Quentin Coldwater. Wataguy.

The Magicians

The Magicians was a good read. It took fantasy like Harry Potter, Narnia and others of the genre and tossed them together in a blender. What I liked most about the story was the existential nature of Magic.

            The story follows a unique protagonist. Quentin Coldwater, who is a depressed and social spacious teenager. This was an interesting take on the hero as the closest book I’ve read to The Magicians is the Harry Potter series. I guess I’m just used to the “glass half full,” type of heroes.  Quentin however is anything but that. He is more real, more relatable.  Even the spark of magic disappears and becomes monotony as training becomes laborious.

            He is never satisfied. That is why I love him so much as a character. This constant search for more power manifests itself as depression, as sullenness. You see this a lot in the real world as well. For example when I was a boy I remember my brother doing a kick-flip on a skateboard. I couldn’t and I was jealous. I’d try and try and try for hours every day and couldn’t do it. Eventually I got so upset I picked up the skateboard and slammed it onto the pavement, shattering the tip. The point is, I feel your pain, Quentin.

            Quentin grows as a character throughout the story. All characters in all stories do, but I think it’s pretty forefront in this novel.  Even in the first few chapters you start to see a transition of character. His unrequited love for Julia transforms into a ember of what it once was. His contacts change, his mind changes and his attitude changes.

            This story can be seen as the last ‘coming of age,’ story. It’s a great story about transitioning from the last shell of child life into adulthood, even if it’s in Fillory.