I found this book okay. It felt a little short and that there was too much going on at once. I wished the sotry was told more and not too focused on a relationship towards the end.

I might have liked this more had I read the rest of the series, but then again, maybe not. It's not really my kind of book.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Rating: 3/5

Publication Date: July 5, 2018

Genre: Fantasy

Recommended Age: n/a as DNFed

Pages: 400

Author Website

Amazon Link

Synopsis: When Mage Alex Verus ends up with a position on the Light Council, no one is happy, least of all him. But Alex is starting to realize that if he wants to protect his friends, he'll need to become a power player himself. His first order of business is to track down dangerous magical items unleashed into the world by Dark Mages.

But when the Council decides they need his help in negotiating with the perpetrators, Alex will have to use all his cunning and magic to strike a deal--and stop the rising tension between the Council, the Dark Mages, and the adept community from turning into a bloodbath.

So I blame NetGalley for me requesting this book. They don’t do well at stating if a book is part of a series. I’ve never read this series before and thus I didn’t know until after I start it that it was the 9th in a series. I DNFed the book about halfway through when it felt like nothing made sense for me. I felt that while the story seemed okay, without the rest of the books I didn’t understand the motives and actions of anyone involved.

Verdict: Netgalley did it again -_-

I have been reading this series since it came out. A couple of previous books made me fearful that Jacka had run out of ideas of where his story was going. The last book and this one righted the ship as far as that goes. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing in this book. Jacka's writing a noticeably improved from the beginning of the series. There were a couple of moments where the book talks directly to the reader and I don't remember that happening in previous books and was left wondering who exactly Alex was talking to. I really enjoy that Jacka has kept Alex and his friends from being overpowered. Too often these series suffer from progressively more and more overpowered protagonists and antagonists in Alex Verus the protagonists and antagonists work harder or get slightly better tech/magic but they themselves don't get more powerful and I really enjoy that. It's also really nice to have a book with a bunch of female characters that aren't sexualized needlessly. Alex is in love with Anne and yet I don't ever feel like he objectifies her in any way.

I personally started a little late in the series but its seems cool. I love magical books and this also contains political themes too. I can't wait to read the all the books in the series.

I received a free review copy of this book from Netgalley.

Librarian: We won't be ordering this one, but only because we don't have any of the previous books in the series. I will recommend that we order at least the first couple of books in the series.
Reader: I've been a fan of Benedict Jacka and the Alex Verus series for years, so I was excited to find out what happens next to Verus & co. I was a bit worried that it wouldn't live up to my expectations (I've been disappointed by later books in Urban Fantasy series before), but this book didn't disappoint. It had nearly everything that I look for in an Alex Verus novel, with appearances by nearly all my favorite characters (is it weird that I kind of ship Alex and Archne?). About all that it was missing was Alex and Sonder finally making up. Seriously I miss Sonder. He and Alex need to talk it out already. Anyway, other than that it was an excellent story and I look forward to see what comes next.

Strong, likable characters all embroiled in magical mayhem, machinations and power grabs, even if they don’t want to be. Unexpected twists and shocking revelations, engage and captivate this novel’s audience.

I received this ARC copy of Marked from Berkley Publishing Group - Ace. This is my voluntary and honest review. Marked is set for publication July 3, 2018.

My Rating: 4 stars
Written by: Benedict Jacka
Series: Alex Verus
Sequence in Series: 9
Print Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Ace
Publication Date: July 3, 2018
Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC
Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Marked-Verus-N...
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We are at the point in a series when I’m always reluctant to start a new book because I’m waiting for the series to start to go downhill. That, thankfully, isn’t happening in this series. Alex is in the middle of trying to recapture items of power, all the while people still want him dead. Admittedly, it’s a little harder since he’s is in a better position (see previous book) than ever before, but Richard is still trying to seize control, and Alex and the Council don’t agree on how to do it. But Alex knows him better than just about anyone and knows Richard won’t stop even if innocents get in his way. The author is a great writer, and the plot in this one has left us at the end where I can see many more books in this series without going stale. Alex is a little wiser/harder/stronger than before, and I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next, especially after the end. Give this one a try; you will love it! Highly recommend! I was provided a complimentary copy of the e-book which I reviewed voluntarily.

