The Magicians

Ok, so I'm outing myself as a total nerd right now, but it's October and with Halloween approaching, it seems appropriate to admit my love of fantasy and magic.  I just finished The Magicians by Lev Grossman and instantly went into a panic over whether there was a sequel in the works.  Thankfully, The Magician King had just come out and I breezed through that one as well.  Oh, it was such a nerdy, nerdy treat to plow through these magical coming of age romps.

I would have to describe these as Harry Potteresque, but with a naughty twist.  The characters in these books party and have sex and use profanity.  The premise is similar to Rowlings' with a group of gifted chilldren attending a magical school and perfecting their witchy abilities.  But after graduation, we get to see how they unleash their new skills on the real world and try to pass as normal citizens.  It's not easy for them, and they find themselves seeking magical stimuli that can only be found in a parallel universe called Fillory.

I don't want to give too much information about these kids' adventures, but I do highly recommend these books.  I love a good imagination and the opportunity to escape to an entirely different world in a book.  The author even looks a bit mystical in his author's photo on the back cover.  He's got an ethereal looking spark in his eye.  Let's just hope he's got novel number three in the works.  I'm on pins and needles.