Fated (An Alex Verus Novel)

Since Jim Butcher's Dresden Files seems to be finally winding down, I have been searching for a suitable replacement for a wizard in the urban fantasy genre, and I have definitely found him in Alex Verus.
Think Harry Dresden transplanted to London. Benedict Jacka even gave a respectable shout-out to Harry in his first book, Fated, when he said in Chapter one, "I even heard of a wizard in Chicago who advertises in the phone book, but I think that's just an urban legend."
And so, the "wand" is passed on.
Of course, it's a great read, full of magic and action, and it really gets you involved in the characters and caring about them. Verus may not have Harry's active, deadly powers, but he has learned to survive in the cut-throat world of mages with cunning, intelligence and wit. I can't wait to see how he evolves as the series goes on.
One of my favorite characters, however, has become Cinder, a fire mage who is Verus' sometime enemy. He's like a human flamethrower, and a couple of the scenes in which he appears in this book just blew me away, one in particular which nearly made me stand up and cheer when he arrived. He is just awesome. I know he's a dark mage and a bad guy and all that, but you have to admit, he's pretty freaking awesome. I can't wait to see more of Cinder as well.
Welcome aboard, Mr. Jacka, to my list of must-read-the-very-day-it-comes-out! books.

Benedict Jacka's Alex Verus is not your typical action mage for the Urban Fantasy genre. He is a diviner, a mage who can winnow his way through the different realms of possibility to find the actions or words most likely to give him what he wants. This very powerful ability sounds great, but when he is facing mages who can cause the earth to tremble, cast bolts of blackened lightning, or simply raise an inferno against him, he doesn't always come out ahead. Jacka's world is new, and as other reviewers have pointed out, this book focuses more on introducing us to the characters involved, particularly Alex Verus, than on revealing the world he's introducing us to. With two more books coming out in the series in the near future, some more world and backstory details are likely to be on their way.

I really enjoy these stories and seeing the characters developed. New characters have come into the story now so it'll be interesting to see what becomes of them. Luna's coming into her own really well, she's one to watch!

Fated begins the saga of Alex Verus, a mage diviner living in modern Britain. His past comes knocking at his door and soon he is tossed into a jumbled mess of quests and magic.

If you like Kevin Hearne's early books or my personal writing god, Jim Butcher (seriously, I burn incense and sacrifice small animals to his photo), you'll love Benedict Jacka.

Big Thumbs Up.

I loved this book. Having read all the Harry Dresden books I wasn't sure if I would like this one but it's very good and of the same genre. Very entertaining and well written the story is set in London, England and Alex Verus is a young mage who can see into the immediate future and knows how to use magical items. I can recommend this book to anyone enjoying witches and wizards type stories.

Really liked this second book in the Alex Verus series. I like the Magic world building, and the way the characters have changed a bit since the first book. I think Character Growth is important to a series, and nice to see it here.

Also fun to see some of the secondary characters included.

If you enjoy Urban Fantasy without the supernatural pseudo romance that is so common in the genre, this is a very good series. Anyone that has read The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher will be perfectly at home here. Clever dialogue, likable characters and solid story telling has made this one of my go-to authors when I am in the market for a new book.

I love this author! The characters are written wonderfully and the whole world just crackles and sizzles with wonder and excitement. I did not get bored or turn to the back to see if I wanted to continue...I just read with enthusiasm.

Has the same skin-of-your-teeth, perpetually outclassed, barely surviving excitement and intrigue of the best Dresden Files, Connor Grey and Magnum PI installments. (If we were better acquainted, you would be shocked that I would have the temerity to compare anything mortal to the Mighty Mustache.)
Rest assured, this is an exceptional urban fantasy series that deserves your attention.

If you like that sort of thing.

Fans of Dresden or the Iron Druid will like these books.

Is there magic? yep
In modern Great Britain? yep
Cocky, mouthy main character? yep
who is the plucky underdog? yep
and is going to kick some ass? NOPE!

That's what I like the most about this series. Instead of the main character being the big dog, he's the rat in the corner.

I like the preimise and the setting. Even liked the characters, mostly. They only did a few really stupid "script writers" folly's.

Didn't like the political "we English are better because we are unarmed sheep" in one chapter, only to have the heavily armed action caricatures in the next chapter not being walking targets and achieving a goal. The flip between PC and reason can get a little whip-lashy.

Alex is a decent faux patch for your Dresden craving.

Another fantastic book in this series. Usually, I have trouble reading the books in a series back to back, but not this series. I have been reading them as soon as I can and haven't tired of them. Recommend the series - action, mystery anti-heros and solid characters.

I really enjoyed this book. Well written with a lot of action sequences and interesting characters

A novel were the protagonist's magic grants him the knowledge he needs to outwit instead of overpower his foes. No reason to blow away an attacker with a powerful blast when you can simply step aside and let the blast from one enemy take out the other.

When Jim Butcher and Patricia Briggs both recommend a writer, I listen. Benedict Jacka's urban fantasy, TAKEN, book 3 in his Alex-Verus series, definitely lived up to the hype. Check it out. You'll be glad you did.

