A Deadly Education follows the story of El, a loner student at the Scholomance, a magical school where students must survive deadly creatures and classmates without any help from teachers or guardians. The protagonist, El, navigates the treacherous environment while forming alliances to increase her chances of survival. The book is narrated in a first-person, stream-of-consciousness style, providing insights into the dark magic world, classmates, and rules of the school.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book includes themes such as violence, death, and references to dark magic, which could be triggering.
Has Romance?
There is a romance present, but it is not the main focus of the story.
From The Publisher:
I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life.
Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I'm concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I'm not joining his pack of adoring fans.
I don't need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, I'm probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I'll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world.
At least, that's what the world expects. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me like one more evil thing that's crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school certainly does.
But the Scholomance isn't getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone's idea of the shining hero, but I'm going to make it out of this place alive, and I'm not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either.
Although I'm giving serious consideration to just one.
With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates a school bursting with magic like you've never seen before, and a heroine for the ages-a character so sharply realized and so richly nuanced that she will live on in hearts and minds for generations to come.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From the author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver comes the first book of the Scholomance trilogy, the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic.
FINALIST FOR THE LODESTAR AWARD
"The dark school of magic I've been waiting for."-Katherine Arden, author of Winternight Trilogy
Ratings (248)
Incredible (69) | |
Loved It (78) | |
Liked It (60) | |
It Was OK (18) | |
Did Not Like (15) | |
Hated It (8) |
Reader Stats (660):
Read It (248) | |
Currently Reading (6) | |
Want To Read (300) | |
Did Not Finish (14) | |
Not Interested (92) |
12 comment(s)
While I enjoyed the book, I guess I was expecting an antihero badass, so I was a little disappointed that El didn't beat anyone's ass when they were bullying her. She was pretty much a doormat. She might snarl a little, but that enclave kid set a mal on her at least once. Those seniors literally tried to kill them. Todd killed someone else. Why didn't she, if not kill them, then at least smite the crap out of them so she didn't look like such a pathetic easy target?
Bully school books aren't my thing at all. At. All.
Fortunately the boy wasn't one of the bullies, he was just Captain Oblivious. And watch El make friends was lovely. I did enjoy the book, and have started the second. It just wasn't what I expected.
Deadly magic school. Doesn’t make sense to have a place of learning also be a life or death gauntlet.
I do not understand the appeal of this book. I’m very partial to dialogue. To action. There’s lot of telling.
This is a magic school novel with a difference. There are no teachers and the school is an enormous machine inhabited by monsters and has no intention of letting most of its students get out alive. El is an outsider, irritable and resentful and trying to figure out how to make alliances that will help her survive graduation. Orion Lake keeps saving her life and she's had it up to *here* with that.
****1.0****
I have given the book full attention and at 60% I am putting this book to DNF .
This one is not for me even though I like Naomi Novik's other books so far. It feels like written in a hurry , crammed with a lot of information in few pages and a totally boring narration though the original/core plot is promising.
Too superficial and runny narration.
Happy Reading!!
Didn't like the main character
I read the whole book but I really didn't like El Higgins as the main narrator/the writing style of this book. El is just up in teen angst for no reason after going through 6?? years of this sort of schooling.
There is a lot of interesting world building but it also comes in very large trains of thoughts by El. There must have been a more natural way to show what happened in the past/build it up better. Like when El says she reinforced her table - maybe show her trading with others and build it during shop class? Instead she makes a mirror that can tell the future but she never uses it in the novel. I understand it was to build friendship with the other characters but eh. I read this book because I liked some of Naomi's other works and also because Orion Lake was suggested as a Golden Boy character like Gansey from the Raven Boys and Jason or Percy from Percy Jackson. Yes that holds up! El is just a dialed up to 10 Blue from Raven Boys which was a bit much.
I think one scene that did this well was when she was trading spells since she had something valuable and we know they were valuable since it caught the interest of people that wouldn't even know the language of how to perform the spell.
Naomi Novik is a hit or a miss for me. Spinning Silver was my favourite of hers, I enjoyed Her Majesty's Dragon but this and especially Uprooted were my behated. I think I like her writing better when it's focused on older characters where they have developed habits and interests.
It was not the best on the first half but the second half made up for it.
Mc is meant to be unlikeable, not rlly my thing
interesting main character, the ending is gripping
What can you read after
A Deadly Education?
About the Author:
Naomi Novik is the acclaimed author of A Deadly Education, the Temeraire series, and the award-winning novels Uprooted and Spinning Silver. She is a founder of the Organization for Transformative Works and the Archive of Our Own.
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