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Magicians
Unseen by an apathetic society, a stupendous battle is being waged between good and evil. In the center of an unassuming town, gathered in a nondescript hotel, are the most powerful forces of time the thirteen black covens. On All Hallow's Eve they unite to summon the Black Magician, the darkest and deadliest being of all time They are a rag-tag group of an inexperienced but lovely witch, an ancient sorcerer obsessed with math, and a private detective who can't seem to solve a case, but they are humanity's only hope. The world is unaware of the battle, but it will suffer the ultimate consequence if the war is won by the black evil. Can a group of social rejects save the world? Or will humanity plunge forever into the abyss?
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
9 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
About the author
James E. Gunn
268 books118 followersAmerican science fiction author, editor, scholar, and anthologist. His work from the 1960s and 70s is considered his most significant fiction, and his Road to Science Fiction collections are considered his most important scholarly books. He won a Hugo Award for a non-fiction book in 1983 for Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction. He was named the 2007 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Gunn served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, after which he attended the University of Kansas, earning a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in 1947 and a Masters of Arts in English in 1951. Gunn went on to become a faculty member of the University of Kansas, where he served as the university's director of public relations and as a professor of English, specializing in science fiction and fiction writing. He is now a professor emeritus and director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, which awards the annual John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award at the Campbell Conference in Lawrence, Kansas, every July.
He served as President of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1971–72, was President of the Science Fiction Research Association from 1980-82, and currently is Director of The Center for the Study of
Science Fiction. SFWA honored him as a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 2007.
Gunn began his career as a science fiction author in 1948. He has had almost 100 stories published in magazines and anthologies and has authored 26 books and edited 10. Many of his stories and books have been reprinted around the world.
In 1996, Gunn wrote a novelization of the unproduced Star Trek episode "The Joy Machine" by Theodore Sturgeon.
His stories also have been adapted into radioplays and teleplays:
* NBC radio's X Minus One
* Desilu Playhouse's 1959 "Man in Orbit", based on Gunn's "The Cave of Night"
* ABC-TV's Movie of the Week "The Immortal" (1969) and an hour-long television series in 1970, based on Gunn's The Immortals
* An episode of the USSR science fiction TV series This Fantastic World, filmed in 1989 and entitled "Psychodynamics of the Witchcraft" was based on James Gunn's 1953 story "Wherever You May Be".
Gunn served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, after which he attended the University of Kansas, earning a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in 1947 and a Masters of Arts in English in 1951. Gunn went on to become a faculty member of the University of Kansas, where he served as the university's director of public relations and as a professor of English, specializing in science fiction and fiction writing. He is now a professor emeritus and director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, which awards the annual John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award at the Campbell Conference in Lawrence, Kansas, every July.
He served as President of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1971–72, was President of the Science Fiction Research Association from 1980-82, and currently is Director of The Center for the Study of
Science Fiction. SFWA honored him as a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 2007.
Gunn began his career as a science fiction author in 1948. He has had almost 100 stories published in magazines and anthologies and has authored 26 books and edited 10. Many of his stories and books have been reprinted around the world.
In 1996, Gunn wrote a novelization of the unproduced Star Trek episode "The Joy Machine" by Theodore Sturgeon.
His stories also have been adapted into radioplays and teleplays:
* NBC radio's X Minus One
* Desilu Playhouse's 1959 "Man in Orbit", based on Gunn's "The Cave of Night"
* ABC-TV's Movie of the Week "The Immortal" (1969) and an hour-long television series in 1970, based on Gunn's The Immortals
* An episode of the USSR science fiction TV series This Fantastic World, filmed in 1989 and entitled "Psychodynamics of the Witchcraft" was based on James Gunn's 1953 story "Wherever You May Be".
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 20, 2020
The objectification of women in this book was absolutely over the top and terribly distracting. To every woman that the main character saw, he was either making brutal judgements on how they looked (“pretty but definitely not beautiful” “thick thighed and soft stomached”), or picturing them naked.
In fact, at one point, the love-interest of the main character is about to be, essentially, raped by another character—and her clothes have been torn off. Was the main character concerned? Maybe; but he still found time to think about how hot she looked with all that skin showing.
The final line in the book was the cherry on top of all this ridiculousness: “I resigned myself [to the marriage], because in the end, every man marries a witch—whether he knows it or not!”
