Jacka does an excellent job of continuing to delve and expand the story of Alex Versus.

Recommending this series to fans of The Rivers of London, London Falling, The Dresden Files, and R. S. Belcher's works.

Alex has been on a long slippery slope with the Council. He has done things to keep himself and his friends alive. No one on the Light Council believes that anyone every leaves the Dark side no matter what they do. So now Alex is doing things to keep alive and try to get Anne unentangled with the jinn but at what cost. This is a book of deals and payoffs of long held promises. The ending has some breathing space for Alex but at what cost? A good story but not one for the new reader to dive into.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Netgalley

An excellent addition to the series. You must read this series in order, otherwise so much will not make any sense. If you enjoyed the Dresden Files, this is the perfect series for you! Alex must embrace a darker side of his power and abilities in order to save Ann. As he takes more steps into the dark part of magic, he has to balance his actions carefully to not lose himself in his quest to free Ann from the djinn that has control of her.

I honestly didn't know how close to the end of the Alex Verus series we have gotten until I received my copy of this book a few weeks ago. It's been a long and fun journey, and It's a little hard to believe that we're finally coming to the end and that there will only be one more book after this one. Forged by Benedict Jacka was as fantastic and fun a read as I've come to expect from the Alex Verus books over all these years. 

Honestly, if you had asked me before I read this book if I was ready for this series to end I probably would have said that it was about that time. The last couple of books, while enjoyable and fun to read, honestly felt like they were written as a way to extend the story a bit while giving the author time to decide where to take the story. They kind of reminded me of anime filler in that they were fun to read but really didn't feel like they advanced the plot any.

Boy oh boy did that completely change with this book. Forged was just action scene after action scene and major life-altering decision after major life-altering decision for Alex. I can't tell you the number of times I found myself shocked or surprised over what I had just read. I honestly had to stop reading for a few minutes a couple of times just so I could process just what I had read. Forged made it very clear that this series is coming to a head and I can't wait to see where Benedict Jacka takes this story in the next and final book. 

All in all, I would say this was a fantastic book that I would have no hesitation suggesting to anyone to read. I would only recommend that if you haven't read any of these books before that you start from the very beginning or you will be completely and utterly lost as to what is going on. 

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

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2020/11/24/audio-forged-by-benedict-jacka/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I LOVED having the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/71196-alex-verus" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Alex Verus</strong> </em></a>series as the Read-along choice for 2019.  I enjoyed every book.  Benedict Jacka is a clever bugger because he has me loving a spider and rooting for her!  <strong>Forged</strong> is the 11th book, so there may be some spoilers here for earlier books.  I would definitely recommend reading this series in order and the books are highly recommended.

At the end of each book, things only seem more dire for Alex.  I don't know how he even figures out a plan. Right now with so many people trying to kill him, he is on the run and isolated most of the time.  What kind of life is that?  He can't see any friends or they will be questioned and persecuted too.  It's almost easier to list who isn't a problem than who is a problem.

But the biggest issues are the council, Richard and Anne.  All three are threats.  It takes constant vigilance to stay ahead of the council who wants to execute him.  Richard may want to kill him or use him, or both.  With Anne, it is hard to know who is in charge, Anne, Dark Anne or the djinn?  He wants to get Anne away from the djinn and make a life for them, but that may not be what Anne wants.

Alex tries to stay ahead of the council while researching to learn more about djinn and get a handle on some enemies.  He comes up with some strategies for getting people to leave him alone.  Alex really exhausts every option to avoid killing people.  His efforts are extremely dangerous and there are many intense fast-moving scenes.  And some people die.

It actually seems like Alex might be making progress. He is just about to regroup before the next problem and wham!  Alex can't ever seem to catch a break.  The fateweaver is taking over more of his body and who knows what will happen then. I love this world, these characters, but most of all I love Alex.  There's only one book left in this amazing series.

I am always so sad to see a series go especially when I’ve been with it since the beginning like this one. I didn’t realize this wasn’t quite the last one, but I know the end is near. Alex has had to make so many hard choices, and those choices are really coming back to bite him in this novel. He has so many enemies he needs to deal with he isn’t sure where to begin. However, he’s finally figured out who he is, and he’s not going to take anything from anyone. This book is non-stop action with a death of a character I was hoping would not happen. But, that’s Alex making the hard choices. This is a great addition to a great series, and I will be sad to see this unique urban fantasy series come to an end. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC copy of this book available to me.

