The Magicians

I found the TV series entertaining and assumed I would enjoy the book. Sadly disappointed. In fact, I only read the first part up to Q's leaving the school. Basically, I got bored. The characters felt one-dimensional or their only features were psychological or social hangups. I normally enjoy books with magic and some form of explanation or consistent system of magic. Sanderson is an example of a writer who creates a world and magic as an integral part of it. Grossman just keeps writing about magic, layers, and layers of it. I just got bogged down in it. Waded through its syrupy form till I realized it had no real nutritional value. No art; no craft, just the loneliness of the long-distance runner paying in blood, sweat and tears, with little joy. Magic for masochists. Couldn't shake the feeling that all the characters if not for their magic were nihilists. In fact, Alice says to Q he's the only one who does believe in magic. Maybe that's the underlying theme and is something that is a factor in the TV series but I couldn't stomach it on the written page. I lost any empathy with the book characters; got bored and stopped early. Whereas I'm looking forward to watching the final TV season.