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The Magicians: Alice's Story
The Magicians: Alice's Story is an all new chapter set in the world of The Magicians trilogy of novels by New York Times bestselling author Lev Grossman that retells the events of the first novel through fan-favorite character Alice Quinn.
Alice Quinn is manifestly brilliant, and she’s always known that magic is real. During her years at Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, she rises to the top of her class, falls in love with Quentin Coldwater, and witnesses a horrifically magical creature invade their dimension.
It’s not soon after graduation when Alice, Quentin, and their friends set their sights on the idyllic setting of Fillory—a place thought to only live in the pages of their favorite children’s books—where magic flows like rivers. But in this magical realm nothing is what it seems and something darker lies behind the spellbinding facade. It is in the darkness where Alice will discover her true calling and her life, and those friends, forever changed.
Alice Quinn is manifestly brilliant, and she’s always known that magic is real. During her years at Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, she rises to the top of her class, falls in love with Quentin Coldwater, and witnesses a horrifically magical creature invade their dimension.
It’s not soon after graduation when Alice, Quentin, and their friends set their sights on the idyllic setting of Fillory—a place thought to only live in the pages of their favorite children’s books—where magic flows like rivers. But in this magical realm nothing is what it seems and something darker lies behind the spellbinding facade. It is in the darkness where Alice will discover her true calling and her life, and those friends, forever changed.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published July 16, 2019
75 people are currently reading
2414 people want to read
About the author
Lev Grossman
69 books10.2k followersHi! I'm the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy—The Magicians, The Magician King, and The Magician’s Land—which was adapted as a TV show that ran for five seasons on Syfy.
I've also written two novels for children: The Silver Arrow, which the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, People magazine, Apple and Amazon all put on their best-of-the-year lists, and its sequel The Golden Swift. I do some journalist and screenwriting too.
I grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts, the son of two English professors. My twin brother Austin is a writer and game designer, and my older sister Sheba is an artist. Sometimes I live in Brooklyn, New York, other times in Sydney, Australia, where my wife is from. I have three kids and a somehow steadily increasing number of cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 320 reviews
March 30, 2025
***NO SPOILERS***
Despite the title Alice’s Story, this addition to Lev Grossman’s bold Magicians trilogy is not, in fact, Alice’s story. It’s instead a mediocre retelling of book one—just told from the first-person perspective of main character Alice Quinn.
Lots of novels have gotten the graphic-novel treatment, and when done well such adaptations enhance the source material. Unfortunately, Alice’s Story isn’t an enhancement. Adapter Lilah Sturges only watered down an intelligent and creative work, one that features the complexity of a detailed story within another detailed story. Nothing new here further fleshes out Alice, an intriguing character who also manages to retain a lot of mystery by the trilogy’s end. In this graphic novel a few token personal musings are thrown in, but Alice’s first-person viewpoint never probes her backstory and beyond.
This graphic novel cannot stand alone. It’s only for those who read The Magicians, and, because a forgiving spirit is needed, it’s also only for those who adored the book. The source material is dense with story, and the challenge of condensing it intelligibly shows in a few ways. On the most basic level, understanding what’s happening in Alice’s Story is sometimes difficult, and understanding the why is even more difficult. Flow is also poor, with few smooth transitions between major plot points. The small group of characters, who are as close as family in the actual book, here relate to each other indifferently, if that. One funny, lovable character at first appears to be forgotten but then pops up about halfway through—only to barely say anything from that point on. Readers coming to this without having read book one will be lost, not to mention unable to understand why anyone could be an überfan of The Magicians.
Grossman’s book has a strong magical feel as the world of his imagining is alive with a (mostly) sinister beauty, but although illustrator Pius Bak drew characters with a lot of expression, his style is too sharp and angular to be beautiful. The drawings look unfinished and are weirdly inconsistent from panel to panel—sometimes Alice looks twelve; other times she looks twenty. Most figures, especially when drawn naked, look creepily emaciated. Adding to the disappointment is the fact that the photo-realistic cover illustration hints at how gorgeous Alice’s Story could be. Artist Steve Morris drew that, and it’s drastically different from the art in the book—which is unfortunate because photo-realism and attention to tiny details would work so well for this story. Bak does, however, deserve praise for keeping character appearances and various scenes faithful to Grossman’s descriptions.
That faithfulness saves the book from being one star, but it’s a let-down to see The Magicians drained of its spellbinding appeal. Alice’s Story is a good example of a graphic novel adaptation that not only doesn’t enhance the book but also doesn’t transport readers back as a retelling should. Fans hoping for something new and exciting from the world of Alice and her magician friends will have to settle for some fan-fiction, or just re-read the source material.
