LitStack Rec: The Custom of the Country & The Magicians Trilogy

The Magicians
The Magician King
The Magician’s Land
Lev Grossman

I get frustrated when I hear reviews comparing Lev Grossman’s modern fantasy series, “The Magicians” to the Harry Potter books, even when they say, “These are definitely not Harry Potter!” No matter what, mentioning these two very different sets of books in the same reference is to invite comparisons (and yes, I realize I’m doing the very thing I’m railing against).

Granted, they both deal with undeveloped magicians attending a school for magic and wizardry. But that’s where the similarities end, and even those factors are not tit for tat: Hogwarts is British and is for underage wizards and witches; Brakebills is American and collegiate. And the people at Brakebills – instructors and students alike – are not exactly warm and fuzzy; even when they are friendly, there’s a good chance there’s an ulterior motive attached.

Which means, “The Magicians” series is a lot more serious throughout, a lot less admirable, and oh, so much more “real”. It also diverges from what goes on in the classroom – into a whole different reality, in fact – that is wonderfully challenging to process.   This other reality factors in a whole Narnia-vibe (without the Christian overtones) that, along with the interpersonal challenges the main characters must go through, both in learning their craft and finding their way in life, really delves deeply into the ideas of power, perception, and not only thinking outside the box, but constantly refusing to acknowledge that there even is a box to inhabit in the first place.

Now, here is why I’m recommending these books this week: they are the basis for a television series on the SyFy network – “The Magicians” – which has been picked up for a second season (a good thing, because the series has barely delved in to the books, and to stop soon would be a shame). But as I was watching one of the latest episodes, where the main characters morph into geese to make an incredible journey to a remote Antarctic facility to take instruction from an abrasive, hermitic wizard, it made me sad that those who merely watch the television series will be missing some of Lev Grossman’s most amazing writing. Whereas many writers would simply segue from the students’ ornithological morph to their touchdown in the Antarctic (as was necessary in the visual medium of television), Mr. Grossman inhabits the birds themselves, not as humans in flight, but as birds in flight, and it is absolutely stunning. And that is just one of the many places where the writing transcends the television visualization – which is true in almost any literary adaptation, but is perhaps less appreciated in a fantasy setting, where the visual can feel complete… unless you know how much more there is underneath the visual.

So if you’ve been watching the SyFy series (which I would also recommend – I have a few issues with the interpretation, and some huge issues with casting, but then, that’s me) and haven’t yet read the books, I can’t stress enough that you read the books, even while the series is progressing. The whole idea is so big, there will not really be the kinds of spoilers that you expect when reading source material for a developing television series. And you will read so much deeper, so much more, than what the television series could even hope to convey. Amazingly enough, I would say that the television series does not suffer that much from what it cannot project, because the producers must concentrate on that visual. But to read the books… it’s like learning what steak is when you’ve only been able to experience hamburger. The burgers may be great, but they are only one aspect of the whole idea of beef.

Get to know the beef. Savor the variety, the complexity, the way that a good cut of beef will enhance everything else on the table.

Read these books. They’re magnificent. And watch the television series, if you want. But honestly: Read. These. Books.

-Sharon Browning