Like... what?
In fact, at one point, the love-interest of the main character is about to be, essentially, raped by another character—and her clothes have been torn off. Was the main character concerned? Maybe; but he still found time to think about how hot she looked with all that skin showing.
The final line in the book was the cherry on top of all this ridiculousness: “I resigned myself [to the marriage], because in the end, every man marries a witch—whether he knows it or not!”
Like... what?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2011
review of
James Gunn's The Magicians
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - November 10, 2011
After spending something like 6 mnths reading Joseph McElroy's Women and Men I've decided to only read short bks for a looooonnnnnggggggg while - bks that I can read in a day or a few days. Every time I reach for something over 300pp long I shrink back. It's time for 'beach reading', 'vacation bks' - but when I was at the beach on 'vacation' I was reading McElroy. The Magicians fit the bill perfectly - even more perfectly than I'd hoped.
The Magicians entertained me in a way similar to a Ron Goulart novel but had a bit more substance. Gunn actually made a reasonable attempt to explain magik in scientific terms as the control of hidden forces w/o the 'necessity' of obfuscating religious/satanic anthropomorphisms. On p 56 he referenced the 'devils' of Loudon (a fascinating subject delved into brilliantly in Ken Russell's film The Devils & elsewhere by Aldous Huxley, Krzysztof Penderecki, etc..). On p 106 he references Senoi dream theory (another subject that fascinates me). & in chapters 8 & 9 he describes the main character's dreams. After I read those descriptions, I went to sleep & dreamt my own dreams wch I then awoke to write about - the 2 events seeming an obviously inter-related sequence (perhaps my dream description will appear here: http://annandaledreamgazetteonline.bl...). Gunn also references another subject of substantial interest to me, secret names, on p 139.
Gunn's fluid pulp style & humorous & fanciful telling of a story about a private detective being sucked into a world of witchcraft was just what the witch doctor ordered for me. All in all, the imagining of magik as something possible w/ sufficient scientific knowledge is a pleasant daydream that I'd explore further if I weren't already dedicatedly on a different path. It interested me to learn that Gunn lives in Lawrence, KS where William S. Burroughs also lived. I wonder if they knew each other?
James Gunn's The Magicians
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - November 10, 2011
After spending something like 6 mnths reading Joseph McElroy's Women and Men I've decided to only read short bks for a looooonnnnnggggggg while - bks that I can read in a day or a few days. Every time I reach for something over 300pp long I shrink back. It's time for 'beach reading', 'vacation bks' - but when I was at the beach on 'vacation' I was reading McElroy. The Magicians fit the bill perfectly - even more perfectly than I'd hoped.
The Magicians entertained me in a way similar to a Ron Goulart novel but had a bit more substance. Gunn actually made a reasonable attempt to explain magik in scientific terms as the control of hidden forces w/o the 'necessity' of obfuscating religious/satanic anthropomorphisms. On p 56 he referenced the 'devils' of Loudon (a fascinating subject delved into brilliantly in Ken Russell's film The Devils & elsewhere by Aldous Huxley, Krzysztof Penderecki, etc..). On p 106 he references Senoi dream theory (another subject that fascinates me). & in chapters 8 & 9 he describes the main character's dreams. After I read those descriptions, I went to sleep & dreamt my own dreams wch I then awoke to write about - the 2 events seeming an obviously inter-related sequence (perhaps my dream description will appear here: http://annandaledreamgazetteonline.bl...). Gunn also references another subject of substantial interest to me, secret names, on p 139.
Gunn's fluid pulp style & humorous & fanciful telling of a story about a private detective being sucked into a world of witchcraft was just what the witch doctor ordered for me. All in all, the imagining of magik as something possible w/ sufficient scientific knowledge is a pleasant daydream that I'd explore further if I weren't already dedicatedly on a different path. It interested me to learn that Gunn lives in Lawrence, KS where William S. Burroughs also lived. I wonder if they knew each other?
February 23, 2018
Gunn's "The Magicians" is based on his 1954 novella "Sine of the Magus", and while role clichés tell its age, I think it's a perfectly charming marriage of fantasy an 50's Noir detective story. Our hero is a private eye tasked with finding the identity of a speaker at an esoteric event, which turns out to be slightly more magic than anticipated...