Despite the title Alice’s Story, this addition to Lev Grossman’s bold Magicians trilogy is not, in fact, Alice’s story. It’s instead a mediocre retelling of book one—just told from the first-person perspective of main character Alice Quinn.
Lots of novels have gotten the graphic-novel treatment, and when done well such adaptations enhance the source material. Unfortunately, Alice’s Story isn’t an enhancement. Adapter Lilah Sturges only watered down an intelligent and creative work, one that features the complexity of a detailed story within another detailed story. Nothing new here further fleshes out Alice, an intriguing character who also manages to retain a lot of mystery by the trilogy’s end. In this graphic novel a few token personal musings are thrown in, but Alice’s first-person viewpoint never probes her backstory and beyond.
This graphic novel cannot stand alone. It’s only for those who read The Magicians, and, because a forgiving spirit is needed, it’s also only for those who adored the book. The source material is dense with story, and the challenge of condensing it intelligibly shows in a few ways. On the most basic level, understanding what’s happening in Alice’s Story is sometimes difficult, and understanding the why is even more difficult. Flow is also poor, with few smooth transitions between major plot points. The small group of characters, who are as close as family in the actual book, here relate to each other indifferently, if that. One funny, lovable character at first appears to be forgotten but then pops up about halfway through—only to barely say anything from that point on. Readers coming to this without having read book one will be lost, not to mention unable to understand why anyone could be an überfan of The Magicians.
Grossman’s book has a strong magical feel as the world of his imagining is alive with a (mostly) sinister beauty, but although illustrator Pius Bak drew characters with a lot of expression, his style is too sharp and angular to be beautiful. The drawings look unfinished and are weirdly inconsistent from panel to panel—sometimes Alice looks twelve; other times she looks twenty. Most figures, especially when drawn naked, look creepily emaciated. Adding to the disappointment is the fact that the photo-realistic cover illustration hints at how gorgeous Alice’s Story could be. Artist Steve Morris drew that, and it’s drastically different from the art in the book—which is unfortunate because photo-realism and attention to tiny details would work so well for this story. Bak does, however, deserve praise for keeping character appearances and various scenes faithful to Grossman’s descriptions.
That faithfulness saves the book from being one star, but it’s a let-down to see The Magicians drained of its spellbinding appeal. Alice’s Story is a good example of a graphic novel adaptation that not only doesn’t enhance the book but also doesn’t transport readers back as a retelling should. Fans hoping for something new and exciting from the world of Alice and her magician friends will have to settle for some fan-fiction, or just re-read the source material.
July 17, 2019
One thing you learn about magic is that just when you think you know what it’s all about … it finds a way to surprise you.I’m a tad obsessed with Lev Grossman’s The Magicians. The only problem is that the best intentions in the world have so far only extended far enough to buying the trilogy, not actually reading it. It’s been on my ‘I must remedy this egregious error immediately’ list for too long already but at least I’ve binge watched the TV series so I haven’t missed out entirely.
This graphic novel is based on the first book in the trilogy and it’s told from the perspective of one of my favourite characters, Alice. I loved Alice’s arc in the TV series and hope to get to know her even better once I’ve read the trilogy.
If you’re a fan of the trilogy, the TV series or both, then I’m almost positive you’ll love this graphic novel. If this is your introduction to Brakebills and Fillory then it may pique your interest but you may not connect with some of the magicians, including Janet, Josh or Eliot, as their personalities don’t have much of a chance to shine in this format.
While I didn’t learn much about Alice or her magical friends that I didn’t already know I did love the glimpses into her childhood, particularly the brief interaction between her and her older brother, Charlie, before he left home to attend Brakebills.
I would have liked the opportunity to get to know Charlie better though. I still love Alice, although in saying that, she’s socially awkward and nerdy, so I see myself in her a lot. Except for the whole magician thing. I wish!
I loved visiting Brakebills
and learning how to become a magician vicariously through Alice and co., at least until I met this guy.
I did wait in vain for some information I learned about the Beast’s backstory from the TV series to be revealed in the graphic novel. I’m guessing when I read the trilogy I’ll find the information I thought was missing was a result of creative license for the TV series rather than anything actually being missing from the books.
I enjoyed getting to know Alice, Penny and Quentin all over again, although I missed Julia’s presence, who I fell in love with during the TV series but was MIA for the majority of the graphic novel.
Since we were all probably making comparisons anyway I really appreciated Alice’s observation of a difference between herself and those who attend Hogwarts. I love it when a series can poke fun at itself.
Besides attending Brakebills, I also travelled to Fillory, which is the magical land that our magicians thought only existed in their favourite books.
My Fillory equivalent would be suddenly learning that Eleanor West from Seanan McGuire’s imagination really does have a home for wayward children, one that I can attend while I wait for my doorway to reappear. Although I would definitely tag along with Alice to Fillory if I had the chance too.
