Veranix's quest to rid Maradaine of the scourge of Fenmere continues in this book. If you haven't read the previous books, you will probably be lost. However, since the previous books are Just So Good, you should totally go back and read them. It was fun catching up with Veranix and co. and to _finally_ make progress with Veranix's life. Can't wait for the next one!

A note: if you love very well written combat scenes, this is an amazing book. If you're like me and skip over them....well, it was not as exciting to me as previous Veranix books.

Marshall Ryan Maresca's Maradaine series started with "The Thorn", a university student turned vigilante, with something of a murky past. The series quickly broadened in scope to follow multiple characters in stories of their own, from working beat cops to literal knights in shining armour. But Veranix was the first face of Maradaine. It's fitting, therefore, that in The Assassins of Consequence, his be the first story picked up after the explosive events of the last book, which brought all the various characters together, and lit a fuse. The consequences of the following explosion in the metaphorical fireworks factory are reverberating through the world of Maradaine - and through Veranix.
This Veranix is a mixture of the familiar and the strange. Always a little cocky, he's now trying to risk less, to keep himself and his friends as far out of trouble as he can, while also fighting crime, scowling broodingly from rooftops, and, oh, yes, being a magic student at the university. The university, incidentally, has recently had its magical programme taken over by what passes for a branch of Maradaine's military intelligencee service. Quite why, is another matter entirely. But in terms of chracter, the change dislodges Veranix from his comfort zone. It puts academic pressure on him, it puts demands on him that come backed with social legitimacy. While he's inching closer to his goal of bringing down organised crime boss Fenmere, he's doing so with other pressing calls on his attention. Our superhero is growing up, and not only finding out that heroism has costs, but that both he and others will be forced to bear them, whether they will or not. The text does show us the Veranix we know, in witty banter, athletic leaps from rooftop to rooftop, and daring escapes. But there's a pensiveness, and moments of introspection that suggest the Thorn is more troubled than before, more drawn to being, well, Veranix.

There's some excellent turns by Veranix's gang of do-gooders as well. They're all hanging together, trying to work together to make things better. But they're all pulled by conflicting priorities, loyalties, and their own needs. Sometimes, fighting the good fight in a cape isn't very rewarding, and sometimes you might get appalled at the costs, in life, treasure, and humanity. As a group, Veranix's support team are a joy - each a fully realised individual, with a story

The villains are entertaining, though I must confess that in this case there were rather a lot of them. Fenmere, always the overarching threat, and a host of Veranix's past conquests, getting the band backl together in a jailbreak to go mess him up. And rumblings of others still to come. They're fun to read though, seeing the other side in the vein of Suicide Squad. There's enough moments of humour and humanity to help them not just feel like ciphers, even if the narrative focus is on their grudge, and their scheme to finish it - which, incidentally, includes identifying Veranix, and feeding back into the question of who the man who is The Thorn would be, if he didn't have The Thorn to be any longer.

I won't speak much on Maradaine the city, because I've waxed lyrical on it before. Suffice to say it remains a vibrant, living world. There's ahistory there that you can feel in your bones. And if we don't see as much of it this time around as we have before, we still have the flavour and colour in asides and moments of reflection. Maradaine lives, friends, Maradaine lives. This time it lives in its slums and dockhouses, worn down inns and flashing knives. It lives in its quadrangles and literal walled gardens. In faculty meetings and gang interrogations. It's aplace, still, with depth, and weight.

Anyway. Is it good, then? I don't want to spoil the story, because this one is laced through with turns, twists, chases, escapes, derring-do, moral crises and just plain old crises. I will say that I read it quickly, that I wanted to get to the end and I didn't want it to end. It's maybe not an ideal option for your first Maradaine book (but don't worry, there are lots of entry choices!); but if you're a regular reader, this one is going to follow you around the room. It's great fun, and a great read.

Another shining entry in the Maradaine saga! Phase 2 kicks off with as much action and excitement as you could hope for, as Veranix finds his identity exposed and his life imperiled by, oh, pretty much everyone crossed in the course of Phase 1. And that's a LOT of angry, violent people. He has allies and friends, too, though, and much of the fun of this book is watching the two factions clash against each other. The pace starts high and never lets up, culminating in a showdown that many of us have been waiting for since The Thorn of Dentonhill.

I adore this author’s books! I’d describe the writing style as fun. Reading these makes me feel like the author is just really hoping the reader enjoys the next installment of the adventure that reading these books has been. Sort of like an old fashioned announcer calling out “Tune in next time…”.
This one is another installment in the story of Veranix. He’s got a lot on his plate and is a bit driven by the need for vengeance against the dealer who put his mother in a zombie like state in a mental hospital from a dangerous drug. But he’s kind of over his head and reaching the end of his rope…
Now this is a world with a lot of books in it at this point. I like the chronological reading order for the books and strongly suggest reading them in that order:
Thorn of Dentonhill
Murder of Mages
Holver Alley Crew
Way of the Shield
The Alchemy of Chaos
An Import of Intrigue
Lady Henterman’s Wardrobe
Shield of the People
The Imposters of Aventil
A Parliament of Bodies
The Fenmere Job
People of the City
An Unintended Voyage
I recommend these books, all of them, if you’re trying to find a fantasy series that’s a bit of fun escapism that doesn’t ask too much of you aside from being entertained! I’ve gotten to read the last few of these and this one as ARCs but like them so well I’ve bought them anyway. I’m kind of bummed this one is just an ebook as I’d like a complete set for my bookshelf but I’ve hit preorder on the ebook just to support this author and see whatever tiny sum my purchase sees into his pocket. They’re well worth the money for the entertainment they’ve given me and I’m hoping for more!