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December 25, 2020I read The Magicians as a teenager and the mixing of magic with a detective story was amazing to me.
Today it holds up okay. At times it feels like you're getting a lecture on history and it doesn't treat it's female characters well. But still entertaining in the main.
Today it holds up okay. At times it feels like you're getting a lecture on history and it doesn't treat it's female characters well. But still entertaining in the main.
January 31, 2019
Magic is mathematics and anyone can do it. A PI is sent to track down the true name of a magus who seeks to dominate with magic. Craziness ensues.
I wonder if this inspired Lev Grossman at all...
I wonder if this inspired Lev Grossman at all...
September 25, 2021
Repêché au fin fond de ma liseuse, voilà un roman assez original dans lequel nous faisons la connaissance de Casey, détective privé un peu raté qui accepte une mission donnée par une vieille dame : Découvrir le véritable nom d’une personne qui se trouve présente dans un hôtel pour assister à une conférence.
C’est un petit peu étrange mais certainement moins que lorsque Casey se rend compte qu’il s’agit d’une conférence regroupant des adeptes de la magie et qu’il s’aperçoit que certains la pratiquent devant ses yeux.
La première partie de ce livre m’a beaucoup plu. J’ai beaucoup aimé la conférence et la suivre par les yeux de quelqu’un qui n’y connait rien et qui découvre tout un univers dont il ignorait tout.
J’ai aussi trouvé intéressant ca parallèle entre la magie et les mathématiques et j’aurai beaucoup aimé que le récit tende encore plus dans cette direction.
Parce que la deuxième partie part dans quelque chose de bien moins original même si j’ai apprécié qu’on reste confiné dans cet hôtel sans en sortir.
Casey se met à séduire Ariel, une des participantes, et on se rend compte que le roman date de quelques années parce que le regard masculin est fortement appuyé, avec des remarques sexistes assez lourdes. Mais surtout, j’ai fini par m’ennuyer et ne plus vraiment comprendre ce que les personnages cherchaient à faire, la résolution arrivant heureusement assez rapidement.
C’est un petit peu étrange mais certainement moins que lorsque Casey se rend compte qu’il s’agit d’une conférence regroupant des adeptes de la magie et qu’il s’aperçoit que certains la pratiquent devant ses yeux.
La première partie de ce livre m’a beaucoup plu. J’ai beaucoup aimé la conférence et la suivre par les yeux de quelqu’un qui n’y connait rien et qui découvre tout un univers dont il ignorait tout.
J’ai aussi trouvé intéressant ca parallèle entre la magie et les mathématiques et j’aurai beaucoup aimé que le récit tende encore plus dans cette direction.
Parce que la deuxième partie part dans quelque chose de bien moins original même si j’ai apprécié qu’on reste confiné dans cet hôtel sans en sortir.
Casey se met à séduire Ariel, une des participantes, et on se rend compte que le roman date de quelques années parce que le regard masculin est fortement appuyé, avec des remarques sexistes assez lourdes. Mais surtout, j’ai fini par m’ennuyer et ne plus vraiment comprendre ce que les personnages cherchaient à faire, la résolution arrivant heureusement assez rapidement.
June 27, 2019
This book has been lying around in my laptop bag for almost 2.5 years now - I got it as a birthday gift, and because it's so thin, I would keep it in my bag, hoping that I'd finish it on some flight some day.
Well I'm glad I kept it around - the book is very much worth a read. The plot is a cliched PI stumbling upon a coven of magicians, but this book was published in in the 70s, so it gets a pass from me.
What I found interesting about it was the perspective of the book, which took mathematics and overlaid it with historical accounts of witchcraft and the Occult. I very much enjoyed Casey's exploration of the rudimentary magic system, and I was quite surprised by the authors willingness to discuss mathematics (though I was even more surprised by how willing to read things like Tensor Analysis Casey was, notwithstanding the fact that he is a high school teacher who sometimes taught math).
Overall, there was nothing in this book I hadn't seen in some form before, but it made for a tight story that was never too long, and never wasted a word. The cliches are more examples of Unbuilt Tropes (see TVTropes) than anything else.
I recommend reading the book; it's short enough and yet fun enough to be worth it.