If ever there was a book series within a book series I need to read it’s Fillory and Further.
Alice was a great choice for telling the overall story of Brakebills and Fillory. Hers is a story of love, loss, determination, hard work and courage. She begins the story an outsider, wracked by social anxiety and anxiety in general
and then she grows throughout the story in ways that you have to read to believe. And believe I did. I love this character and I can’t get enough of this world Lev Grossman has created.
I’d happily sign up for any future Magicians graphic novels (I’ve already read this one twice) but I would absolutely love to see a companion graphic novel showing Julia’s experiences; her path is so different to anyone else’s that we meet in this series.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Archaia, an imprint of BOOM! Studios, for granting my wish to read this graphic novel.
Content warnings include sexual content and violence.
April 26, 2022
Pour vrai j'ai rien compris au but de cette histoire le monde est cool mais ça fait très narnia, les dessins pourraient être plus originaux et le déroulement du temps dans l'intrigue est un peu wtf. Comment je dois m'attacher aux personnages si je vois uniquement leur vie avec des énormes bonds dans le temps? J'aurais pu ne pas lire ce livre et ma vie n'aurait pas été différente
August 5, 2019
I've never been tempted to read Lev Grossman's The Magicians, but I may be now.
*after reading reviews of The Magicians* Or maybe only if they make a graphic novel out of it.
*after reading reviews of The Magicians* Or maybe only if they make a graphic novel out of it.
June 26, 2021
I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Although I do prefer the telly show to the actual novels, I really enjoyed seeing the characters we know from Alice's eyes. She's really developed from the person we saw in the first book. And I especially liked seeing past events in this comic with her brother, Charlie.
The artwork was also very pretty.
I'd definitely recommend it to fans of the books and show though, who want some extra content and background on Alice.
Although I do prefer the telly show to the actual novels, I really enjoyed seeing the characters we know from Alice's eyes. She's really developed from the person we saw in the first book. And I especially liked seeing past events in this comic with her brother, Charlie.
The artwork was also very pretty.
I'd definitely recommend it to fans of the books and show though, who want some extra content and background on Alice.
September 18, 2019
The first book of Lev Grossman's Magicians trilogy told through the eyes of Alice. Just to be clear, this is based on the novel, not the TV show so there will be some minor differences with the first 2 seasons of the show. Typically, comic adaptations of novels aren't very good. I was happily surprised with this one. Sturges does a good job of reengineering the story to tell it from Alice prospective. Some elements, such as much of what happens to Julia, are left out because that's Quentin's story, not Alice's.
For those of you not in the know, the Magicians is sort of a darker version of Harry Potter mashed up with The Chronicles of narnia. Our main characters are going to college to become magicians. Most of them are also obsessed with the books about Fillory which they eventually find out is a real place. Fillary is clearly a darker version of Narnia.
Bak's art is solid. It has a less refined Peter Gross feel to it.
Received a review copy from Boom and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
For those of you not in the know, the Magicians is sort of a darker version of Harry Potter mashed up with The Chronicles of narnia. Our main characters are going to college to become magicians. Most of them are also obsessed with the books about Fillory which they eventually find out is a real place. Fillary is clearly a darker version of Narnia.
Bak's art is solid. It has a less refined Peter Gross feel to it.
Received a review copy from Boom and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
December 4, 2019
As the cover promises, this is a retelling of Grossman’s novel, The Magicians, from Alice’s point of view. It's been a long time since I read the original, so it's hard to judge just how different everything seems. Certainly the major incidents are more or less as I remember them.
So I suppose the big question is: which should be read first, this book, or the original novel? I don't know that there's a clear cut answer to that. I’d tentatively say that I enjoyed this book more, but 1) it's been, as I said, a long time since I read the original, and I may simply be reacting to the relative freshness of my experience with the graphic novel, and 2) I’m generally partial to the GN format, being a lifelong reader of comics of all sorts.
Certainly if you didn't like the original, this book is unlikely to change your mind. I'm idly curious if we'll be seeing further alternate takes on Grossman’s work from this same team. Definitely recommended!
So I suppose the big question is: which should be read first, this book, or the original novel? I don't know that there's a clear cut answer to that. I’d tentatively say that I enjoyed this book more, but 1) it's been, as I said, a long time since I read the original, and I may simply be reacting to the relative freshness of my experience with the graphic novel, and 2) I’m generally partial to the GN format, being a lifelong reader of comics of all sorts.
Certainly if you didn't like the original, this book is unlikely to change your mind. I'm idly curious if we'll be seeing further alternate takes on Grossman’s work from this same team. Definitely recommended!
May 4, 2019
Thank you to Netgalley and Boom! Studios for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in any way.
