The Magicians Trilogy Boxed Set: The Magicians; The Magician King; The Magician's Land

A dark fantasy series, like when Harry Potter meets Narnia, but with dark vibes. A real adult's fantasy series (and a really good one). The story is relatively fast-paced (but not in a bad, forced way), in a way that makes it a real page-turner. You will hate and like the protagonist(s), who are well-written and have character. The world and magic of this series feel real and alive, and you want to know more about them. The story is vast in scope and landscape with unexpected turns and twists. A minor drawback is that in the first book, the characters sometimes feel like big babies when they whine all the time. I guess it does reflect reality for some people at some points in their lifetime, but I found those parts a little annoying. Overall all this is a very well-written series of dark fantasy books, with intriguing characters, interesting world and magic system, and a good pace. Moreover, the books are not like the TV show (which does not cover the entire series anyway), so I would recommend reading them even for those who watched the show.

After watching the Television version, I discovered this was a trilogy of books! I could not be more thrilled. What was so great was that with the books you get so many more mind pictures than any TV show could ever offer. Also, each book stands solidly on it's own, even though you need to understand the characters and how they came to be who they are... So I guess that I am suggesting the trilogy because not only do you get the full 3 stories, you also get to see how the characters grow and change. These are much richer and more complex characters than the Television has time to develop. I love the show, but these books deliver the real story.

So I bought these books after falling in love with the TV series on Sci-Fi channel (no, I'm not going to call it "Sy-Fy" because that name is lame). My first thought was that the books are very different from the TV series, much the way the movie adaptions of comic books are very different from the original medium. The shows are loosely based on the books, and there's a clear relationship, but there are wild differences in plots and characters and events. Honestly, though, the differences are just enough that I kind of respect both as separate works rather than pick at one or the other for the slight deviations. Nor are they sooo far off that it ticks me off (I'm looking at you X-men movies). Plus, as a bonus, I haven't felt like I knew the end of the book based on what I've seen in the show like I usually do with other book/movie/show duos. Now, I've only read the first book and gotten a few chapters into the second (a little farther than we've gotten in the show). But my impressions of the series so far is: Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and Hunger Games had a really sarcastic love child and lo! it was named The Magicians Trilogy. The Narnia and Harry Potter similarities are obvious, and I can't imagine that they're not intentional nods from the author. The reason I throw the Hunger Games in there is because Quentin and the other characters are a lot like the rather dark and brooding characters in Hunger Games. At least in the first book. Except more real, and less annoying. And on the bright side, I'm seeing just a little ways into the second book that Quentin is growing and lightening up a bit. So I'm optimistic that by somewhere in the third book, he might become a fully-realized person (not to say that he's not a fully-realized character, because he is) rather than the same hopeless victim that Katniss was by book three--seriously, didn't you want to grab her by the shoulders and shake the hell out of her?? Anyhow, I guess I'm trying to say that so far I'm impressed. The characters are hopelessly flawed and real. But they slowly evolve and grow like people do. And despite them being aimless, spoiled, chemical-dependant bastards, I actually like them! The dialogue is interesting and often funny and snide. The writing is insightful and drops neat details that are memorable and compelling. And I can even forgive the sesquipedalian (see I can do it too) word choices that sometimes seem unnecessary and often stymie my Kindle dictionary (seriously, I need a way to upgrade that thing). So if you liked the show and are wondering if it's worth picking up the books, the answer is yes. Seriously, why haven't you bought these books yet?

When I read that SyFy was bringing the Magicians to television, my first reaction was "What's that?". I did my research and read the reviews and decided to buy the entire set. I read the first book during a vacation in the summer of 2015. I liked it for the most part. It really, in my opinion, is a mixture of Harry Potter (there are magicians, but the main character's schooling only makes up a small portion of the series), a bigger dose of Narnia, and a liberal mixing of alcohol, sex, and violence. At the end of book 1, I did not like Quinten, the protagonist, very much. I didn't start the second book until this January 2016, ahead of the premiere of the show. It was much more enjoyable and I realized that Quinten, like all of us, had some growing up to do. By the end of the second book, I was more invested in him and the other characters. I had planned on reading something else after The Magician King, but decided to charge right back into the final book. It is a fairly satisfying conclusion to the entire series. All the characters go through some very realistic arcs. No one in the series is what I would call a "good" person as the story begins. They all carry their own set of flaws and that makes them more interesting throughout as they grow into their own. I recommend it.

I loved this series and especially the box set!

I saw the show in the first place, which lead me to the books and wow, I really love them. Pure Dark Urban Fantasy, sometimes cynical, a nerd world, full of geek references, most of these unfortunately quite beyond understanding of French people.... But not impossible to find and understand. I read the English version because the translated French version is really awful. A good book with dreams and nightmares, a mix of Harry Potter and Narnia's books for adults, with no innocence but the crude stark reality of what Magic really is. A wonderful reading. Thanks Mr Grossman for these great moments

I found this story by watching the T.V Adaptation, after watching i almost immediately bought the books. the story is slightly different to the show but it is to be expected. overall i found the books to be amazing i finished all three books in three weeks i was struggling to put them down. the book quality is superb and they're all decorated in a attractive way. in conclusion these books are 10/10 and will make you laugh and make you cry and trust me you will be begging for more by the end....

È una trilogia fantastica ! Da leggere !!

Wasn't overly expensive like most other places, came as described, brand new, wrapped in plastic. Arrived fairly quickly. Overall pretty happy with everything.