A rather bold novel which merges the Harry Potter books with The Secret History by Donna Tartt with a certain amount of Narnia too. I liked the basic ideas a lot, especially the subversive concept of making the central characters at wizard school a bunch of maladjusted students in their late teens and early twenties; and some of the individual scenes and plot twists are very well executed. But it is rather annoyingly structured, with the plot taking a long time to get going and then seeming not very clear about when the story is over.

Another of the books included in the Hugo Voter Package to help us make up our minds how to vote in the John W. Campbell Award For New Writers. I liked The Magicians much more than Monster Hunter International, and sufficiently more than I Am Not a Serial Killer to be fairly sure that I will rank Grossman ahead of Larry Correia and Dan Wells, but behind Lauren Beukes. (Which still leaves me with the short stories of Saladin Ahmed to go through.)