The Magicians Response

Just like Harry Potter (in many ways), The Magicians is about a group of magically inclined kids attending a school of magic. They learn how to harness their powers and have a relatively uneventful life. But one mistake leads them down a path that only they can control and fix. It's their responsibility.

Both series deal with the weight and stress of having a huge responsibility quite well, in an exciting way too. For Harry, it's Voldemort. And for Quentin (the main character), it's the Beast. I haven't read any of the Harry Potter novels and I've only seen one of the movies, but I wonder if Harry actually sets the conflict in motion. I vaguely remember that Voldemort wanted to kill Harry as a baby because he was a Chosen One. But what The Magicians does that I think is a little more engaging is Quentin physically sets the antagonist loose within the story. Therefore Quentin's responsibility to defeat the Beast is stronger and more intense than it is Harry's responsibility to kill Voldemort.

And the ending of The Magicians is fascinating! Once Quentin has killed the Beast, his ending is a little less satisfying. He basically gives up magic altogether and tries to forget that any of this has happened. I think that response to concluding some massive responsibility is a lot more believable, mainly because I think I would have the same reaction as Quentin. He gets depressed. Utterly destroyed! And while it's not the brightest message, like I said it's a lot more believable.

Comments

  1. Bennett HanusOctober 14, 2019 at 7:30 AM

    I think it's interesting to have an ending like that. To have the hero give up their powers and become destroyed after conquering their quest. It definitely sounds a lot more interesting to follow up on than just have the hero continue to keep his powers and fight smaller quest. I'll have to give this a read!

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