Fated

I really wanted to like this book more. I've seen it on quite a few of those recommended lists and was excited to finally get a copy of the first one. Unfortunately, it just didn't feel unique enough to me. If you've read The Iron Druid Chronicles and The Dresden Files this feels somewhat similar. (To be clear, I don't think Alex Verus is a rip off. I think his powers are interesting and I liked his sidekick.) There was some decent world building I love Arachne, and her relationship with Alex. I felt pulled into her scenes. It just...didn't grab me? If I had a friend who was fan, I would probably keep reading so we could discuss them. As it is, this world doesn't stand out to me enough to keep going.

Executive Summary: After a rough start I liked the second half of this book enough that I'll probably continue on with the series.Audiobook: Gildart Jackson did a pretty good job, and helped keep me mostly attentive during all the setup of the first half of the book.Full ReviewThis one has been in my library for awhile. I'm sure I got a daily deal or I probably wouldn't have bothered. I used to love Urban Fantasy and read a ton of it, but after awhile I just got tired of it and pretty much everything new I've tried has felt derivative or uninteresting.For the first half of this book I was ready to lump this book in with all those others. Not only did this pale in comparison to Dresden Files, the origin story felt like copy/paste. It can be hard to remember that [b:Storm Front 47212 Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1) Jim Butcher https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1419456275s/47212.jpg 1137060] is not the best written book.However it was the first urban fantasy book I read, so I didn't know any better at the time. And now I'm so many books into the series that it's hard to separate my love for the series and characters from the quality of the writing and story.So however unfair it may be the first book of a new Urban Fantasy series book, I'm always comparing it the entire Dresden Files series, not just [b:Storm Front 47212 Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1) Jim Butcher https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1419456275s/47212.jpg 1137060].I think if I'm being completely fair this book is probably slightly better, even if I liked it much less. The second half finally started to differentiate itself from Dresden Files.In particular, despite their near identical backgrounds Harry and Alex are quite different. Harry is a bruiser. He prefers to take the fight to the bad guys and solve his problems with fireballs and bullets.Alex however is a planner. His magical ability to walk possible futures means he's all about being prepared and avoiding the worst of what might happen. It is for this reason that I found the book growing on me as it went along.That said, it's still the first book in a series and that comes with some of the setup that comes for that. There thankfully seems enough here to differentiate itself from most other urban fantasy I've read. I'll probably pick up the audio for the next book whenever I'm in the mood for something lighter.

Fated
Benedict Jacka

CAWPILE SCORE
C-8
A-8
W-7
P-7
I-8
L-7
E-9
TOTAL-7.71/10

Pretty great book. It was lots of fun to read and the pacing really moves it forward quickly.

b>Characters
For a first book in a series some characters might feel a little flat, but with some time and attention I think they'll be anything but. Lots of characters with their own motivations. Interesting dynamics between them.

Atmosphere
Using London as a setting, easy to get things right.

Writing
Good writing, nothing exceptional. Just lots of Oh crap moments that I liked. Maybe a little less explaining the Magic System for this first book or at least less repeating of how powerless Alex is.

Plot
Love the Plot. Similar to a fetch quest but made unique.
Investment

Logic

Enjoyment

Misc
Love the callout to Dresden files, as these series are very similar. At least in the start.
CAWPILECharactersDark Mages and Light Mages. Both apparently suck in this world. But the light mages are more manipulative and polite about it. Dark Mages believe in Might is Right. Bottom lineAlex our MC not his real name, is a Diviner which we learn a lot about. Luna afraid to get close to people because of her curse. Deleo/Rachel lots of unknown quantities here. Cinder and Khazad are both a little flat, but aside from being side characters aren't really important. Abithriax very minor character. Morden working behind the scenes until he's front and center. Levistrus scary scary.Starbreeze and Arachne minor but important characters.Alex's growth reencountering people from his past. AtmosphereWritingPlotI love that all the other diviners saw what was coming way ahead and left before hand. InvestmentVery invested in this story. I am very excited to see where everything will go. Starting the ship between Luna and Alex. Loving the magic system.LogicEverything remains consistent so far. Great applications of using magic as a diviner and using magic in other applicable ways. Characters remained consistent to themselves.EnjoymentI really enjoyed this. I loved the magic system and the tricks that Alex has had to come up with to survive. MiscMy divination magic let me see what might happen; the fateweaver let me pick what would happen. How cool was that scene, advancing on Onyx. Abithriax embedded in the Fateweaver and taking over people.Alex being able to throw perfectly because of divination practice.

