Re-read update 2016: I originally read this book years ago, and after watching the Syfy series earlier this year, decided to revisit the original via audiobook. I'm so glad that I did! The book itself is engrossing, and the audiobook narration is excellent. 
 Original review: I wanted to love "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman, and ended up liking it quite a bit. Main character Quentin spends his childhood obsessed by a Narnia-like fantasy series, only to discover at age 17 that magic is real, and what's more, he's a gifted magician. Quentin embarks on a magical education at a not-quite-Hogwarts school of magic. Grossman makes sure to remind us that we're not in Potterland, sprinkling the text with plenty of dissolute college-age behavior -- lots of drinking, sex, and bad attitudes. As Quentin and his friends grow up and hone their skills, they discover a certain emptiness in getting everything they ever wanted. The final third of the book heads in a quite bizarre direction, and I'm not sure that it really works for me. However, "The Magicians" is well-written and quite witty, with some truly wonderful set pieces thrown in among the more garden-variety "isn't magic cool?" chapters. Overall, I'd highly recommend "The Magicians", but be warned -- this novel for adults isn't child's play.