Well I'm glad I kept it around - the book is very much worth a read. The plot is a cliched PI stumbling upon a coven of magicians, but this book was published in in the 70s, so it gets a pass from me.
What I found interesting about it was the perspective of the book, which took mathematics and overlaid it with historical accounts of witchcraft and the Occult. I very much enjoyed Casey's exploration of the rudimentary magic system, and I was quite surprised by the authors willingness to discuss mathematics (though I was even more surprised by how willing to read things like Tensor Analysis Casey was, notwithstanding the fact that he is a high school teacher who sometimes taught math).
Overall, there was nothing in this book I hadn't seen in some form before, but it made for a tight story that was never too long, and never wasted a word. The cliches are more examples of Unbuilt Tropes (see TVTropes) than anything else.
I recommend reading the book; it's short enough and yet fun enough to be worth it.
December 30, 2024
I liked it. Remember this was originally a novella published in Beyond in 1954. Beyond was a fantasy companion magazine to Galaxy Science Fiction in the early 50’s. It was attempting to be a magazine like Unknown from the 40’s. This story expanded from Sine of the Magus in the mid 70’s was a combination Noir detective story combined with a logical fantasy story about witches and magicians. When James Gunn expanded it in the 70’s he still kept the 1950’s feel and male, female interactions that would have been different even in the 70’s. It was and still is a good story and a good example of the genre. It’s too bad Unknown and Beyond didn’t last longer.
July 14, 2023
Excellent world building and in particular the magic system. Slightly dated but stands up surprisingly well, the only down side for me was the instant infatuation other than that an enjoyable quick urban fantasy read.
June 21, 2019
Nothing horrendously bad about this book, but nothing good except its length: mercifully short.
April 1, 2021
De quoi faire une bonne histoire, mais c est long la ou ça devrait être court et inversement.
Ca blablate pour rien
Ca blablate pour rien
April 10, 2023
Good solid vintage fiction! Very enjoyable
May 24, 2023
Démarrage lent, un poil poussif. Un peu d'entrain arrive par la suite.
April 9, 2024
A relatively unimpressive book that goes down quick and easy so as to not be unpalatable. First up: no, this isn't that James Gunn but rather the President of the Science Fiction Writers of America for a couple years in the early 70's (among other accomplishments). And while this James Gunn also enjoys a good mashing-up of genres, this story doesn't hit nearly as hard as any of the Guardians films (I understand they're very different properties but let's be honest, we likely wouldn't be revisiting this guy's work if it wasn't for his namesake.)
So what is The Magicians? It's a 50's dime-store, gumshoe take on a fantasy guild of magicians that exist as a secret society; I know, it sounds awesome but the execution doesn't match what your imagination wants it to be.
The mystery isn't so captivating, with the answer telegraphed far ahead of time. As for the narrator; he's horny, a fact he constantly reminds you of as he describes the females that surround him. It's not egregious in and of itself, but it often comes out of left field with no prompting about minor or ancillary characters.
The prose also starts out quite stilted, as I believe the author was attempting a style that didn't naturally suit him, but it levels out rather quickly so as not to be distracting for long.
Overall, it's a junk food burger minus the brief serotonin drip. You could do worse but in a world with millions of books more worthy of your time and attention, you can skip this one.
So what is The Magicians? It's a 50's dime-store, gumshoe take on a fantasy guild of magicians that exist as a secret society; I know, it sounds awesome but the execution doesn't match what your imagination wants it to be.
The mystery isn't so captivating, with the answer telegraphed far ahead of time. As for the narrator; he's horny, a fact he constantly reminds you of as he describes the females that surround him. It's not egregious in and of itself, but it often comes out of left field with no prompting about minor or ancillary characters.
The prose also starts out quite stilted, as I believe the author was attempting a style that didn't naturally suit him, but it levels out rather quickly so as not to be distracting for long.
Overall, it's a junk food burger minus the brief serotonin drip. You could do worse but in a world with millions of books more worthy of your time and attention, you can skip this one.
February 3, 2014
An urban-fantasy-cum-hardboiled-detective-novel from the 1970s. It's a bit sexist, but that's at least in part because it's a humorous homage to the SF and detective stories of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. If you can look past that, it's also a lot of fun.
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August 23, 2008isbn,original
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews