Fated: Alex Verus Series, Book 1

"It was a slow day, so I was reading a book at my desk and seeing into the future."Ah. A fine first sentence told me this was going to be my kind of book. Alex Verus, the first-person protagonist, owns the London magic shop in which he works. This isn’t the kind of magic shop where you can buy interlocking rings or a box for sawing your assistant in half; think more New Age, with crystal balls and herbs. And Alex isn’t the kind of mage who concocts potions and waves a wand around. He’s a diviner, a man who can see into the future. But it’s not a matter of just taking a look ahead and seeing what’s going to happen, because the future doesn’t work that way. Every choice he or someone in his future makes changes things, possibly even everything, so what he really sees is probabilities. That means that he can do “research” by imagining the result of his opening this door instead of that door, or leaving now instead of five minutes later.It’s a nice magic system, and author Benedict Jacka manipulates it to good advantage in Fated, his first urban fantasy. Jacka introduces a number of good characters, including Luna, a young woman who carries a curse that operates against anyone who touches her; Starbreeze, an air elemental who cannot keep a thought in her head for more than 30 seconds; and Arachne, who spins beautiful silks and creates wondrous garments from them. These three form the core of Alex’s support system. Jacka also skillfully weaves in bits and pieces of Alex’s back story, which involves an incomplete apprenticeship to a Dark mage along with three other children and a subsequent rethinking of whether good and bad are mere conventions.The plot turns on a Precursor artifact, which gives Jacka a chance to tell us a bit about the history of magic in a world that looks exactly like ours, as well as a picture of the politics and how power is distributed between Dark and Light mages. A statue being housed at the British Museum encloses the artifact, and no one can figure out how to get to it without being zapped by the statue’s defenses. It’s clear that a diviner is needed, but every one of them except Alex has gone into hiding. Alex finds himself surprisingly popular among some formidable mages who are willing to give him no room to say no to their requests to figure out how to retrieve a very powerful piece of magical equipment from an earlier age.Fated is Jacka’s first adult novel, and the first in his ALEX VERUS urban fantasy series that now extends to seven books — and I’m looking forward to reading all of them after finding myself happily lost in the pages of this one. Jacka’s plotting is sharp, with puzzle pieces all fitting neatly together. His prose is smooth and easy to read, even when explaining how his magic system works or venturing into the philosophy of free will or good versus evil. (Those who read for nothing but plot will miss Jacka’s insights into the philosophical underpinnings of this universe. That might not be a big problem in this novel, but I suspect one would be lost in future books in this series.) The characters are likable when they should be, despicable when they should be, and, best of all, fully as mysterious and changeable as they should be. It’s a very promising start to a series; so much so that I’ve already purchased the next book, Cursed, and plan to read it as soon as I’m finished writing this review. By which I mean to say … NOW.Originally published at Fantasy Literature blog on October 5, 2016.

Meet Alex Verus, a mage who runs a shop with magical and placebo items, but whose life is about to get turned upside down.He is a diviner, which is among mages such a specific talent that is highly in demand for risky tasks. Tasks that diviners avoid.Until now, people left Alex be, but suddenly all the other diviners have gone into hiding and Alex is the next go-to gullible future-teller for the Light council.There are mages (like wizards) of two "alignments" - Light and Dark. Both are legitimate between the images, but neither particularly moral in normal people's measure. Both sides want a specific relic,and only a diviner can get it.We are treated with a whole new magic urban fantasy, that doesn't disappoint with its complexity and action. The series is often compared to The Dresden Files. It copies the general structure but in the way of protagonist's story arc is less complex. Itis more singularly focused. It is still rich and action oriented. Verus has better self-esteem than Dresden does, and is better prepared to what's next. There's a bit more violence/loose morals about killing than DF so I would recommend the series to adults, not YA. Otherwise, it is just the matter of preference, which of the two wizard worlds you love more. I love DF imore, so I must give Alex Verus a star less. But it deserves 5 still. I think after I read a few more books in the series it's going to grow on me. I'll read them for sure.The books in the series don't end in cliffhangers, but the protagonists' story arcs seem to be meant to stretch over the series, so there are some surprises waiting for us.A delightful read for those who want fast action, but slowly building emotion.

This author has the female characters tortured and has the main character calling his side kick “good girl” when she does what he says without question. It’s bizarre and too much of the story to ignore.

Okay, so I'll start out admitting that I am a HUGE Dresden Files fan. I will also admit that the dumb verbiage on the cover stating how Harry would really like Alex sucked me in to buying this piece of garbage. Don't misunderstand me, there's nothing wrong with the writing, and the proofreader actually did their job (so often NOT the case with eBooks). However, this is NOTHING but a ripoff of Jim Butcher's work, and how this man hasn't been sued is beyond my understanding. Try writing your OWN story instead of just recasting someone else's. If you purchase this book and like it, try reading the real story created by Jim Butcher in the Dresden Files. This "author" should be ashamed of himself (especially given the fact that he has legal training - but perhaps that's why he's allowed to get away with this - one set of rules for the working artists, and another set for the elite). Amazon should pull this book and not allow it to be sold.