Alex Verus is finally fed up with playing nice, and he is extremely good at playing bad. It's kind of hard to see him killing more of his opponents, but it's not like they weren't asking for it. The battle scenes were intense and well choreographed. His alliances are interesting, both with long time friends and with long time adversaries. Fans of Jim Butcher's "Harry Dresden" series should most definitely be reading this series as well.

Here is #11 in the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka,, FORGED, - which ends off with a lot more adventures in store for the intrepid team which the hero, Alex Verus, has put together.

This is not a Romance Series, but the plot is driven by iron-clad Bonds among individuals, some male, some female, some not human. In this entry to the Series, we meet a self-aware Artificial Intelligence who willingly joins Verus's team after being rescued from the bad guys.

The whole novel (and series) is composed of fast-paced action scenes - with astonishing and unexpected weapons, skills, attacks, and mishaps appearing out of nowhere.

It all makes perfect sense when you understand that Alex Verus is essentially a "good guy" with his fanny caught in one horrendous bear trap and his goal merely survival.

He's not out to destroy, expunge, or vanquish the bad guys. He doesn't want power over them. He doesn't want to become the boss of the world, or correct all the wrongs of the world. He just wants them to stop trying to kill him and his friends. To move toward that goal, he has killed many, sometimes dishonorably.

In the ensuing battles, some of his friends get killed, some captured and tortured, (sometimes rescued by him or his other friends), and the total situation of the massive war that scampers across alternate-Realities changes with nearly every blow landed in combat.

The real meat of the story, though, lies between battles, between attacks, in the quiet moments when Verus cements his bonds with his friends, frenemies, and even former enemies, and potential Lovers.

This is well written, easy reading, with deep characters whose predicaments make you ask yourself hard questions about your own life, and what you wouldn't do to survive.

And it does pose good questions about how or if Love can actually conquer "All." By the end of this 11th Book in the Series, it does seem that friendship has a serious chance at stopping the violent attacks, and might forge new alliances.

If you are trying to write a Romance, this is a good Series to study for ideas about what sort of "All" your Characters' Love might have to conquer.

First off if you’re reading this review and you haven’t read the first ten books in this series you will have no idea what’s going on and why the different characters are after one another. The author’s note on Goodreads for this book says there will be a twelfth and final title in the series and you can see how things are nearly wrapped up. It’s a very fast paced read. I finished this book in a single day and the action is pretty much non-stop throughout the whole book. If you’ve been reading this series this is another satisfying entry! If you haven’t and you like urban fantasy without the heavy romance you find in a lot of urban fantasy this would be a good series to try!

Picks up right where the last book left off, which is fine, but given the normal length of time between books, can be hard to recall the specifics. Would be nice if there was a brief recap or forward that could help refresh the memory. That being said, this is non stop action filled installment in the Alex Verus series, emphasis action, and the body count really adds up as Alex finds himself boxed in on all sides and works to deal with his various adversaries, usually lethally. At times, the action seems almost Matrix like in the many combat situations throughout the book. Multiple story lines are in play but not all are resolved by the end of the book. An easy read that I finished in less time than I was expecting.

Forged by Benedict Jacka, a continuation of the Alex Verus series. I liked the book, this is not the same easy going character we were introduced to in the first book and he has grown and changed in so many ways. I can't wait to see how the story continues.

I've always enjoyed reading about Verus and his band of friends. This is the first time I've really noticed that Verus is running out of allies. Forged felt like a turning point for Verus. He crossed a lot of lines in this book that he previously refused to cross. I'm already looking forward to the next book!

I waited so impatiently for this book and devoured it in one sitting! Another excellent book by Benedict Jacka. I was curious to see how Verus would evolve with his new power and wasn't disappointed. More please!

This book was good. There were a lot of characters from previous books that made an appearance in this book. There was a lot going on. Story lines were wrapped up. There was a feeling of completion to the series which was nice. The problem I had with the series in general was I think it was too long. I was a little bored. I lost interest with all the intrigue and good versus bad and who was on what side. But again the book itself was good.