Fated by Benedict Jacka – Review

Published: February 28, 2012

Publisher: Ace

Series: Alex Verus #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 302 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis:
Enter a “gorgeously realized world”* and meet a mage destined for greatness in the first novel in the national bestselling Alex Verus series.

Alex is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London that caters to clientele who can do much more than pull rabbits out of hats. And while Alex’s own powers aren’t as showy as some mages, he does have the advantage of foreseeing the possible future—allowing him to pull off operations that have a million to one chance of success.   But when Alex is approached by multiple factions seeking his skills to crack open a relic from a long-ago mage war, he knows that whatever’s inside must be beyond powerful. And thanks to his abilities, Alex can predict that by taking the job, his odds of survival are about to go from slim to none….

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I’ve been wanting to read more urban fantasy and I finally decided it was time to pick up the Alex Verus series! Fated is the first book and in it we are introduced to our protagonist, Alex Verus, a mage whose specialty is divination. This isn’t your average crystal ball thing, but rather Alex can “look” down different paths to determine what could happen in the future. While he can’t beat other mages in brute strength, he can more than make up for it in cleverness and foresight. 

At the very beginning of the story, Alex is brought an odd red cube by his friend and ware sourcer, Luna. Shortly after, Alex is drawn into a bunch of nasty business that both the Council of Mages and the dark mages are interested in and his life suddenly gets very complicated. Both sides need a diviner to help them open a treasure trove and all the wiser folks have skipped town. 

Fated is a fairly standard opening novel. We’re introduced to our main character, his pals, his enemies, and some of the more important elements in the world. This novel, while full of action and a good bit of humor, is clearly a set up for a much longer series and just hits the highlights. I liked Alex and Luna, but beyond that the secondary characters are pretty shallow. Heck, even Alex and Luna could have used some more fleshing out, but they’re involved enough and get enough dialogue that it works. 

Overall, Fated was a fun story and one that left me hungry for more set in this world. I think I’m enjoying it more than the first few Dresden Files books, but it has a similar “wizard in a modern world” theme that I really enjoy. I was mildly annoyed that Alex kept calling Luna “good girl” but I was equally amused that she told him off a bit each time he did. I’m curious to see how the Council and the dark mages play a role in future installments and I can’t wait to pick up the next one!