An excellent entry into the urban fantasy genre. Jacka's work is entertaining, well thought-out and a solid start to the series. Emotional stakes might be a little low since Alex is somewhat closed-down emotionally - for very good reasons. Highly recommended.

If you love the Harry Dresden series, you'll love this one. Our hero has much less "boom" "pow" magic, tending towards the myriad uses and value of being able to divine the future. Verus also does his thing in London, not Chicago. All in all, this is a well written book with a captivating plot line that will be welcome anywhere urban fantasy is read.

A bit too derivative of Dresden (with moments of "Wheel of Time") for my taste. However, this is a first book and the first few books of Dresden weren't all that solid, either. I'll give this another try with the next book and see how it goes...

I read several reviews before deciding to buy this book and went I to it with somewhat low expectations. Lo and behold I got a pleasant surprise when it turned out damn good. At least on par with the first 3 or 4 Dresden books, and curious to see if the author experiences the same ramp up as the storyline progresses. I'll definitely be reading the next one.

In the second Verus story, Jacka builds out his world and brings us deeper into the slightly off kilter London. this is perfect summer reading, fast paced and entertaining with a bit of dark humor and some promising twist setting the stage for future adventure.

I had read a review that speculated that this series was actually written by Jim Butcher. It is good enough that I am recommended it to my son who is a Harry Dresden fan but it lacks a certain something that even Butcher's secondary series has. If you enjoyed Butcher's Harry Dresden series, give this series a try.

First book of a great series. Jacka creates an interesting secret universe that lies behind the one we know where magic is known only to those who possess the ability. The main characters are interesting and complex and not predictable especially as the story progresses in the later novels.

Terrific series. I'm very picky about what I read, and enjoy characters that are not able to easily muscle through all of their challenges. Alex Verus is a well written, and at times witty character. I'd put him, and this series up there with Harry Dresden. If you're a fan of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, I think you will like this series a lot.

I liked this first book and diviner/mage Alex, enough that I switched over from audio to find out (faster) how things turned out even though I did think the story worked well in audio and the reader was good. Will definitely be checking out the next books.

Well-written, good plot and character development. This kept reminding me of Steven Gould's books, where often the main character has some kind of trauma in his past that he just can't seem to get over.

First book in a series of three books. I suspect that the author would like to take this series to twenty books or so.

A third rate mage gets the short end of the stick and turns it into the long end of the stick. The story is OK but nothing special or fancy. I will try the two follow-on books though.

...of what could be a very fun series going forward. Definitely urban. Dark, but more Grit and grey. The London setting is a nice change from the usual American cities. Alex could well be if not a brother, then definitely a distant cousin, to Dresden.

A bit short, but good. For someone smart Alex verus is å quite stupid sometimes! However i read theese for entertainment, not for great literary quality. Language and writing is good. If you skip over where the characters are making stupid choices for no reason then the characters are well made. A good read.

This book is not bad. It's not particularly good, either. Much of the world-building is done through straight up exposition as opposed to being shown or revealed, which gives the first half of the book a very choppy feel as we have to be yanked out of the action to have another mechanism explained. Characters are largely uninspiring, with some notable exceptions.

As someone who reads probably more than they should (5+ books a week) it's always a pleasure to find a new author/series worth reading. This was a great book and I highly recommend the series. Great characters, great plots, and an interesting spin on the magic genre.

This book honestly feels like a Brit-clone of Harry Dresden (Jim Butcher). There are some interesting quirks thrown in that distinguish it from Butcher's work, but overall it feels like a dryer title overall. I never really found myself caring much about Alex, Luna, or any of the other lightly dusted characters in the story. As far as what we know/discover about Alex Verus is that he has almost an identical background to Harry Dresden, save for the range of his magical abilities. Evil mentor that wanted to abuse him and his powers (check), higher power female psuedo-guardian that occasionally does something to help him out (check), apprentice/mentee with a damaged past (check), assorted bag of tricks for every occasion (check), and it goes on. This title has all the makings of an urban fantasy hit, but the writing just falls kind of flat and unoriginal. I love the Urban Fantasy setting and have read through every Harry Dresden & Iron Druid title out so far, and I churn through those titles in a matter of days, Alex Verus, while a competent title, brought nothing new to the table for me. I will in all likelihood pick up Book 2 when I hit another reading slump as Middle-of-the-Road is better than not having a book at all.

Alex Verus is one of my new favorites. Benedict Jacka spins an enjoyable tale of an under-powered wizard taking on forces he has no business standing up against and somehow coming out on top. Like Fated, the first book in this series, Cursed introduces the reader to characters we quickly learn to care about. Jacka fits magic into the modern world in a uniquely creative way. I'll be moving on to book 3 soon!

I am really liking this series. The characters are really likable and well developed. I was afraid I would get tired of Luna's whining after the last book, but she has moved forward in her development. Will definitely keep reading this series.