2.5 StarsI was genuinely looking forward to reading this novel, I really enjoy the Urban Fantasy genre and have been lookign to try a few new authors and I had seen people raving about this novel and comparing to the PC Peter Grant books (which I am a complete fan girl about) and the Harry Dresden books (on my wishlist to try). Oh dear me was I disappointed.Here's the thing, they are billed as being Urban Fantasy set in Camden. For me they were just pure fantasy that happened to have a quasi-real world setting. There is no real interaction between the magical folk and the regular humans and no acknowledgement of the wider implications for the two rubbing against each other. Camden and the wider London area just seem to be there to act as a draw for the reader and make you think you are getting something you aren't. Then throw in a stroll through a London Park to meet up with a magical, centuries old creature; a magical party in Canary Wharf and explosive happenings in the British Museum. The settings are largely irrelevant to the plot and it may have worked better to have this set in a complete fantasy world that the author could manipulate to his desires. As it is I did feel a little "conned" by the Urban Fantasy tag because for me it simply isn't.Then we come to the magic and the nagical people and creatures. The magical system just doesn't seem to be coherent. This is sadly true of our main character, and narrator, Alex Verus. He is supposed to be able to see all the possible futures for a course of action and then states that until a decision is made he cannot see how things will work out but he is still able to manipulate events by choosing the timeline he wants to happen. This doesn't make any sense at all because although he has made a decision to follow one possible thread the ultimate outcome of it depends on the decisions made by other invested parties and not just him. Yet, time and time again everything happens as he predicted it would. I got irrationally angry at this and the more the book progressed the less able I was to let it slide.Alex's back story was interesting but the reveal was drawn out for far too long, indeed I spent a good portion of the book wondering if I had joined part way through the series and should already know what all these asides were about. Nope, it really is the first one the author just wants to drip feed us the information. The "voice" of Alex Verus is actually one of the most enjoyable things about the book and along with the action sequences the only thing that kept me reading.For me this is a missed opportunity as there are some great ideas for a magical world here but just not executed to their full potential. I have seen reviews that say the second in the series is much better but from having read this one it would have to be a freebie before I would consider picking it up.

I picked up Fated on the reccomendation of a friend who has previously recommended I read the Dresden Files , Rivers of London, and Avalon/Hellequin Chronicles, all of which I've loved.Fated was no different. Its a fast paced and punchy story - I don't normally enjoy books written in the first person, but the tone is easy to engage with and comfortable.The characters are well developed, as is the setting, I have plenty of questions about what happens to Alex (and Luna and Arachne!) next, which means... I'm going to have to read the rest of the damn series.In terms of being an engaging read, I strolled through this in 2 days, which given I have ADHD and chronic illnesses and can't normally focus for longer than an hour on anything, is impressive. I couldn't reccomend this book any harder and I'll be advising everyone I know to try it!

To be honest this has sat on my tbr pile for an indecently long time and as always with these things, why on earth didn't I get round to it sooner? A fast, entertaining and adventurous read, with everything a reader could wish for in a modern urban fantasy, with that one rare ingredient for an English person who reads mostly set in America books like me, it's set in London. As often with an urban fantasy the place partly takes on a character of it's own, and London is very much present, and a few scenes are centred around the British Museum, always fun when you've actually been to some of the places mentioned.But onto the characters and story, totally fun, with Alex and Luna hugely likeable and I really am looking forward to getting to know them better over the next few books. Alex's magic is passive, or so you would think to start with when compared to the battle mages, and if you are wanting sword fights and duels you aren't going to get it here. What does happen is very intelligent and exciting in it's own right and we are certainly not left without action as such, just a different kind than usual. I really liked Benedict Jacka's easy style, it was familiar and enjoyable to read and I'll most definitely be back for more.

All Alex Verus wants to be left in peace to run his shop 'Arcana Emporium' in Camden. Mostly his customers are tourists, Pagans, Wiccans and New Agers but every now and then someone comes to his shop that is part of his world. Alex is a Mage, a diviner or seer if you like. The magical world exists within our own world, if only you know where to look, and Alex is keen to keep his head down.The last thing Alex wants is for the Council to start paying close attention to him. Having spent years trying to distance himself from his mentor, he’s learnt that to survive means keeping his head down and not picking sides. The trouble is, he was the apprentice of a notoriously evil Dark Mage whose shadow hangs over his head. His previous encounters with many of those like him has left him reticent to get involved with the Council or any of their dealings. However, when an old acquaintance turns up on his doorstep, it becomes apparent that like it or not, he is going to be dragged into a world he’d spent years trying to forget.This is my first dip into urban fantasy. It’s not my typical choice for genre, but I saw someone reading it on a tube train and thought I’d give it a go. I’m glad I did! My usual complaints with fantasy novels (think LOTR, Game of Thrones) is that I find them heavy going and the first chapter is bogged down in world building. To get past the first chapter of those type books doesn’t normally happen, hence me never been drawn to this genre. It was a relief to discover that Benedict Jacka writes in a far more fast paced and lean style, far more in common with modern day thrillers.As for the story itself, I found myself walking along in Camden, Canary Wharf and Hampstead Heath totally with Alex as I know London very well myself. The story unravels with a light sprinkling of world building which makes it a very easy read and entertaining. Would I read the next in the series? It’s likely, although I have a huge pile of TBR books to dip into next! Not sure I am a huge fan of the fantasy genre but glad I gave this one a go.

Jacka was always going to be compared with Butcher as so as he used the same world.For a first book it links nicely with the Dresden Files while not actually becoming part of it. Jacka hasn't tried to make Verus similar to Dresden, even their magic is different. The character are solid and the story compelling. What let it down for me was the Dresden series had become dark and gritty with a dry humour which this lacked. It comes across as Dresden for young adults. Hopefully Verus will develop and grow like Dresden did, I look forward to reading more of this series.