Burned

When you learn that you are to be executed in a week and that does not turn to be the worst thing to happen to you that week, you probably need to rethink some of your life choices. Alternatively, you can behave like Alex Verus and just continue doing things your way - trying to protect the family you somehow acquired along the way and looking for a way out of that little problem of being sentenced to death.

After the relative slowness of the previous 2 novels, all of the build-up finally pays off. Alex had been really annoying a lot of very powerful people and one of them strikes where it hurts the most - the death sentence is for Alex and everyone connected to him. Of course, all the maneuvering and shenanigans that cause people to be show more pissed off at him also managed to make some people to care enough for him - enough to warn him and to assist him in looking for a way out.

The obvious way - leave England and never come back does not really work - even if Alex could have done it on his own, his friends are a different matter. And while he is trying to find a solution, another mage (or three) decide that this is the perfect week to harass him for being on Richard's side and working for him (because once a dark mage apprentice, always a dark mage of course - plus the return of Richard and the rise of the dark mages, including getting into the Council for the first time, did manage to rattle everyone's cage).

A few attempts at everyone's lives later (some of them more creative than others), yet another attempt in burning Alex's shop (and home) and our rag-tag band seems to be hopelessly destined to finally run out of luck despite all their attempts to do something and prevent the executions at the end of the week.

The end of the novel made me laugh. Not because it is funny or because it would make anyone's life easier. But while attempting to stop Alex from doing things he never planned to do anyway, the light mages of Britain managed to get themselves into a bigger mess than they were trying to prevent happening. And who remains caught in the middle of it all? Alex Verus of course.

Let's see what happens next. show less

Once again, Alex Verus is up against it. He’s been sentenced to death, and has only a week in which to get the sentence reversed. And the sentence also applies to his “dependants” - Luna, Variam and Anne.

The book consists mostly of Alex trying to win votes to get the sentence reversed, and to remove the three young people from the list of his dependants so that they escape being collateral damage.
This was a quick read, and quite enjoyable. I do like the way Jacka has written Alex as someone who is not traditionally powerful, in the sense of being able to blow things up, but can still be very dangerous simply because of his ability to know what comes next. It’s an interesting demonstration of how power isn’t always synonymous show more with physical strength or force.

I also enjoyed the bits of book where Anne appeared - she’s my favourite character; she tries hard to be ethical and do the right thing - even when all she gets is hatred and suspicion. In some ways, I think she’s a more complex character than Alex. For me, she certainly more sympathetic. I could imagine going out for the evening with Anne and enjoying it.

On the other hand… Alex spends most of the book trying to avoid the death sentence and dealing with various other threats, and then when his scheme fails… deus ex machina steps in and saves his life (but gives him another problem). All of Alex’s efforts are ultimately for nothing: he could have more usefully spent the book holed up in his farmhouse in Wales catching up on his reading.

I am also getting rather tired of everybody lining up to kill Alex. I mean, why? The guy just runs a magic shop. He’s hardly creating his own power bloc, so why are all these people - Light and Dark alike - so obsessed with him? The amount of time and resources being thrown at the Kill Alex Verus project is getting hard to believe without some indication of why all of these people feel it’s so important to either kill him or recruit him, rather than just ignore him. And where are the decent mages? Statistically speaking, Alex should have come across a few more of them who are not psychotic and/or amoral. The longer this series goes on, the more it becomes difficult to believe that Alex hasn’t managed to acquire more allies/friends.

As another reviewer has pointed out, this whole book could have been condensed into a couple of chapters stuck on the front of the next book.

There are some substantial changes all around, so I do wonder if this book functions as a hiatus in the overarching plot to allow Jacka to move all his characters around into new positions for the next phase. It would certainly explain a lot.

Overall, although I think this is the weakest book in the series so far, there is still enough in it to make an enjoyable read, provided you are already invested in the series. Hopefully, the next book will see the plot back on track. show less

An eARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher. This in no way impacts the content of my review.

Burned jumps right into the fire from the very first word and doesn’t let up until the very end. What a wild ride!

