The #Magicians16 Read-Along discussion

This thread will contain spoilers up through the end of Part I. Discuss away! Please be respectful of all opinions.

I made it through 100 pages (I skimmed through just a couple of them :p) and all I can see is taking ideas from other books/book series and nothing really happening yet. It's not bad, I'm just waiting for the book to really draw me in and not be able to put it down after a couple of pages each time.

200 pages in. The pace is picking up, some unpredictable things happened, I can finally say I don't come across any used up or stolen ideas.
Is there anyone who likes Quentin? I really wonder, as in my opinion he's incredibly unlikable and that sort of goes for all Grossman' characters. Is it just me?
Obviously I love the whole magic school setting, but it just wasn't working for this book, until they made it to Antarctic.

Made through to the beginning of book 2.

I have to say that I don't particular care for Quentin. I find him boring, unhappy, and uninteresting. (At first, I thought his boredom with the world would be funny... not so much at this point.)

I don't know that I care, either, for how Grossman just borrows bits from other books in this part. Yes, obviously books borrow from one another all the time or the make allusions to other books. But the bit about Fillory just seems a blatant rip-off from Narnia and the school setting seems to borrow heavily from HP (the bit about British affections and what not... there's even direct references to Hermoine at one point). I was waiting, for a long time, for Grossman to get to the freaking point already.

I will say that I am glad that this is not going to focus as heavily on the school part as HP does. It seems that we will get what it is to be a magician in the real world... or maybe perhaps some sort of adventure outside of school (I'm wondering about the book the paramedic gives him in the beginning and how she says he'll find it again later).

I do like that the magic seems hard and a bit darker than other magical realms I've read about. Even the dean suggests that their magical ability stems from their unhappiness... that intrigues.

I hope that Quentin's general disposition improves, or at the very least gets more interesting, at some point... We shall see.

I'm actually really enjoying this book so far. It's not going at all where I was expecting it to. I for some reason thought the whole trilogy would revolve around the school but obviously that is not the case. I do wish we got a bit more time there and more time getting to know the other characters.

I quite like Quentin too. I'm enjoying the fact that going to this school hasn't made everything in his life suddenly perfect. He's still the same person and he still has issues with his parents. He still has no idea what he wants from life. It's so relatable (to me at least!) to have the feeling that there are so many possibilities that you are just kind of paralysed by choice and can't decide what you want to do with your life.

I really love Eliot, Josh and Janet too. I wish we got more of them and their lives rather that just how they interact with Quentin. Hopefully we'll get that later on in the book.

I have issues with Alice. I just don't like her for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. I found myself quite happy at the thought of her going away and when Quentin didn't find the love he usually has when he looked at her. Maybe that's mean but I just don't get why he likes her. The beginning of their relationship felt at the same time predicable and out of the blue. If you looked from the outside you would assume they would get together but their interactions didn't make it seem likely to me? I don't think I explained that very well.

I've read up to this point all in one go and I don't want to put it down yet but I wanted to get out my thoughts up to this point down before I know new things and am influenced by book 2.

I definitely can't say whether I like this book or not yet. It's very subtle. The action is very glossed over, which is interesting. I definitely feel like it is written this way for a reason. Common tropes aren't "stolen", they are definitely included on purpose. Grossman is using these common and well known stories like HP, Narnia, and LOTR for a reason. I think it's one of those books that will all come together in the end.

As far as Quentin, I neither hate or love him. But I do find him and all of the other characters incredibly realistic. I like how normal and often unhappy all of them are. I love that Quentin is very much NOT a chosen one. I kinda love how unlikable and average he is. My favorite character is probably Alice.

Although this first half was slow, I'm hoping things pick up and it all comes together.

I'm about 200 pages in, and I can't decide if I like this book or not, I have very conflicting feelings. I get this pretentious vibe from the story, and yet, I can forsee that every element and word is there for a reason. I agree with Sam, that everything will come together in the end.

I don't care for Quentin at all, he's self-centered and generally not a good person. I don't like most of the Physical Kids actually--however, they're all flawed, and I think that is fantastic characterization.

I thought the Antarctica segment was fascinating. This book is definitely taking some turns that I don't see coming, and it's completely unpredictable to me. I hope it stays that way!

I thought Brakebills was set up very well and wish they had explored the view points of many of the other fascinating students and teachers besides always focusing on boring old Quentin.