A budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education, the start of Naomi Novik's groundbreaking crossover series.
At the Scholomance, El, Orion, and the other students are faced with their final year--and the looming specter of graduation, a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake. El is determined that her chosen group will survive, but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up. Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules . . .
I've read all three books and loved them. Highly recommended!
The books are in no way boring or slow-paced. A lot happens in book 1. But if we look at it as getting from A to B, B is just "we got to know the characters and a friend group formed." Book 2 is El's senior year. The graduation is inevitable on the calendar. But you would never be able to guess how much of an impact El will have on the school! (Avoid reading the title of the book if you don't want spoilers.)
Book 1 was quite PG-13. It had like one stabbing and the ever-present mass death of children. And one kiss. Book 2 goes a bit further.
#BookReview
This book, second in Naomi Novik’s young-adult dark academia fantasy series ‘The Scholomance’, starts exactly where we left off in the first book (ramblingreaders.org/user/clare_hooley/review/558898) with our two main protagonists, our narrator El and and her perhaps boyfriend Orion, now seniors in the deadly school. The end of the senior year is when both of them will face ‘graduation’ - a literal gauntlet run through a room filled with wicked hungry magical monsters (always deliciously well-described by Novik’s writing) that, in a standard year, only about half those entering survive. Of course with El and Orion both being so exceptional, we know this isn’t going to be a standard year.
El has mellowed out (grown up) from being quite so whiny and angsty, although her sarcastic streak remains undimmed, and now even has friends. Owing to events at the end of book one, she also can’t be invisible …
#BookReview
This book, second in Naomi Novik’s young-adult dark academia fantasy series ‘The Scholomance’, starts exactly where we left off in the first book (ramblingreaders.org/user/clare_hooley/review/558898) with our two main protagonists, our narrator El and and her perhaps boyfriend Orion, now seniors in the deadly school. The end of the senior year is when both of them will face ‘graduation’ - a literal gauntlet run through a room filled with wicked hungry magical monsters (always deliciously well-described by Novik’s writing) that, in a standard year, only about half those entering survive. Of course with El and Orion both being so exceptional, we know this isn’t going to be a standard year.
El has mellowed out (grown up) from being quite so whiny and angsty, although her sarcastic streak remains undimmed, and now even has friends. Owing to events at the end of book one, she also can’t be invisible to anyone anymore. This character development makes the book stronger and more engaging than before. I will say though, that the ongoing romance between El and Orion is a bit hormone-driven for me, but that’s not out of keeping with the context and age of the characters.
After the first third of the book sees El fighting her way through difficulties much as per book book one, we get a change in the second half, as lessons end and it all becomes about practice for graduation, with plenty more school politics as alliances are formed, then broken, then formed again. At least at first, the overriding theme of the series so far, how different it is for haves and have nots, is continued.
In the last third of the book, the twist is gradually revealed; it’s not a give away to say El is expected to save the day. It’s also fair to warn there’s a cliffhanger ending - we don’t know get to learn the precise fate for El and Orion here.
Overall, once again, there’s a lot of fun to be had here in our characters’ struggle against the malevolent school, although this still doesn’t feel a very likely world. Our information as to what is really it is going on ‘outside’ has been limited to dialogue with incoming freshman hinting at something very ominous. At two-thirds of the way through the trilogy, it does feel a bit late in the day to only now start exploring the ‘real’ goings on and dark prophecies that have been fed as titbits throughout both books. As good as the writing in it is, I’m hoping we’ll get start to get insight that actually moves the story on beyond heroes versus monsters early in the next book.
Ok - the previous book ends so well, and drops a huge cliffhanger in the final paragraph. I'm glad I was reading these after they were all done because I'd HATE to wait a year for the next book
This is the graduating year for El in the Scholomance, the murderous school for wizards with deadly monsters around every corner. It really starts to heighten the tension between the tenets of Realpolitik and Mutualism. The world of wizards is brutal realpolitik. Every thing is a dismal trade - no one will help anyone without a benefit because every resource is hoarded against the day of graduation, where every single advantage is needed to improve your odds of not dying or worse. Worse is definitely a real possibility. In comes El and she does not need to trade. She destroys the economics by being able to do more.
I really enjoyed …
Ok - the previous book ends so well, and drops a huge cliffhanger in the final paragraph. I'm glad I was reading these after they were all done because I'd HATE to wait a year for the next book
This is the graduating year for El in the Scholomance, the murderous school for wizards with deadly monsters around every corner. It really starts to heighten the tension between the tenets of Realpolitik and Mutualism. The world of wizards is brutal realpolitik. Every thing is a dismal trade - no one will help anyone without a benefit because every resource is hoarded against the day of graduation, where every single advantage is needed to improve your odds of not dying or worse. Worse is definitely a real possibility. In comes El and she does not need to trade. She destroys the economics by being able to do more.
I really enjoyed this - couldn't help but tear through it in a few days. I like seeing El slowly overcome the social obstacles, the economic obstacles and finally the school itself in a fantastic climax. One downer is that this really is only possible because El is a kind of chosen one. Absent El, no one else could have done this. No group of kids before her could have made her choices. But she does have a real set of choices and she DOES make good choices that are very hard.
And the ending isn't just good - it's a triumph. We are along for a hell of a ride.
And it's the second in the trilogy. So, you know, the very last paragraph comes hard again. Damnit.
I enjoyed how El continued to develop and grow in a realistic way, and it was great to see her with her friends. Some suspension of disbelief is needed to accept the logic of the Scholomance, but, hey, it's magic.
The only knock was that it dragged a bit in the middle.
This felt like far more of a complete book than the first one, and the story structure worked well to keep me hooked until the conclusion. I'm a bit concerned about how they'll top it being outside of the school in the next one.
Continues to be very, very fun—and continues the commentary on inequality
4 stars
The inequality metaphor and commentary isn't exactly subtle or supremely deep, but it does illustrate the ways people comply with oppressive systems ... all while involving us in a rollicking magic adventure.
I get absolutely absorbed into Novik's writing every new novel. If you liked A Deadly Education, you owe it to yourself to read this next installation in the series.
I'm sorry, the last line of this book should be illegal
With this second book, I loved our main character El even more, (having a 1st person pov is good for that), but I also didnt feel as connected to the other characters. This style of writing with a lot of explaining is not as bad as it sounds, because I enjoyed reading the experience of this deadly school and her "daily life", now waiting for the final book release in september lol
I'm too overwhelmed to say much at this stage, except that I expected exactly this cliffhanger ending all while hoping that it wasn't coming. Very Greek tragedy in that way. Can't wait for the final book.
Otherwise I'll just say again how refreshing it is to have a main character in a wizarding school story who recognises the injustices in wizard society, and then instead of just trying to restore the status quo and feeling vaguely sorry for themselves, she does something to fundamentally make things better. (Yes, that's a subtweet.)
I love what this series is doing. I think it works pretty well as a YA fantasy romance while also giving a nuanced analogy for power dynamics in the real world, where people have to balance their desire to be good and kind with the realities of a world where resources are finite but threats to survival are not. I can’t wait to see what the graduates of the Scholomance, having finally gained the insight the school was pushing them towards all along, do next. They have a huge task in front of them: sharing that education with the rest of the world of wizards.