I read The Magicians well over 10 years ago and then reread it a few years ago. The first time I loved it. The second time I was more aware of what was putting people off this book. Even so, it still worked for me. I never did get around to reading the next two books but I did see The Magicians tv show, stranded in season 3 though through no fault of the series itself. So I have a background with this series. As such I was very curious about this graphic novel that would focus on Alice.
Alice was my favorite character of the book because she reminded me of myself in certain ways. So I was quite excited to see we were getting her point of view. But it fell entirely flat. The problem this book has is that it rehashes almost all the scenes of the book with Quintin. So much could have been done with Alice, her family, her brother. But it was just a rehash of the book. Nothing new to find here on the horizon.
I might imagine that if you are a very big fan of the series that you would still want to read this or have it for your collection but in the end I don’t think it is quite worth it for anyone else. Certainly not for new readers.
As for the art, the cover is stunning and grabs your attention. I found some of the backgrounds also very well done, especially once we got to Fillory. The characters could have used some more work.
Adding on to that, I find it interesting to see how the characters were completely based on the book. I think a lot of people have the tv show characters in their mind and might be a little confused with the way the characters are being shown now, regardless of them being true to the book which if memory serves me correct, is correct. It is something to think about when after so many seasons of an interpretation of a book you do a graphic novel addition to the book that is showing a different visualization. Penny for instance is completely dressed as a punk and white in the graphic novel (as he was in the book), and in the tv show is black and more dressed. What is the goal of this addition now, as the last book came out in 2014? Do you want to draw the viewers towards the books with this graphic novel? Perhaps a foreword on this by Lev Grossman would not be amiss.
I read The Magicians well over 10 years ago and then reread it a few years ago. The first time I loved it. The second time I was more aware of what was putting people off this book. Even so, it still worked for me. I never did get around to reading the next two books but I did see The Magicians tv show, stranded in season 3 though through no fault of the series itself. So I have a background with this series. As such I was very curious about this graphic novel that would focus on Alice.
Alice was my favorite character of the book because she reminded me of myself in certain ways. So I was quite excited to see we were getting her point of view. But it fell entirely flat. The problem this book has is that it rehashes almost all the scenes of the book with Quintin. So much could have been done with Alice, her family, her brother. But it was just a rehash of the book. Nothing new to find here on the horizon.
I might imagine that if you are a very big fan of the series that you would still want to read this or have it for your collection but in the end I don’t think it is quite worth it for anyone else. Certainly not for new readers.
As for the art, the cover is stunning and grabs your attention. I found some of the backgrounds also very well done, especially once we got to Fillory. The characters could have used some more work.
Adding on to that, I find it interesting to see how the characters were completely based on the book. I think a lot of people have the tv show characters in their mind and might be a little confused with the way the characters are being shown now, regardless of them being true to the book which if memory serves me correct, is correct. It is something to think about when after so many seasons of an interpretation of a book you do a graphic novel addition to the book that is showing a different visualization. Penny for instance is completely dressed as a punk and white in the graphic novel (as he was in the book), and in the tv show is black and more dressed. What is the goal of this addition now, as the last book came out in 2014? Do you want to draw the viewers towards the books with this graphic novel? Perhaps a foreword on this by Lev Grossman would not be amiss.
August 14, 2019
This is not quite an adaptation of Lev Grossman's The Magicians. It's the story of the novel, but told episodically and all from Alice's point of view.
Watchers of the TV show will probably be confused by how different the characters look and how slightly their relationships vary (though much of this is congruent with the first two seasons). People who have never read the book or seen the TV show will probably be confused, because the story skips over connective tissue.
And as for fans of the original books? That's who this is for. And they'll get to enjoy a graphic retelling of the high points of a great book, all with intriguing and believable commentary from Alice, providing good insight, and also a great ending that really bookends the whole story.
Watchers of the TV show will probably be confused by how different the characters look and how slightly their relationships vary (though much of this is congruent with the first two seasons). People who have never read the book or seen the TV show will probably be confused, because the story skips over connective tissue.
And as for fans of the original books? That's who this is for. And they'll get to enjoy a graphic retelling of the high points of a great book, all with intriguing and believable commentary from Alice, providing good insight, and also a great ending that really bookends the whole story.
August 24, 2019
Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I haven't read The Magicians, but this book sounded interesting to me. It's sort of like a darker version of Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia. The setting is wonderful. It drew me in pretty quickly and I found myself wanting to know more about these characters. The book is paced well too. It did drag a little towards the end. I thought the way the story wrapped up was worth it though. I can't compare this to Grossman's novels, but it feels like a nice primer for them.
I haven't read The Magicians, but this book sounded interesting to me. It's sort of like a darker version of Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia. The setting is wonderful. It drew me in pretty quickly and I found myself wanting to know more about these characters. The book is paced well too. It did drag a little towards the end. I thought the way the story wrapped up was worth it though. I can't compare this to Grossman's novels, but it feels like a nice primer for them.
