Alex Verus is no ordinary mage in this urban fantasy world
created by Benedict Jacka. He doesn't sling fireballs or
cast shields. He's just a shopowner, running a magic shop
in the heart of London as his livelihood. However, with the
ability to see into the future, anytime, anywhere, and a
dark past of his own, he's been more and more in demand
lately, with every mage looking for an ally in their
ongoing jockeys for power.
The second book in Jacka's Alex Verus series, CURSED
is as
solid as his first work. There continue to be many
similarities to Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series- a
tumultuous past, an evil former mentor, a Council whose
aims often seem disturbingly murky, and a young female
apprentice whose teaching is reluctantly undertaken and
whose powers have a decided dark tint to them. Alex,
however, seems a darker character than Harry Dresden. He
has no faithful dog or cantankerous cat that he can dote
upon. He has very limited attachments even to his own
apartment and seems to get very little enjoyment out of
running his shop. He has no family, few friends and no love
interests. He's sure he's one of the good guys, but there's
an awful lot of bad and bad-for-hire guys that he's got to
kill just to be left alone.
The usual story unfolds in CURSED- some bad mages have
gotten themselves access to some seriously evil mojo and it
has threatened one of Alex's few friends: a 10-foot tall
spider named Arachne (seriously). Teaming up with his
apprentice and a mysterious enchantress, Alex will have to
look far into the future (and also keep a weather eye on
the past) to stop these dark activities.
A quick read and
an enjoyable story, CURSED is a strong sequel and will
leave readers waiting eagerly for Jacka's next release.
Benedict Jacka's acclaimed Alex Verus series continues with Cursed. Since his second sight made him infamous for defeating powerful dark mages, Alex has been keeping his head down. But now he's discovered the resurgence of a forbidden ritual. Someone is harvesting the life-force of magical creatures—destroying them in the process. And draining humans is next on the agenda. Hired to investigate, Alex realizes that not everyone on the Council wants him delving any deeper. Struggling to distinguish ally from enemy, he finds himself the target of those who would risk their own sanity for power...
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