I will be talking about it on Libromancy https://libromancy.podbean.com/ on 6/12/2022

An urban fantasy about wizards hiding from mundane society, and set in London, it's perhaps hard, in this day, for Fated to avoid comparisons with Harry Potter. This is, however, not a Young Adult book, although to be fair, given that the last few HP books were quite dark themselves, it's more the age of the protagonist that sets it apart than the themes. (There's no sex in this, for instance, and the scenes of torture take place off-screen).

Harry Dresden is probably a much better analogy, incidentally, but, as it happens, I've never read any of those books, so I can't comment.

The world that's portrayed here is a very dark; most of the wizards seem to be really unpleasant, with not a lot separating the dark ones from those supposedly on the other side. But there are some exceptions, and there's some nice ideas - the tailor, for example, works well.

One of the things that stood out for me, though, was the fact that the hero is a diviner, with (unlike almost everybody else) no combat magic. The way his magic is described, its limitations and advantages, are all interesting and effective, with some nice touches. And brain-over-brawn, of course, which is always fun. The hero's not-really-an-apprentice also has unusual magic that provides more of an obstacle than anything else, at least for most of the book.

Being set in London is a bonus for me, because it helps to ground the book, but that obviously won't apply to everyone.

On the whole, I'm interested to see where the series goes next, and will be buying more.

Recently I watched an interview with Jim and James J. Butcher, where James says, he thinks urban fantasy is a pretty good idea for not so experienced authors to kind of ease into writing and publishing books. I've never actually done it, so I don't know how accurate that is (though I have no reason to not believe him). All I know is that I like urban fantasy.
Now, not the paranormal romance where the main character has... relations with like werewolves and vampires. I don't like those.
But this is the kind I find fun.

The main character, Alex, runs a magic shop. Which could be a total scam, except he is actually magical and some of the stuff he sells actually works. He can see the future, which isn't brilliant for kicking ass and taking names, though it can be great if you are smart about it.
Right now his skills are needed by the governing body of the magical people to get to some kind of a relic they really really want to find.

Something about urban fantasy works with mystery extremely well. You don't even have to overdo the worldbuilding in your magical setting when 30% is mystery, 30% is... well, urban AND then there is the fantasy.
One of my pet peeves is when an author feels like to micro-manage their magical world, with us taking notes and having a full wall of paper clippings and red yarn with pins. Let magic be magical!
This was. The scope is limited enough for us to get a feel of the few characters we meet. There is talk of the political ways in which the magical people work. There is a lot of room to elaborate on that. But we are never swamped with unnecessary information to act like literary clutter, to make the world feel lived-in.

It's a pretty straight forward book. The way the mistery plays out is kind of fun, I really like the twist around that, but so far it's all a solid book in a genre I genuinely like. I do certainly think series like this have a tendency of becoming cooler the deeper you go, so I am excited for that. There is room for it.

All in all, very competent, fun, fast-paced. An easy read, but not because it's dumb in any way.

Warning: old woman's rant up head.
I'm sorry in advance.

I hate myself a little for thinking this book was a good idea. I can't say for sure whether it's really that bad or I'm just not the right audience for it. With that in mind, proceed with caution (...?)

All these characters are dumb. And by dumb I mean extremely unintelligent. The only character actually being referred to as dumb is Starbreeze, and let me tell you, Starbreeze is the fucking star of this show.

Our main character? Mysterious Mr. Alex Verus with the dark background and a secret name that's his real name? Yeah, he's bland, boring, got no real emotions and has just about zero integrity. And he says things like:

“I can see the freaking future and women still don't make sense.”

The male characters are of the dangerous and dark stereotype ??? even the “clever” ones are dumb. The female characters are emotionally unstable, submissive to a dark, dangerous man, or producing clothes for a living.

For a while I thought, “hey, it's okay, this is written 11 years ago (and it shows) but the world building is kind of cool” but after too many cringe-worthy dialogue sequences I changed my mind...

... I'm frustrated.

I started speed reading about halfway and eventually only turned pages to figure out what would happen with the dumb red crystal cube (Star No. 2 of this show).

I actually like urban fantasy. And I liked Rivers Of London. I really wanted to like Alex Verus too.

This is a very hard review to write - while I didn't dislike this book I rarely felt compelled to pick it up and found it very easy to put down. Jacka's writing is good, and I liked all of his characters - especially the protagonist Alex.

I really didn't get on with the long chapters, containing multiple scenes. I feel for Urban Fantasy that Jim Butcher's Dresden Files is the perfect example, where he will write short chapters that are usually only one or two scenes with a small cliffhanger. The short chapters make the book feel faster paced, and the cliffhangers draw you in to reading the next chapter. With Fated I was often relieved at the end of a chapter and eager to put it down.