July 27, 2019
'The Magicians: Alice's Story' by Lilah Sturges and Lev Grossman with art by Pius Bak is a graphic novel based on a popular trilogy with an interesting twist. The events of the first book in 'The Magicians' series is retold here through the eyes of one of the characters: Alice Quinn.
Alice lost her older brother when he went to Brakebills College. She tries to get in, but doesn't, so she finds her way in by taking a taxi to the middle of nowhere and walking in. She gets in to the school and meets friends Quentin and Penny. She falls for Quentin, but Penny has always liked Alice too. When they find a way into a magical land only thought to be in a series of children's books, Alice must use her magic to help her friends.
I'm familiar with the series, but I've not read it. I really like the idea of a popular series being retold like this. Alice has a unique perspective on events, and not knowing the character arc of her story, I found some surprises along the way. The art is pretty good as well.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Archaia, Boom! Studios, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Alice lost her older brother when he went to Brakebills College. She tries to get in, but doesn't, so she finds her way in by taking a taxi to the middle of nowhere and walking in. She gets in to the school and meets friends Quentin and Penny. She falls for Quentin, but Penny has always liked Alice too. When they find a way into a magical land only thought to be in a series of children's books, Alice must use her magic to help her friends.
I'm familiar with the series, but I've not read it. I really like the idea of a popular series being retold like this. Alice has a unique perspective on events, and not knowing the character arc of her story, I found some surprises along the way. The art is pretty good as well.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Archaia, Boom! Studios, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
April 8, 2019
For fans of Lev Grossman's The Magicians there a lot here. It tells the story of the first book from Alice's perspective. People not familiar with the novel, or at least the SyFy series based on Grossman's books won't get a lot out of this, but it's definitely a fun read for those who are. While the plot doesn't diverge hugely from the original, it is interesting to see Alice's point of view. We get to know a bit more about her thoughts, and her mindset when entering Brakebills. The art is simple yet effective, and while some of the dialogue did feel a little clunky, overall the structure and writing were interesting and effective.
December 22, 2019
For fans of The Magicians books. This graphic novel adaptation tells the same story as volume one of the trilogy, but from Alice's perspective. It's nicely done, but the story feels a bit repetitive, since we already know it all. (Also, I can't help getting the TV series characters stuck in my mind as the definitive characters, so it's jarring to see them illustrated so differently here.)
August 5, 2019
On the surface, a retelling of the first Magicians novel as a graphic novel from Alice's point of view feels like a bit of a waste of time. If you've read the book, or seen the show, then you know all this stuff...right? Wrong.
What really sets Alice's Story apart is just that - it's Alice's story. These may be familiar events, but they feel fresh and new under Alice's narration and point of view, and at no point does Sturges ever forget that this is in fact Alice's story, and it's her that drives the narrative instead. The conclusion is of course obvious going in, but the journey is intensely personal, and it really helps qualify a lot of what happens with the other characters by giving us a different perspective.
It's interesting to see which other characters get the most focus as well - Eliott and Janet are basically afterthoughts, while Quentin and Penny are at the front of Alice's mind most of the time. Even Julia appears a few times, but it's never to do anything substantial - she's part of Quentin's story, not Alice's.
The art is entirely handled by relative newcomer Pius Bak, who draws every page of this enormous tome. His style's fairly fluid and light, but it works well, and stays consistent throughout. A little more detail might have helped during some of the more magically intensive scenes, but I liked it overall.
Sidebar: This is just a really nice book to own, tbh. It's a lovely hardcover, slightly larger than a normal trade paperback, but it fits into your hand really nicely and the Steve Morris cover is gorgeous.
Double sidebar: If you've only seen the show, you might be confused as to why the characters look the way they do - this is based in the novel continuity, so Alice isn't blond, Penny is a white dude, Margo is Janet, etc.
Alice's Story may seem like a waste of time, but you'll get something new out of it, I guarantee it.
What really sets Alice's Story apart is just that - it's Alice's story. These may be familiar events, but they feel fresh and new under Alice's narration and point of view, and at no point does Sturges ever forget that this is in fact Alice's story, and it's her that drives the narrative instead. The conclusion is of course obvious going in, but the journey is intensely personal, and it really helps qualify a lot of what happens with the other characters by giving us a different perspective.
It's interesting to see which other characters get the most focus as well - Eliott and Janet are basically afterthoughts, while Quentin and Penny are at the front of Alice's mind most of the time. Even Julia appears a few times, but it's never to do anything substantial - she's part of Quentin's story, not Alice's.
The art is entirely handled by relative newcomer Pius Bak, who draws every page of this enormous tome. His style's fairly fluid and light, but it works well, and stays consistent throughout. A little more detail might have helped during some of the more magically intensive scenes, but I liked it overall.
Sidebar: This is just a really nice book to own, tbh. It's a lovely hardcover, slightly larger than a normal trade paperback, but it fits into your hand really nicely and the Steve Morris cover is gorgeous.
Double sidebar: If you've only seen the show, you might be confused as to why the characters look the way they do - this is based in the novel continuity, so Alice isn't blond, Penny is a white dude, Margo is Janet, etc.
Alice's Story may seem like a waste of time, but you'll get something new out of it, I guarantee it.
September 15, 2022
Being someone who watched the show (twice) before I read the novels, the lack of Alice in the books is something that bothered me. I enjoyed the novels of course but Alice has such a huge part in the show yet almost non existent after book 1.
Of course I understand how adoptions work and for that I'm thankful Alice got such a big part but it left me wanting and wondering about her after the trilogy was over.
That being said, this graphic novel really gave me that extra Alice oomph I was missing! While it's basically a comic retelling of Alice's in book one it was so refreshing and enlightening to see it all from her point of view.
I would have loved to see this extend to her reappearance in book 3 but I'll take what I can get ;)
Of course I understand how adoptions work and for that I'm thankful Alice got such a big part but it left me wanting and wondering about her after the trilogy was over.
That being said, this graphic novel really gave me that extra Alice oomph I was missing! While it's basically a comic retelling of Alice's in book one it was so refreshing and enlightening to see it all from her point of view.
I would have loved to see this extend to her reappearance in book 3 but I'll take what I can get ;)
July 6, 2019
Wow.
I loved this story. It was everything I hoped for and more.
To see the events from Alice's perspective was something new and unexpected, that I didn't know I desperately need in my life until I read through this graphic novel. Authors took everything that was amazing about the Magicians and made it into such an icredible story.
Quentin's whining was much more bearable when he wasn't the star of the show.
It was amazing to see these characters again, I need to go buy this one, now.
Thank you so much BOOM! Studios and NetGalley for letting me read this amazing book sooner. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I loved this story. It was everything I hoped for and more.
To see the events from Alice's perspective was something new and unexpected, that I didn't know I desperately need in my life until I read through this graphic novel. Authors took everything that was amazing about the Magicians and made it into such an icredible story.
Quentin's whining was much more bearable when he wasn't the star of the show.
It was amazing to see these characters again, I need to go buy this one, now.
Thank you so much BOOM! Studios and NetGalley for letting me read this amazing book sooner. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
November 28, 2021
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.
I requested The Magicians: Alice's Story even though I'm unfamiliar with Lev Grossman's series and the television show. I know both are popular... but this graphic novel is what finally piqued my interest. I thought it would give me a good feel for the characters and the setting, and I was intrigued by the promise of magic and a mythical world.
Unfortunately, the story felt long and was unexciting. We see what Alice was like as a child, observe her relationship with her parents, watch her obsess over an unresolved issue with a sibling, and then witness her time spent at school. Things picked up when the group went to Fillory, but it was also unimpressive. I felt like certain aspects of this story could've been left out to make this a quicker read, but the details started to feel tedious after awhile. I'm sure it was an interesting story for people familiar with the series, since they're already acquainted with the characters and the setting, but I would not recommend this for someone just starting out.
If you are familiar with this series, did you expect the ending? I thought it was rubbish and unnecessary. It made me angry. I did enjoy how everything eventually connected, but I felt like a lot of bad had to happen before something good came out of it.
An interesting story, a peculiar setting, and unique characters make up The Magicians: Alice's Story. I may try the series at some point in the future, and that might make me like this one more. As it stands, it was mostly enjoyable but ultimately unremarkable.
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I requested The Magicians: Alice's Story even though I'm unfamiliar with Lev Grossman's series and the television show. I know both are popular... but this graphic novel is what finally piqued my interest. I thought it would give me a good feel for the characters and the setting, and I was intrigued by the promise of magic and a mythical world.
Unfortunately, the story felt long and was unexciting. We see what Alice was like as a child, observe her relationship with her parents, watch her obsess over an unresolved issue with a sibling, and then witness her time spent at school. Things picked up when the group went to Fillory, but it was also unimpressive. I felt like certain aspects of this story could've been left out to make this a quicker read, but the details started to feel tedious after awhile. I'm sure it was an interesting story for people familiar with the series, since they're already acquainted with the characters and the setting, but I would not recommend this for someone just starting out.
If you are familiar with this series, did you expect the ending? I thought it was rubbish and unnecessary. It made me angry. I did enjoy how everything eventually connected, but I felt like a lot of bad had to happen before something good came out of it.
An interesting story, a peculiar setting, and unique characters make up The Magicians: Alice's Story. I may try the series at some point in the future, and that might make me like this one more. As it stands, it was mostly enjoyable but ultimately unremarkable.
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June 30, 2019
Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!
*Review to come!*
*Review to come!*
September 2, 2019
I went to the trouble of doing a completely unnecessary reread of the Magician's before reading this. This was unnecessary as this was pretty much a straight retelling of the events of the first book from Alice's perspective. I probably would have enjoyed this more if I had NOT just done the reread.
June 24, 2019
In general, I liked this, but overall I don't understand who it is written for- other than super fans. This graphic novel sticks to the plot and characters in the book (The Magicians), so those who have only seen the TV show would most likely find parts of it confusing as the show deviates from the book. For those who haven't read the book or seen the show, there is not enough explained to fully understand all of the plot points.
My main issue is that even though it is told from a different POV, nothing new happens/is revealed, etc. If you are going to tackle the same story from a different character's POV, it seems like you would want to actually expand on what happened in the book instead of just rehashing the same things. That's why I was left to wonder who would appreciate a rehashing of the original story- super fans who like graphic novels? Doesn't seem like a terribly wide audience.
My main issue is that even though it is told from a different POV, nothing new happens/is revealed, etc. If you are going to tackle the same story from a different character's POV, it seems like you would want to actually expand on what happened in the book instead of just rehashing the same things. That's why I was left to wonder who would appreciate a rehashing of the original story- super fans who like graphic novels? Doesn't seem like a terribly wide audience.
May 10, 2019
I don’t have read the Magicians trilogy yet, but I’ve seen the TV shows and I like it a lot. This graphic novel takes back the story from the start but clearly focusing on Alice point of view. It sure has a lot of difference from the TV shows, not in term of major events, but more in the characters (they are so different physically (Penny!?!) maybe they are describe like that in the book, I don’t know), but nothing that really matters in the end. I like the art, like the story, really fast pace, they don’t lose time at all, and it was good to get into this world again and it just push me harder to read those books soon (I already have them all so...). I wouldn’t necessarily recommend beginning in this world with that book, start with the trilogy or the shows, but definitely a must read for the fans!
January 24, 2022
Thanks to Michelle F for this review. If not for her starting a conversation, I would never have written anything about this book.
It has an interesting premise: admitting hedge witches into Brakesbills and it does (kind of) confronts Brakebill's elitism and snobbery. I wish I could spend more time with that story; spend four years with hedge witches matriculating at Brakebills. But it doesn't spend much time on that. There's no struggle to adjust to a different magical system or have the institutional magic system adjust to the ad hoc, very customized approach hedge witches jury-rig together. We don't get any of that; we get a group of unlikable people who are horrible to each other and and a secret conspiracy going on behind the veil. Before we even get to know the character beyond a few archetypal tropes , they do something really really horrible and borderline unforgivable and then double down to cover it up. And the secret conspiracy driving things was a big let down, really ended on an anti-climax.
I'm not sure if it's the the comic format (and serialized schedule that demands they put out an issue monthly/bi-monthy) that doesn't really allow the story and characters room to develop or what, but it didn't help the story, especially with six main characters and only five issues to tell it.
It has an interesting premise: admitting hedge witches into Brakesbills and it does (kind of) confronts Brakebill's elitism and snobbery. I wish I could spend more time with that story; spend four years with hedge witches matriculating at Brakebills. But it doesn't spend much time on that. There's no struggle to adjust to a different magical system or have the institutional magic system adjust to the ad hoc, very customized approach hedge witches jury-rig together. We don't get any of that; we get a group of unlikable people who are horrible to each other and and a secret conspiracy going on behind the veil. Before we even get to know the character beyond a few archetypal tropes , they do something really really horrible and borderline unforgivable and then double down to cover it up. And the secret conspiracy driving things was a big let down, really ended on an anti-climax.
I'm not sure if it's the the comic format (and serialized schedule that demands they put out an issue monthly/bi-monthy) that doesn't really allow the story and characters room to develop or what, but it didn't help the story, especially with six main characters and only five issues to tell it.
July 2, 2019
“Josh, so disarmingly funny. Janet, wicked but always entertaining, and Eliot, larger than life.”
This graphic novel started off fairly happy, but then things slowly got darker and depressing. That’s just how it always goes for this lot isn’t it?
Still, I really liked Alice’s Story. The art style wasn’t extraordinary, but it was very detailed, and I just loved seeing the events of the first book unfold from her perspective. (Okay, I haven’t read the first book, but I’m familiar with the characters and story through the Syfy show. That counts, right?)
It was nice to see that they’re all a dysfunctional family in the books too (I lie, it wasn’t, I just want them to get their shit together and be happy but we know that’s never going to happen.)
Also, Eliot is just as lovable and awesome as he is in the show. Janet was less compelling, Quentin more annoying, and Penny more…white.
