God DAMN this was hard to read -- this was one of the few times that I was glad I couldn't read much due to the famous GAD work load. I'll be more objective and analytical later on in this blog post, but for right now I've just got to let off some steam. If you want me to enjoy your work of literature, you've got to give me a protagonist that I actually care about, and not some whiny guy for whom dreams coming true isn't enough. That aside, there were indeed a few things that I ended up liking about this book. Let's talk about it, shall we?
A good thing: the universe that this story takes place in. Obviously, the actual "universe" is the one that you and I live in, but I mean the way that the author handles the story's integration into our universe. The fact that a book series that is essentially "Harry Potter" is present grounds us that much more in the book, and allows the readers to accept the universe as our own that much more. Also, from a storytelling perspective, the presence of a Potter-like book series that the protagonist wishes was real allows readers to empathize and care that much more about him. Quentin, while personally loathed by yours truly, probably resonates very well with Harry Potter fans towards the beginning of the book -- what Potter fan doesn't wish that they could be whisked away to Hogwarts to learn all about magic? It's a very common desire amongst the fandom, I'm sure.
That same desire that Quentin has, though, seems to me to be a bit of an exploitation of the fanbase on the author's part. This definitely falls under my personal opinion once again, rather than objective observation, but I've never been a fan of having the author/director/creator of a work of fiction use the tactic of having a character that's "JUST LIKE YOU, DEAR READER!" It's one thing to have a book about a Mary Sue (Stephanie Meyer, for example), but to force your reader into becoming a Mary Sue is a whole 'nother level of forehead-smacking disappointment. I realize that one of the rules in creating a successfully lovable protagonist is to have him/her be relatable; but I don't believe that that rule was followed in this particular case. Quentin, from what I've read, doesn't seem as much "relatable" to the book's target market as he is a carbon copy of the book's target market, and that's just a shame. I hate those people enough as is.
--William Avery
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