My thanks to BOOM! Studios Archaia for granting my wish for a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘The Magicians Original Graphic Novel: Alice’s Story’ in exchange for an honest review. It will be released in the U.K. on 10 July in digital format and on 22 August as an imported hardback.

This is a collaborative project between ‘The Magicians’ creator Lev Grossman and Lilah Sturges, co-writer of the ‘Jack of Fables’ series with artist Pius Bak.

Basically this graphic novel recounts the events of ‘The Magicians’ through the perspective of Alice Quinn. Certainly a treat for existing fans of these novels and possibly an introduction for newcomers to provide an overview. It might be a bit strange for fans who only have seen the TV series as the characters here are true to their appearances in the novels.

I found the art simple yet expressive in terms of serving the narrative. It’s certainly one that I intend to buy in hardback when available. It reminded me of my love for this series and its wit, wonderful characters and engaging storylines. Hopefully there will be more ‘The Magicians’ graphic novels from this team.

Certainly highly recommended.

This is my first adult graphic novel. I am unfamiliar with the actual Magicians novel and TV show so I was going in completely blind. The graphics were well done and helped tell the story quite well. The story covers such a large time frame in such a small time that I did feel like I was missing some plot points.
This story follows Alice as she starts her education at Blackbills - which is a magical academy. It breezes quite quickly over her education and the forming of her relationships. It jumps to her after school is finished and they are trying to live in a regular world as magical people. The story takes a very adult feel of Narnia - where they learn that their favourite fictional world is indeed real. It is told in a way that is narrative - as though she is looking back over time, which all makes sense at the end of the story.
This is 100% an adult novel - there is violence, coarse language, sex and substance abuse.

Alice Quinn is a brilliant student at Brakebills. She falls n love with Quentin Coldwater. She will see the Beast invade their dimension. The Beast is a horrific evil being. After she graduates, Alice and Quentin will set their sights on a magical world that was discovered in a children’s set of books. This magical place was called Fillory. In Fillory, Alice finds out that nothing is as it appears to be. Why? What is causing that?

It is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel with an excellent storyline. Alice’s story Was a joy for me to read as I discovered more about this gifted student. I found myself seeing aspects that I had not thought of. This biography of Alice is excellent. I’m so glad that I read it!

Hmm, not sure I like the art. Which is sad because the cover page and intro art is amazing, love the bee, key and gear pattern. Can I get that in wallpaper?
Um, did they just paraphrase the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland?
Hahaha, the cat exam questions.
Alice’s inner monologue is growing on me. Even though I’m not sure I like her as a character.
The housemates in 3rd year are amazing.
This is a grown up Narnia, right?!
Maybe don’t drink while reading, giggle snort: “‘That ridge over there is positively screaming to be planted with pinot grapes, don’t you think?’
‘My god, man. You have to consider the terroir. For all you know you’d end up with a vintage that turned people into capybaras.’”
Wait, faceless man without a bowler hat?
I still don’t love the art but it kinda grows on you.
5 stars for story but 3 stars for art. 4 stars total.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“Alice’s Story” by Lilah Sturges, Lev Grossman, Pius Bak is “The Magicians” told from Alice’s perspective thus showing us things that weren’t necessarily pointed out in the book originally.

As a huge fan of the book and the TV series, this graphic novel was just what I needed after the latest season of the show ended. “Alice’s Story” combines the familiar plot with some great art. It was a bit surreal at first seeing the characters look different but that’s the beauty of it — we get to see a new take on all of them.

I’m not sure how someone who’s not acquainted with the source material might perceive the graphic novel but it’s a real treat for fans of “The Magicians”.

In all honesty, now I hope they continue making the rest of the books into graphic novels.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read the book early. All opinions stated are my own.

Thanks the the publisher for sending me a review copy.

Just to start it off. The art in this graphic novel is beautiful. The artist really manages to bring out the darkness in this series.

The story was good. Alice has never been a character I liked. But the art made this story enjoyable.

However this is a graphic novel based on the novels, not the tv show. Which had me slightly confused. Which is yhe only reason why its not a 5 star for me.

A fantastic graphic novel with great artwork. The storyline is interesting and characters. I enjoyed reading this book.

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.

The graphic novel was completely engrossing and I could not put it down. I liked that it followed the books and not the TV show because as much as I like the show I loved the books far more! I enjoyed getting Alice's perspective on everything though I wanted more of her story after book one ends. I thought it would have her full arc and that was my only disappointment. If you are a fan of the books or even the TV show and curious about the books you will likely enjoy this great addition to The Magicians story.

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.