Marked hits the ground running with Alex Verus leading a Keeper retrieval team in search of magically imbued items lost in the disastrous raid on the Light Council Vault in Bound. Of the two orchestrators of the attack, Morden is in prison awaiting trial for treason and Richard Drakh is at liberty. As Morden's aide, Alex now has a precarious seat on the Junior Council. Alex has as many enemies as ever, some who want to use his skills as a Diviner Mage, and others who just want him dead. As usual, Alex is walking a tightrope with his survival and that of his core of close allies his primary goal. When the Council wants him to negotiate with Morden to capture Drakh, his survival becomes even more precarious. The only solution that Alex can see is to amass more personal power. Especially since it is now clear that Drakh's primary interest in Alex is in gaining control of Anne, his ally, and a powerful Life Mage. Alex's interest in Anne is more than friendship, something that has been obvious to everyone but him.

The series has a very long story arc, stemming from Alex's disastrous decision as a young man to apprentice to the Dark Mage, Richard Drakh. Revolted by Drakh, Alex escaped from him, but as a result, very few Light Mages will ever trust him. Alex kept a low profile as a shopkeeper in London for several years, but his enemies drove him out and destroyed the shop. He and his core allies have been bouncing from one crisis to the next, but Alex has done his best to keep them safe. The Dark Mages are a horrendous bunch, but The Light Mages aren't much better; arrogant, hidebound and addicted to playing political games. They see Alex as a convenient tool, but one not to be trusted.

Benedict Jacka's excellent series is an impressive sustained feat of storytelling and imagination. The world he has created is endlessly fascinating, peopled with likable characters as well as those we love to hate. Alex himself is continually evolving, becoming more hardened, as well as more crafty. He is perhaps not as likable as the young man we first met, but circumstances have demanded a change. Marked ends on a somewhat more positive note than some of the previous novels, but stay tuned.

I highly recommend the Alex Verus series and would start with the first in the series, Fated. It's possible to read Marked without all the background, but why miss out? Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

Marked by Benedict Jacka a really good continuation of the series with Alex Verus and gang. Problems continue to pile up and he has to use his wits to outthink/outplan his adversaries. Can't wait for the next book in the series. This one wasn't long enough!

4 stars

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I started reading this book before I realized it is book 9 in the Alex Verus book series by the author. I haven't read any other books in this series, but was still able to follow the storyline and enjoy the book. This was a very good urban fantasy book. It kept my attention and makes me want to go back and read the first books in the series.

This world has a lot of magical people. They are governed by a Light Council, however Dark Mages and other lesser magical people do not like the fact that they don't have a say in the decisions made by the Council. Someone is trying to stir these people up to resist the Light Council and their edicts.

Alex is now on the Junior Council of the Light Council. His magical ability allows him to see all of the possible futures so he can decide what action to take. His boss, now in prison, was the first Dark Mage allowed on the council. Alex has been appointed to take his bosses place awaiting his trial. Apparently in one of the previous books the dark mages raided a facility that held very dangerous and powerful magical items. Alex spends a lot of his time leading teams to recover these items. When the Light Council develops a bold plan to try to capture the Dark Mages new leader, Alex and his team unwillingly get swept up in the plans. It will take all of their cunning and skills to make it out alive.

As much as I enjoy this series, I feel like it's getting too dark all the time. Maybe it's just me, but I think that I'm falling out of love with this series.

I received an advance copy from net galley in exchange for an honest review.

I find myself loving this series more and more! The tone starts off dark and just seems to be getting darker, and readers will be drawn deeper into this series as it progresses. Benedict Jacka has built a fascinating, layered world chock full of detail. His descriptions of the magical world and different mage abilities paint a vivid picture. I couldn't put this book down until I knew what happened to Alex and his friends!

Fun book, with magic fun and danger. If you like political intrigue and magical mystery this book is for you!

Adventure writers can go two ways with their series: They can either entangle their hero in a series of adventures, loosely linked but not necessarily sequential, or the hero can adventure while striving towards a goal. Wizard series tend towards the second, where the hero perhaps gets himself in a mess in an early story, then works to resolve the knotty problem in books 2-N. Think of Harry Dresden or Simon & Montague or Harry Potter or the Iron Druid. Or Alex Verus in Benedict Jacka’s excellent series.

Marked, book 9 in Jacka’s series, starts with Alex seated (rather precariously) on the junior council of Light Mages in Britain. In the first two books Alex is refreshingly honest, with simple goals: Stay alive and keep his friends healthy and alive. Sadly for him, Alex apprenticed to a Dark Mage before leaving in revulsion. Also he is a very skilled diviner and lots of people want to use him. Other people want to use him to get to the Dark Mage leadership – a place Alex vehemently rejects and fled for his life to avoid a few books ago in Burned. Now he is trapped as the aide to the one Dark Mage with a seat on the Council. His boss is in mage jail so Alex temporarily holds the seat.

