A Deadly Education: A TikTok sensation and Sunday Times bestselling dark academia fantasy
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By Naomi Novik
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3 reviews
The Sunday Times bestseller!
FINALIST FOR THE LODESTAR AWARD
In the start of an all-new trilogy, the bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver introduces you to a dangerous school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death – until one girl begins to rewrite its rules.
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Enter a school of magic unlike any you have ever encountered.
There are no teachers, no holidays, friendships are purely strategic, and the odds of survival are never equal. Once you’re inside, there are only two ways out: you graduate or you die.
El Higgins is uniquely prepared for the school’s many dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out untold millions – never mind easily destroy the countless monsters that prowl the school.
Except, she might accidentally kill all the other students, too. So El is trying her hardest not to use it . . . that is, unless she has no other choice.
With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates 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.
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‘Hilarious and wild! Take any fictional magic school, make it as over-the-top dangerous as possible, and populate it with a bunch of snarky teenagers; the result is pure batshit fun.’
N.K. Jemisin, three-time Hugo Award winner and author of The Fifth Season
‘Novik deliciously undoes expectations about magic schools, destined heroes, and family legacies. A gorgeous book about monsters and monstrousness, chockablock with action, cleverness, and wit.’ Holly Black, #1 New York Times bestselling author
‘The Scholomance is the dark school of magic I’ve been waiting for, and its wise, witty, and monstrous heroine is one I’d happily follow anywhere-even into a school full of monsters.’
Katherine Arden, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale
‘The wonderful cast of characters will grab a hold of your heart and you’ll never want to leave this deadly school … a fantasy that delights on every level. I loved this brilliant book.’
Stephanie Garber, #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Caraval series
‘Eyeball-meltingly brilliant. Novik is, quite simply, a genius.’
Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken
‘Sharp, witty, and darkly effervescent, A Deadly Education is Naomi Novik’s fresh take on the concept of the magic school. One of my favorite reads of the year.’
Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls
‘Fresh, smart, and delightfully unique. It’s Hogwarts with higher stakes and sharper claws, and I absolutely loved it.’
Alix E. Harrow
‘A nightmare from which I never wished to wake. Savage, inventive, and soulful, Novik grasps the totems of childhood that linger in your mind-schools of magic, curses, cutthroat classmates, monsters-only to twist them into a grand new tale that’ll make you believe in magic again.’
Pierce Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Age
A Deadly Education, Sunday Times bestseller – October 2020
TweetReviews
An excellent read. Novik presents a strong and resilient female protagonist surviving in a dark place full of threats. It is ultimately satisfying when she blossoms into a powerful master of magic. I can't wait to read the next one!
Welcome to the Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted. This is no Hogwarts. This is a darker, dangerous and exciting school of magic, where a constant threat of death pervades. No teachers, no real lessons, just prowling monsters lurking in vents. Graduation means fighting for survival in order to leave.
We are introduced to this dark and dangerous school of magic, through the life of Galadried (EL) Higgins, not as a first year, but as an established sixteen year old who understands the cost of magic as well as the power this can bring, not forgetting that survival is key. She is a sassy, no-messing, chaotically dangerous at times magician, using all her skills (or not) to survive both the monsters, the pitfalls that privilege brings to students, whilst avoiding the attentions of school ‘hero’, Orion Lake. She also starts to uncover some strange things going on within the school.
This is a witty, clever, pacey and well imagined world builder that transports you away from this world, taking you deep down into understanding the world of the students at the Scholomance.
A thoroughly enjoyable read. Murderous monsters permitting, I look forward to revisiting.
A magical depiction of highschool life, teenage angst and frustration, with a side order of sarcastic humour. This book also reminded me of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which I love. It's great to have some escapism during the Covid pandemic. But reading about a school where children are expected to teach themselves if they want to survive in the world, where those without the equipment and access that comes with privilege must literally battle for the education, and where passing school is foretold as mass carnage - felt particularly poignant right now. Whether you take it as an extended metaphor or just accept Novik's fantasy world, this is an entertaining adventure story that left me keen to read the sequel.
