Reviewing at like 3am because I want to speak about it while the ending is still fresh.

I was in search for an adult book with a complex magical system, and I landed with a reccomendation for the magicians. So here I am.

My first thought while reading was that Quentin is deeply unlikable. It was genuinely hard for me to get through the opening section before Brakebills. It lessened a bit with reading onward, but I'm not sure if that's because Quentin became more likable or I was distracted with everything else going on in the book. I'm still not overly fond of Quentin.

To begin with criticism, I honestly wish there were more details on the mechanics of the magic. I also wish that more time was spent on the universe in general, as I feel like there were a billion sub-plots that could've lead to some better character development for the physical kids or any of the other characters. I find myself wanting for more Elliot character development, which it seems will be present in the next book. Brakebills could've used some expounding upon too. The comments about how getting your dreams can result in unintended and unforseen consequences felt a little overdone and very "I'm 14 and this is deep" sometimes. It's fine though, didn't get mentioned that often. Fillory felt rushed. Overall, I think there was two books of plot in this one book, and more time could've been spent developing characters and the universe.

For positives, though, all of the major loose threads were tied up. At least from what I remember (I read the book over a longer period than usual, I might be missing some details from earlier). The magical universe was interesting, at least from what we saw. The punishments and their severity for mishandling magic are clearly demonstrated and absolutely horrifying. Reading Alice becoming a niffin and the devastation of the fight personally hurt my soul. Also the breakbills south story was harrowing.

Overall, I think this is a likable entry in adult fantasy. I feel like there was roughly two books worth of plot stuffed into one, and characters could've been developed better if it was slowed down in some places, but overall it's a strong entry with interesting magic, (some) likable characters, and an interesting universe. I will be reading the next book, and hope to get a better picture of fillory's universe.