To illustrate how easy this was for me to put down - Fated tool almost 3 weeks for me to finish, where a Dresden book would normally take me a couple of days. I've even read 900 pages Robin Hobb books in under a week.

Jacka manages to build an interesting magical world in Fated, which is what will bring me back for the next entry, but it's currently at the very bottom of my TBR.

A fun, steady read filled with dark magic, elementals and political intrigue.

Alex Verus prefers the quiet life, running his magical shop and staying far away from the political struggles between light and dark magic users. As a precognition mage, he's pretty good at staying out of trouble. After all, seeing the future is his specialty, but even Alex has his limits. When his associate, Luna, ends up with a magical cube both groups of mages want, events begin to spiral out of control. In his efforts to save Luna, Alex will be pulled into a battle between both sides, one that will force him to confront his dark mage past. Alex will have to choose a side, as he and Luna are dragged into a mess they might not survive.

Benedict Jacka did Alex's powers justice. While Alex can see every future featuring him, it still doesn't make him invincible. Although he definitely does have the upper hand in most situations, even some decisions are too split second for Alex to predict. While I wondered how a character with only precognition abilities would fend off offensive magic, I wasn't disappointed as Alex entertained me with his quick thinking and unique techniques.

Unfortunately, this does not receive 5 stars because the battle between the two sides was taxing. Despite the fact they ultimately wanted the same thing, both sides kept dragging Alex farther away from the end point. They'd share insults and threats, then throw him back out to complete the task. While it showed the ins and outs of the two political sides, I would have preferred to get right to the point.

I recommend this for fans of the Harry Dresden series. The flow of writing and interlaced humor remind me of Harry. In fact, Alex even hints at knowing the famous wizard.

Been wanting to start another urban fantasy series to sprinkle in between the more epic and heavy series I tend to read and this was a fun read. Liked the setting of London and the main character Alex verus a mage except not a typical one he is instead a diviner someone who can look into the future and his unique skills make him useful to people both good and bad.

Alex Verus is a very interesting character. He just wants to be left alone to run his little shop. But, The Council and others have different plans for him. A battle of mages, light and dark, ensues.This was an exciting read. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. I really like Alex, and Luna as well.

Surprisingly decent Dresden-esque fantasy. It knows what it is, there's a clear Dresden reference in the first page or so. The big gimmick here is that mages have a specialty and can't do much outside of that specialty, and the protagonist's specialty here is divination, reading the future and predicting outcomes.

Urban fantasy is kind of a cursed genre, where even the better stuff is pretty bound by its tropes and conventions. This is one of the few decent ones, and the friend who recommended it to me told me this first book wasn't that strong but the series improves. That's not to say it's not bound to those tropes and conventions, but I still think it's better than most of its contemporaries, so it's definitely suitable for fans of the genre looking for something new to try.

Britain's answer to Harry Dresden. Well, not really. But, pretty much, yeah. Okay, his magic specialty isn't the same as Dresden's, but his backstory, attitudes and relationships to the magic world are pretty similar. Which means this is a fun, gripping read.

Alex Versus' version of fore-telling is very interesting, and a type of magic that I haven't run into before in Urban Fantasy. I'm really looking foward to seeing what else Jacka can do with it in further volumes. As well as the way he develops Versus' accidental apprentice.

I'm not sure that my nascent arachnophobia needed a couple of scenes, but if I could get past Shelob and Aragog, I'll get over this, too. Well, as long as a future Versus adventure doesn't focus exclusively on that storyline...probably won't sleep for weeks if that happens.

Gave this a go as I've read everything in the Dresden-verse and needed a new wizardry world to get into. Recommended by fellow Butcher fans so I enjoyed the nod to Harry at the start but I was never fully invested in the novel. Enjoyable but fairly forgettable fare with one dimensional supporting characters.
However, first novels can be a bit hit or miss (Storm Front is probably my least favourite File) and seeing as there's about a million of these I'm guessing that his writing matures and improves. I've got myself the 2nd book anyway so I'll give that a go too.

Urban Fantasy is probably one of the hottest and most littered genre's out there currently. This makes it tough to find a series that truly does justice to the possibilities. Jacka is one of the writers who manages to make a nice little niche for himself by creating a protagonist with an interesting magical ability. So we get Alex Verus and if you are a fan of Jim Butchers more famous magician then you will love this one too. In fact Jacka even manages a mention of Dresden in these pages. All the ingredients are present with enough mystery and treachery to go along with the different type of mages. Magical London also makes a great backdrop and sounds more interesting the everyday London. A must read for UF fans!