This is a enjoyable retelling of the magicians through Alice's point of view. Alice who was one of the best characters in the written series really gets her moment as her character gets the life and breath it deserves in this telling of the story at brakebills.

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.

I feel like this is a 4 star book for me. But I’ve read the book series and watched some of the television series. For people who haven’t, this might be a touch confusing. There wasn’t as much character or relationship building in this version, but it’s a comic and the book had a lot of in it. Much harder to do in comic form. They also didn’t build up Fillory the way the book did.

What it did do was cover the basic story well: Young adults invited to a magical school get introduced to some serious evil and learn that the land from their favorite childhood book is real.

I’d recommend it to fans of the series. But for those who haven’t read / watched anything Magicians? I’d advise them to do so before reading this graphic novel.

When I first read Lev Grossman’s Magicians Trilogy, I was instantly besotted by its tale of a university teaching magic in modern day New York. Darker and more grown up than the first school of magic that pops into your head, it centers on sullen teenager Quentin Coldwater as he discovers the magic he has always secretly believed in actually exists and matriculates at Brakebills to study it in earnest. Naturally, amid all the spell training, he and his classmates happen upon the school’s murky past and discover the fantasy worlds of childhood aren’t as pristine as they appear.

Quentin’s learning isn’t solely academic. He also meets gifted, taciturn Alice, a classmate whose spell skills far eclipse his, and the two fumble into that most mysterious of magics: relationships.

The book trilogy concentrates on Quentin’s journey, but Grossman created such a complicated and fascinating character in Alice that I couldn’t help but want more of her story. Either the publishers have infiltrated my thoughts or a lot of other readers felt the same, because that wish has been granted in this graphic novel, aptly titled Alice’s Story.

Grossman and co-writer Lilah Sturges do a masterful job at taking the sprawling world of the first book and retelling its story in this concise graphic format. Alice takes on narrator duties in this rendition, and her voice is so much fun in its old-soul world-weary snark that I got to the last page and had to read it again.

Artist Pius Bak is a perfect match for the story, his illustrations capturing the darkness just as beautifully as the lyrical wonderment. There were my panels where the artwork was so richly gorgeous I had to stop reading to give them the appreciation they deserved.

This graphic novel is likely aimed at fans of the book, who will get a kick out of seeing this spin on the story, but the writing is so solid that it functions as a standalone that readers new to the Brakebills verse would easily enjoy, too. This is one of the best graphic novels I’ve read recently and I would avidly recommend it to anyone who loves magic or just the magic of stellar storytelling.

As a fan of both the original book series and the more recent t.v. adaptation, I was immediately drawn to this book. I love the character of Alice and was excited to know more of her story. While we do get a little more information on her background I don't think it's really enough to justify calling it Alice's Story. All that being said, the book is a good graphic adaptation of the original story and I liked that the illustrator stuck closer the character descriptions in the book, rather than the actors cast in the tv show. The style of the illustrations fit the story being told very well. Anyone already familiar with the source material will find little to surprise them but plenty to enjoy.
I read an reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Lovely artwork alongside an interesting storyline creates a captivating read. Another graphic novel from BOOM that I would gladly share with a wide range of readers. Nice workmanship.

It’s hard to decide if I liked The Magicians: Alice’s Story. To preface this: I really enjoy the TV show. It’s my favorite and it’s the only show I really watch. I found out there was a book series and got stoked because the books are always better than the show/movie, right? Not so right. I didn’t like the first book at all.

Alice’s Story is more like the books, the characters look like the book’s characters not like the show. That’s nice. I dig that. I really liked the art. I thought ever bit of it was awesome. I really liked the Beast’s character design too.

My main problem with the book was that the pacing seemed super odd, to fast in some places, too slow in others. And EVERYONE is a jerk. I feel like Alice’s Story has some similar issues, especially with pacing. But the characters, mainly Alice, are just more like able than in the book (but not as much as the show.)

Yeah I’m lame for comparing to both the book and the TV show but you’re probably reading this because of one or the other.

I thought this was a lovely book. It was short, but the writing was great and the art is gorgeous. It's strange, because the reason a book has a specific narrator or point of view is because their perspective is the most interesting. As such, I wasn't sure if having Alice's story would be up to par with the original series. However, I thought it was quite a fun read, and it filled in some details that made the characters even more interesting. I recommend this book to anyone who has read the original series.

I really enjoyed this. I'm a huge fan of this series, and I'm super glad to have something from Alice's perspective. I think she's such a strong, complicated character, and this really shows a different side to her power that I think the original material may not have fully touched upon. I also really liked how it seemed to follow the books a bit more rather than the tv show. Aside from being a great story, the artwork is also really nice and lush. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who's a fan of the series because it's such a wonderful addition to the story.

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?

This graphic novel is a beautifully executed re-telling of the story of "The Magicians," but primarily from Alice's point of view. The colors and illustrations are very well done and really communicate the characters in a new and fresh way.

I haven't read the series itself yet, but after reading the graphic novel, I'm excited to pick up the books.

The beginning felt a bit disconnected between years and events and it felt like there were important parts missing from the story.
The artwork is fitting for the genre, if you like it a bit dark and gothic-themed.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy.

This new(?) chapter in The Magicians series will recapture the hearts and imagination of fantasy readers all around the world.

This graphic novel is a retelling of the events from The Magicians book one, but through the eyes of one of my favorite characters: Alice Quinn. I loved her story, her character development, and the amazing artwork. It was so gratifying to see those characters that I loved (or hated) so much coming to life as never before.