So, you know how awful it was for Peter Parker when he was revealed as Spiderman? Imagine that in book form and you can see how The Assassins of Consequence might be a hot mess for Veranix Calbert, aka the Thorn. When five of his enemies escape from Quarrygate Prison together with the sole intent to come after him, Veranix is hard pressed to keep himself and his friends alive. 

This was an excellent natural continuation of Veranix’s tale after the events of the first Maradaine story arc. Plenty of action, so many heartfelt moments, and the resolution to several major plot points made for a very satisfying read. Plus, Veranix has a brother?? Did I completely miss that he has an equally acrobatically talented brother who left the family before Veranix went to University of Maradaine? Trust me, this knowledge will be central to the next and final book in Veranix’s story and I’m very excited for the dramatic family reunion!

I still enjoy the core cast of characters and while I wouldn’t say they get a ton of character growth, there are some moments where they realize how dangerous what they’re involved in truly is. For instance, Delmin has this instance where he makes himself very small and then right afterwards becomes like, 20 feet tall instead of normal size. He freaks out afterwards because being the scholar he is, he’s read about the deadly organ damage this can cause and comes face to face with his own mortality. Many events in The Assassins of Consequence really hit close to home for Veranix, much like for Peter Parker in Spiderman: No Way Home. The revelation of his identity puts his friends and remaining family in danger just by proximity to him.

Overall, I found this to be another enjoyable installment in the Maradaine Universe and while I’m sad that Veranix’s arc is nearly at a close I’m very much looking forward to the final book. I would recommend picking up the earlier installments in the Maradaine series, starting with The Thorn of Dentonhill. Even though this is the start of a new Maradaine phase/arc, you will most definitely need knowledge of the prior books.

The Assassins of Consequence is the Fourth installment in author Marshall Ryan Maresca's Maradaine series. So, here's the deal, the author has begun Phase 2 of his Maradaine series. This is the first installment in that phase. The next book will return to The Streets of Maradaine featuring the Rynax brothers. Veranix Colbert, aka The Thorn, has made numerous enemies throughout this series trying to bring down Willem Fenmere, and stop the spread of a dangerous drug called effitte which has cost him his mother and father.

As the book begins, it is year 1215, and the autumn semester at the University of Maradaine is underway. Veranix is doing his best to balance the new responsibilities of being a fourth-year magic student under the militant Altarn Initiatives, while still acting as The Thorn, the street vigilante deep in a personal war against the drug kingpin Fenmere. With the help of his friends Kaiana Nell, Delmin Sarren, and Mila Kendish (who is a first year at Maradaine), he’s been able to strike real blows against Fenmere’s empire. But life is about to get extremely dangerous for Veranix and his friends.

Thanks to a breakout of Quarrygate Prison, some of the most dangerous individuals to have faced the Thorn (outside of Fenmere) include the mad alchemist Cuse Jensett, the imposters Erno Don and Enzin Hence, and the Deadly Birds Magpie and Jackdaw, are looking for revenge. These five killers join forces to offer an alliance to Fenmere, bringing with them the perfect leverage to seal the deal: the Thorn’s identity which only a handful of people including Kaiana, Delmin, Mila, Inspector Welling, who gets daily magic sessions with Veranix, knows the truth, and his cousin Colin.

Once Fenmere knows who Veranix is, he doesn’t just want to kill him, but to utterly shatter him. Calling on everyone in Maradaine holding a grudge against the Thorn, which is basically every single gang in Maradaine, he unleashes a brutal hunt against Veranix. With old and new enemies all looking to claim the bounty on his head, stripped of the security of his secret identity, Veranix faces the most brutal fight of his all too-short life. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Bendan and his squad, including Jace Welling, find themselves smack dab in the middle of a huge street war all looking for one person: The Thorn.

This book also introduces readers to a new player. Someone from Thorn's past has come back home after being gone for 4 years to reign down hurt on people who destroyed his family. While Veranix goes through literal hell in this book, this character could posse extreme problems for Veranix in future installments. It is nice to know that Corrie Welling was mentioned in this story. After her own story, An Untended Voyage, it's time for Corrie to come home. The author posted that the next title in this series is called The New King of Rose Street.

Overall, this is a must read. It is highly entertaining, action packed, and suspenseful. Our hero and friends get tossed in the literal shredder, and it will take a miracle for them to all escape with their lives. I can't this enough, if you haven't started reading this author and his books yet, put it on your list of things to do this year.