Throughout my reading of this book and its predecessor The Magicians, I alternated between sincere enjoyment and outright annoyance. It had a Doctor Who reference, and who doesn't love that?! But i was annoyed by attitudes and actions of the main characters...sure, college aged kids can be disaffected and prickly, but the whining and dickish behavior left me not caring about the characters very much. Even so, I was okay enough with the roller coaster to at least finish reading the series, until the author referenced a skirt that was "invitingly short."