“And then I see Quentin. Poor, beautiful, brilliant, dumbass Quentin.”
Me, every time Quentin was an annoying prick:
Honestly, I'd say give it a read if you're into the books/show and want some nice art.
[eARC received via Netgalley]
This graphic novel started off fairly happy, but then things slowly got darker and depressing. That’s just how it always goes for this lot isn’t it?
Still, I really liked Alice’s Story. The art style wasn’t extraordinary, but it was very detailed, and I just loved seeing the events of the first book unfold from her perspective. (Okay, I haven’t read the first book, but I’m familiar with the characters and story through the Syfy show. That counts, right?)
It was nice to see that they’re all a dysfunctional family in the books too (I lie, it wasn’t, I just want them to get their shit together and be happy but we know that’s never going to happen.)
Also, Eliot is just as lovable and awesome as he is in the show. Janet was less compelling, Quentin more annoying, and Penny more…white.
“And then I see Quentin. Poor, beautiful, brilliant, dumbass Quentin.”
Me, every time Quentin was an annoying prick:
Honestly, I'd say give it a read if you're into the books/show and want some nice art.
[eARC received via Netgalley]
June 20, 2021
Although the blurb says 'all-new', this is actually just a straight up retelling of The Magicians. Alice's perspective adds very little, as we already knew a good 98% of the plot via Quentin. I liked the little twist at the end, but was disappointed that every single character was white. The TV version is definitely more enjoyable and not weirdly lacking in diversity. I stopped watching it at the end of series 4, though.
May 19, 2019
4.5/5 stars
Thoroughly enjoyed seeing through Alice's eyes for once. The artwork and storyboarding were beautiful. I really liked the drawing style of the artist. It’s great to be able to see all the characters appearances fully flushed out. Most of the characters weren’t what I expected them to look like, but that’s probably because I like the TV show. Unfortunately, the plot was a little slow in places, and therefore frustrating.
*Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*
Thoroughly enjoyed seeing through Alice's eyes for once. The artwork and storyboarding were beautiful. I really liked the drawing style of the artist. It’s great to be able to see all the characters appearances fully flushed out. Most of the characters weren’t what I expected them to look like, but that’s probably because I like the TV show. Unfortunately, the plot was a little slow in places, and therefore frustrating.
*Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*
March 14, 2021
This was decent. I don't think it really adds much to the world that Grossman created but it was refreshing to look at how different events happened from Alice's perspective. I think this highlighted a lot of the good things about Grossman's writing which didn't translate as well into a graphic novel. The art work is decent although I wish the fight scenes had been a bit more visceral.
May 3, 2019
I absolutely loved The Magicians Trilogy. It was one of my favourite books that I read last year.
This graphic novel does not disappoint. Absolutely love the drawings and seeing the story from Alice's perspective.
This graphic novel does not disappoint. Absolutely love the drawings and seeing the story from Alice's perspective.
August 19, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley for a free review copy of this book.
Having never read the Magicians book series or knowing anything about it, I very much enjoyed this book! The story was really good as was the artwork. Not knowing anything about this series or the characters did not hinder me in any way while I was reading this. The characters were fully developed and all had good story arcs as the book progressed. I would love if there were more books that centered on each character like this one did one Alice. Overall this was a very interesting read and I would recommend it if you are into fantasy books such as The Chronicles of Narnia and similar titles.
Having never read the Magicians book series or knowing anything about it, I very much enjoyed this book! The story was really good as was the artwork. Not knowing anything about this series or the characters did not hinder me in any way while I was reading this. The characters were fully developed and all had good story arcs as the book progressed. I would love if there were more books that centered on each character like this one did one Alice. Overall this was a very interesting read and I would recommend it if you are into fantasy books such as The Chronicles of Narnia and similar titles.
July 12, 2019
With Alice's Story why I expected was something new, something different, in particular, what Alice experienced as a Niffin. Instead what I got was the entire first book of The Magicians trilogy told from Alice's POV. It was repetitive and lacked the power of the original book. What's more, there were errors. Elliot and Janet aren't in the same year as Alice and Q! Therefore they didn't go to Brakebills South with them and didn't graduate with them. Charlie is almost an unimportant plot point, when given what he became and what Alice became it's the driving force of her narrative, not her relationship with Q. Also where's Josh's girlfriend who went with them to Fillory? And how did the three some month time shift between Brakebills and the outside world get dropped? But what annoyed me most of all was the art was just so pedestrian. There was nothing special about it and all the characters wore such dowdy clothes. And why did Q look like Jason Ralph but no other character look like the actors from the show? And I think that's my biggest gripe, we have such an amazing visual source for this narrative with the television series now that this needed to be more and new and instead it was the same and boring.
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