’s unrequited love interest in high school. During a visit home, he finds out that she was in the exam for Brakebills at the same time he was. And even though her memory of the event was supposed to erased, she can still remember enough and it’s driving her crazy. After bringing this character back, there is a mention that Quentin told the Brakebills staff and they would take care of it. After that there is no mention of her for the rest of the book. It feels incomplete and extremely rushed. There seems to be no reason to bring her back if she is going to be disposed off (off screen) a few pages later with no effect on the characters or the plot.

I would recommend the book for anyone who loved Harry Potter (or Narnia), but was left slightly disappointed and felt this book could be so much more.