Marked picks up with the same grim feeling we saw first in Burned, then Bound. Alex has too many enemies and is too well known to simply slide off into obscurity. He lost that choice a few books back when he tried to throw his lot in with the Light Mages. Now Alex believes his only hope is to get so powerful that no one wants to go after him and he can choose what he does. This opens the story up for many plot threads but we lost the charming young mage we met in the first few books.

Jacka brings a few new twists to the story. Earlier Alex implied that young mages didn’t have a lot of choice. They could apprentice with a Light or a Dark, they could attend the Light apprentice program, or they could remain adepts who are at everyone’s mercy. This time Alex muses that the declared Light and Dark mages are a fraction of the total; he says the majority are neutral, independents. It isn’t clear how one becomes (or stays) independent, and we’re left to wonder whether Alex could have lost the target on his back if he had not made waves, had been independent. Apparently it is too late for that and Alex will move forward.

Characters
As you can see from the discussion about Alex’s choices, Jacka makes his characters into real people that we care about. We identify with and root for Alex as he threads between morality and survival. I’m not sure I’d have made the same choice he did, but I care that he did make it and want him to succeed. (Of course, if your primary goal is survival then eventually you will lose.)

Alex is a thinker who is growing into a deadly doer; in fact he isn’t always thinking as well as he should. He goes to ask the dragon under Arachne’s home some questions but doesn’t seem to absorb what he learns. (Typical of dragon foretelling, the answers are cryptic to useless.)

Alex has matured considerably in the nine books. He’s gained and lost friends, gained power, gained cynicism and gained too many enemies. He always has good reason for what he does but it doesn’t always work and other people end up holding the bag – and holding a grudge against Alex.

Marked spends as much time on Anne as on Alex. Anne is both the hero and the villain; Alex relies on her, saves her; is saved by her. Anne is enigmatic and it will be interesting to see how her character develops.

Anne wants to be a mage and live a normal life, to have a family, friends. She got abducted and trained to kill as a teen and from that experience developed all sorts of deadly skills. She shoved the immoral parts of her personality into a fortress, walled it off and threw away the key because she didn’t want to kill. Alex encounters this non-Anne a few times and so far Anne is unwilling to integrate her two sides. That may be book 10.

Back Story
The Light Mage council and its adherents are a typical bunch of academics/middle managers/PTA bosses. They like to play games about dominance and face and will bicker and debate endlessly before taking action. And when they do take action they aren’t too concerned about things like other people or truth or morality. Yet Jacka made this believable – in fact it’s more believable than the benevolent, altruistic Council that some books about wizards and magic have. People are people whether mages or not, and that’s how people act.

These mage leaders, both light and dark, seem motivated by power and greed for more power. The revelation that the council is actually a minority of mages makes this more believable. Most people do not dedicate their lives to power. In Marked we see that is true for most mages too.



Even so, the endless threats that Alex faces seem a bit over the top. He doesn’t seem to know how to gain a power base of people, aside from his friends, and is the obvious scapegoat for everything that goes wrong. I hope he learns to expand his definition of “power” to include influence based on wisdom, credibility, helpfulness and not just raw magical power.

Overall

Jacka writes well and Marked has good dialogue, interesting, likable characters. Marked has more action and a little less reflection than prior novels in the series, that combined with Alex’s declared intention to amass as much power as possible to ensure he and his friends survive makes the story a little less appealing than the prior novels. I like Alex but I liked him a little more when he was the earnest want-to-do-good guy. He still wants to do good and he still does good but he’s harder edged now, not as pleasant a chap.

My rating here would be 4+ or just under 5. Marked is solid, excellent story and characters, but I don’t feel like it is quite a 5 star novel.

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Replicated review below:

Just finished Marked by Benedict Jacka, due out in July.

Verus’s problems continue in this latest entry into the series. The Light Council is still fractious, Sal Sarque and Levistus are still out for Verus, and Richard is gearing up for the next phase of his plan.

In the midst of all this, Alex needs to face some realizations about himself that he has been avoiding in the first several books, and admit some hard truths, as well as a more pleasant one, while facing a new challenge....from a direction that he did NOT expect.

All told, this entry to the series is more inwardly focused for Alex, and moves his personal journey forward without moving much of the master plot. It moves that forward slightly, introduces a few new power players, and begins the setup for the next phase, complete with unhappy prophecy.

The adepts are unhappy, the council is unhappy, and the Dark mages are just on the horizon. Life for Alex isn’t getting any easier, even as he grows in understanding.

This is a welcome addition to the series. As a diviner, sometimes Verus seems like he knows it all, but this book shows that you need to know yourself as much as the actions of others.

Recommended, and very much makes me want to read the next one!

I will have to settle for a relisten when the audio comes out while I wait though.