A forlorn and alienated teen discovers real magic and is enrolled in a school which has little or no resemblance to the currently most famous magic school, Hogsworth. Brakebills is a school for the very gifted, bright and magically talented. Quentin Coldwater discovers he is no longer the brightest person he knows and comes to terms with who he really is. There is a requisite magic quest, a coming of age and a final acceptance of identity. Sometimes hype can ruin a book. My anticipation of this book was dramatically higher than the reality of the book. It was a good story but I wanted and expected a terrific, can’t put the book down story. Perhaps that is what the less sated fantasy lovers found but for those of us who have been reading fantasy for over 55 years, the book was just ok. The characterizations were fine, there was color and magic and violence. If you have read any of my reviews, you know I am a serious fan of anthropomorphism. This book had talking, thinking animals. I should have loved it. I just liked it. BTW in a recent story reading session with my grandson’s 5th grade class, I was delighted to discover that when I asked for a definition of anthropomorphism, they knew what it is and were able to define it. I suspect that Miss Allen, the teacher’s obvious love of reading may have contributed to that delightful revelation. You should probably read this book just to discover what all the hoopla is about. It is worth reading but not reading twice.
I recommend the book.
Body of work of Lev Grossman
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