Fated by Benedict Jacka
Series: Alex Verus #1
Published by Ace on February 28, 2012
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 304
Format: eBook
Source: Library
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble
Alex Verus is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London. 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 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...
There will be spoilers for Fated – book 1 below. If you know answers to my questions, please do not answer them in the comments since I will be reading this series as we go along and don’t want to be spoiled!
I enjoyed the world building, the mystery plot and getting to know some of Alex’s history, plus his circle of friends. Alex started out in a bad place in life, so now he keeps to himself. Unfortunately, the power hungry all come out in this story to use his talents in a power grab. There’s an Indiana Jones feel with artifacts and magic and various people trying to snatch the prize.
Fated is the start of a new phase in Alex’s life and I’m happy to be along for the ride. He is smart and snarky. Alex cares about others, so yeah, he’s one of the good guys. I’m excited to see what happens to him next.
My observations from Fated:
- Alex keeps himself pretty isolated and off the radar. His circle of friends is thus, very small
- Alex has tried to keep Luna out of the world to protect her.
- Like every good urban fantasy hero, Alex is starting to form an odd group of mixed allies. So far he has Starbreeze – the air elemental and Arachne and Luna.
- We learn the classes of magical talent – normals (none), sensitives, adepts and mages.
My questions from Fated:
- I wonder if Alex will now become more knowledgeable about the Council and who are the “players” in the Dark and Light mages to protect himself better.
- How will Alex teach and guide Luna as an apprentice?
- Will Alex find a way to remove her curse, maybe with some help from Arachne?
- Why didn’t all the powerful mages just send him back to get the Fateweaver at the end of Fated? Luna relocked the force barrier with the cube but then where did the cube go?
- Does Alex have other friends, or mage friends we will meet?
- Will Alex ever be able to do anything about the cruel practices of dark mages?
- Will there be a romance for Alex?
Games:
1. Who said (enter the answer in the Rafflecopter, don’t put in the comments)
“This was the message. ‘At the end, in the light of the stars, trust in your friends and forgo the greater power for the lesser.’
2. Who is the villain in Fated? (Enter in the rafflecopter)
3. We have an opportunity to do a Q & A with Benedict Jacka a few months down the line. I am asking you to please submit interesting questions (into the rafflecopter) I fear this may be a little difficult to ask something different as he does an Ask Luna on his site. I have yet to check it out, as I don’t want to be spoiled for the books.
4. If you have any other favorite quotes, put them in your comments below ( and one can also be entered in the rafflecopter) and I will share them next month.
Schedule:
We are doing one book every month, posting on Fridays. We should have a review for most of the books with the team here at Books of My Heart plus some of our blogging friends.
Feb 1: Fated
Mar 1: Cursed
Apr 5: Taken
May 3: Chosen
Jun 7: Hidden
Jul 5: Veiled
Aug 2: Burned
Sep 6: Bound
Oct 4: Marked
Nov 1: Fallen
Be sure to enter the giveaways!!!
Giveaway:
AceRoc books were enthusiastic about our read-along, and they are giving away 3 print copies of Fated, so hopefully more of you can join us. This is US mailing address only.
Read-along Giveaway:
This giveaway is for the entire event, with things to enter each month. Tantor is also supporting me by giving away digital codes for all 10 audiobooks in the series!
- 🎧 The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong @JulieLeongBooks #PhyllisHo@AceBooksPub @PRHAudio #LOVEAudiobooks - November 7, 2024
- An Insignificant Case by Phillip Margolin @philmargolin @ganimaniac @MinotaurBooks @MacmillanAudio #LoveAudiobooks - November 5, 2024
- Schemes & Scandals by Kelley Armstrong @KelleyArmstrong@SubPress - November 3, 2024
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Library-Love
- BTB 2019
Thanks for sharing this exciting new book and author. And have fun getting your answers:)
Thanks Laura! I am always shocked later (I did this when I did a read-along of the Hollows by Kim Harrison a few years ago) how stupid or how intuitive I am.