This is the perfect book for fans of Lev Grossman’s The Magicians. I don’t think it will captivate new fans, and I do think that it’s necessary to read the book trilogy to get the most of out of the graphic novel, but it’s a wonderful gift for every hardcore fan obsessed with The Magicians world. And I’m one of those fans.

Final rating: 4.5/5 stars

I loved The Magicians novels, and its excellent ongoing TV adaptation (great series). So, this upcoming graphic novel grabbed my interest... but what makes this excel above other typical adaptations, it’s that it’s told through the eyes of a different character, adding a very different voice and feel to the story. The illustrations are top notch as well, in a style that suits the story perfectly. Overall, a great read, for both fans of the novels / tv series, and newcomers to the saga.

Thanks to netgalley for the early preview.

I am a fan of the Magicians franchise. Books and show. I didn’t realize how diversified the show’s cast was until I picked up this book. The only person of color was a Brakebills prof who functions more as Fogg’s assistant/sidekick.

I needed more continuity between the show and the visuals here for this to work for me.

The Magicians Original Graphic Novel: Alice's Story by Lilah Sturges, Lev Grossman, and Pius Bak is a graphic novel that tells the story of The Magicians from the character Alice's standpoint. First, I've never read The Magicians, but I did watch the first two seasons on SciFy, so I was amazed at how closely this graphic novel really parallels the TV show. At the same time, I don't think anyone needs to have any familiarity with the book series or television series to actually enjoy and understand this graphic novel.

Personally, it was fun to see how the graphic artists portrayed the different characters in the graphic novel, which is clearly not in sync with the TV series.

Overall, I found this graphic novel a lot of fun and a very quick read. I would recommend this book to fans of the books, television show, and people not familiar with the source material at all. It's just a fun urban fantasy story.

I was provided with a copy of the book prior to publication to read and review. I am thankful to the publisher for this opportunity, but it has not impacted my review.

This was an extremely fun way to revisit the first book in Lev Grossman's Magicians series. The text really lends itself to a graphic format - especially once the final act kicks off - and Alice's internal monologue adds enough value without deviating much from the novel. Pius Bak's artwork is angular and appealing, creating versions of each character that are firmly aligned with the universe of the books rather than the (also very good) SyFy television adaptation. I think this will be popular with my library's readers as well - I keep trying to put the first book in the trilogy on our "Staff Picks" display but it's always checked out. I'm looking forward to the graphic versions of the sequels!

I don't know how this title would read to someone not familiar with the series, but I loved it. I liked the art and most of the choices made, story-telling wise. They could have done a little bit more with telling it from Alice's POV, since it didn't diverge too much from the original, but I was interested the whole way through. I'm expecting a book 2!

Alice's Story took me by surprise, really. The comic starts off slowly and it takes time to set the story on fire, but when it happens? It's pure blast! Alice Quinn can do magic and she wants to attend Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, where her brother used to study too before his death. She makes friends with Quentin and Penny and soon we have a love triangle and Penny drops out. The friends loved Fillory fantasy books as kids and it would seem that Narnia happens and they get to travel there only to be a part of a magnificent plan that needs sacrificing. The aim is to save the kingdom from those that traveled before. The plot is very interesting and even felt refreshing, since the comic does it with a twist and the atmosphere is dark, suffocating and sad throughout the story. Perhaps the ending comes too fast when you compare it to the beginning, but otherwise the rhythm is great. I liked Alice's choice even though it's sad as his brother's. Save the world and no one is happy.

The art works well with the story line, although at times it's a bit crude. The faces and expressions are wonky at times, but the magic does look good. I liked the vivid panel forms and the dialogue was interesting with all the bickering and swearing, which makes this feel so real. We don't really get to see Fillory that much, which is a shame, but the same happens with most of the backgrounds that are slightly lacking. Still, a totally captivating story and no happy ends!

I haven't yet read the Magician's Trilogy. I saw this book on Edelweiss and decided to read it because it's a graphic novel and I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It feels like an adult version of Harry Potter but it is much darker and with far more angst.

The story focuses on Alice Quinn, a clever young woman who manages to get into Brakebills college where people go to study magic. Alice has a tragic background because she lost a brother who also attended the college. It might be good to wield magic but magic also comes with dangers. Alice excels in her studies and she falls in love with Quentin Coldwater who is another brilliant student. The Magician's Trilogy stories actually focus on Quentin but this volume tells the story from Alice's perspective.

After graduation Alice settles down with a group of friends and most of their time is spent drinking and generally carousing but this changes when they are contacted by Penny who is a former student who has a crush on Alice. Penny has somehow managed to find a way to get into the land of Fillory, which is an imaginary place described in a children's book. When they realise Fillory is real Alice and her friends decide to explore it and they make the journey to Filaree only to get caught up in the darkness of that land.

I thought this was a really engaging graphic novel and I was drawn into the story quite quickly. I thought the artwork was good and the story has a good pace. I found it exciting to read because not being familiar with the trilogy I didn't really know what was coming next.

The book is not just about magic. I enjoyed all the drama between the characters and the angst of a young relationship. I think this book is actually really good way of entering into the trilogy. It doesn't spoil anything, instead it just made me more eager to read all the books. I think it would also be great if the main story is produced in graphic novel format.

I'm a great fan of graphic novels and I think that this story really delivers. I'm looking forward to actually reading the Trilogy in full.

Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.