Thankfully I am enjoying the series. It’s a bit of a gamble when you haven’t read it before. But that makes for the most honest questions & observations.
Glad to see you are enjoying the series. Lovin’ those covers.
Thank you! Aren’t they lovely?
This is awesome, and you know I love discovering new UF
Oh I’d love nothing more than to have you read ( or listen ) along with us. Gildart Jackson does the audios and I love them but I have to read the Kindle version to make notes and highlight quotes for this read-along.
I bought the first audio, but want to finish out Dresden files first, so this will be the next urban fantasy I start. The sample sounds cool.
Well fortunately you listen to lots of audio. So I’m thinking you will catch up, since we are only doing a book a month. I should have bought the entire series at Tantor when they were $4.99 each on Black Friday. Sigh. But I didn’t know yet how much I would like them or not but so far I am really enjoying them.
Sounds like a great series !
So far I’m loving it. I hope you give it a try and enjoy it with us.
I enjoyed this first book in the series. Arachne and Starbreeze are not the usual sidekicks on being a giant spider and the other an elemental of childlike innocence and wonder. Alex isn’t superpowerful in the I’ll kill you with my magic wand but smart and outwits his opponents. I think that is great the turn about from the norm.
My Quote:
Human beings tend to react better to good-looking people. It’s called the halo effect—someone’s attractive, so you trust them more. It’s natural, which makes it a hard habit to break, but once you start dealing with magical creatures you’d better learn to break it, and fast, because some of the most vicious things out there can make themselves look like absolute angels.
My Question:
I myself notice a difference when reading an American vs. an English writer when it comes to the realm of Urban Fantasy. In this series so far there really hasn’t been anything romantic or sexual but in most American writing there almost always seems to be that element as a bigger part of the story. I guess my question is do you notice a difference between cultures and do you think of that when writing a series that appeals to more of the world than just the corner you live in?
Oh Robin, you are a rock star. I am glad you are along for this journey. I am enjoying the series and it reinforces my choice of this series. I don’t know if you saw but in addition to the voluminous Ask Luna, he has a whole section of Encyclopedia Arcana (55 chapters I think) on his site. I am not sure at what point I should read them, except before I submit questions which are already there.
The first book was fun and I’m definitely hoping for a little romance as the series goes on but I really like Alex and can see a ton of potential in this world.
How is it I missed hearing about this series for years, and all of a sudden it’s popping up all over the blogosphere? I am decidedly intrigued. UF set in London sounds really cool. I don’t yet know if I’ll do the readalong, but I’m thinking about it! (I’m swamped with more stuff to read than I can get through in a year, and I need time to reread; it’s where I go when feeling stressed or tired.)
PS. Just put Fated on hold at the library. I can at least check it out—literally & figuratively.
I’m glad to have you give it a try, even if you don’t manage to do the whole thing. I allowed an entire month for each book so if people have bad months they might catch up later. Be sure and enter the giveaways – you might win a book.
Ooh…an Indiana Jones feel…right up my alley. Glad to see you’re off to a great start, Anne!
You could try the first one. It’s UF and really good. I’m very pleased with my choice so far. They have both formats at my libraries. I enjoy Gildart Jackson but I am reading the ebook since it’s easier to highlight quotes and make notes. But I’d probably prefer to listen.
I’ll receive book 4 soon and I can’t wait. French publisher just asked me last week and I so can’t wait!
Well we are just reading book 2 so we will catch up if they don’t release the French translations too quickly. I am really enjoying this series.
I haven’t read any of these books. This is the first time I’ve heard of the series. The reviews look great. Thanks for sharing. I will have to check it out.
You are more than welcome to join us. We have just finished book 1 and are starting book 2, with that review March 1. It’s a series which is new to me and I’m really enjoying it so far but UF is my jam. And I like books set in England. And I also enjoy Gildart Jackson who does the audiobooks.
I am going to be starting this one very soon and am very much looking forward to it!
Well I hope you enjoy it as much as me. Some of this review at least the questions are a bit spoilery I guess. But I don’t know how to do the discussion aspect without sort of spoilers.