I really love the Alex Verus series. I love the characters and the story and the whole idea of the good guy being persecuted by an indifferent system. Who, these days, can’t relate to that? Alex is fairly resilient, though. He rails against the stupidity of the system that “betrayed” him, but he doesn’t let it totally victimize him. He thumbs his nose at it; tries to work both within it and around it. He knows the light magic system is better than the dark magic system; but doesn’t really have any faith in show more either.

Over and over, both systems prove him prudent in his mistrust. Especially now. A light mage wants him and all of his friends dead; a dark mage wants him alive, and threatens his friends to get his cooperation. Not seeing any happy ending for himself, Verus tries to save Luna, Anne, and Vari while he still can.

Burned is very fast-paced. You know how frantic Alex must feel just by the pacing of the story. He has a very short time in which to accomplish a whole lot just to save his friends. You feel how frustrated he is by the way the story is told; for the first time in a long time, Alex truly feels doomed, feels as if he has no choices left and he’s just trying to minimize the damage.

And the ending is a killer! OMG, it’s going to be an awfully long wait until the next book!

Burned made me anxious and angry on Alex’s behalf (in a good way, I promise). If you’re a fan of the series, this book is quite an emotional ride. show less

"Levistus has sentenced you to death. You're to be executed in one week."

And so begins Burned, by far the most nail biting installment of the Alex Verus series to date! I suggest you have all your snacks ready before you start the book as the first minute and forty-five seconds will be the only break you (and Alex) get from the action. This book had me quaking in my boots and fearing for characters that I've come to enjoy as fictional friends. The ending was an emotional roller coaster ride from which I'm still trying to recover!

In short, the events in Burned will turn Alex's world upside down. Jacka kept me guessing right up to the last sentence, ending the book in a way I never would've expected. Let's just say I'm very thankful to show more know the next book is well underway...*sends healthy muse vibes to Jacka*... as I really need to know what's next for Alex and the gang!

What a fantastic book! If you haven't started this series, get after it. You can't imagine what you're missing! show less

Sometimes, every once in a great while, there comes a truly excellent UF book. A good deal are entertaining, a bit less are fantastic, and a handful rank up there with some of the best in any genre.

Of course, to actually make that claim, we've still got to take into account everything that has come before and see what kind of build in character, circumstance, pressure, and execution could possibly MAKE such a treasure.

Okay, let's ignore that for a second. It's a weight and a burden each of us carry willingly if we get through 6 books in a beloved series.

Of course, this does say a lot of good things about an author that not only improves their craft and weave, but keeps us loving the books long enough to slam us good with a book like show more this.

I love all types of books, but you expect these to have rising pressure, often in three acts, and a delightful release after each. You can also expect character arcs to do something very similar over the span of many books, until our MC has so many enemies and no where else to turn to, he's forced into horrible decisions after horrible decisions. A Mr. Dresden knows this well, and now we've got a certain Mr. Verus in the same boat.

It's been coming for a long time. He's been barely treading water over many books. It actually doesn't really matter that he's been able to make and keep friends, when the whole weight of magical society, whether light or dark, wants a piece of you in the end.

*sigh*

It's character tapestries like this that make me reaffirm my decision to keep up with my UF reading even though there are so many fantastic standalone novels out there. It's the difference between a tiny brilliant painting and a mural spanning the inside of a great dome. Both have their place and their joys, they're both glorious to take in, but you have to have a certain mindset and patience that's quite a bit different between each set.

All I can say is Bravo! This is a home run! Extremely good payoff, almost too good, because now I'm tempted to tear the rest of my hair out to get my hands on the next novel.

Oh, wait. This just came out. DAMNIT! show less

Man, Benedict Jacka, why you gotta be so hard on Verus? The plot thickens. Things go rapidly downhill. And the political maneuvering just keeps getting both more vicious and more horrible. I like Arachne's advice, that he may need to become a power. I hope he does it by starting Hogwarts and taking care of the young wizards, but I suspect that's not likely until he makes it out of all the next sets of traps and negotiations.

Highlight of the series, almost as good as the first.

Mage versus has been successfully avoiding attention as an independent, escaped from his previous Dark master and not affiliated to the sometimes absolutist and always political manoeuvrings of the Light. But various interactions, not always of his own choosing have raised his profile as he's survived some encounters through trickery, wits and friends that he'd otherwise be overmastered in sheer power. Which means he now has the attention of both the Light and the Dark and they both require him to choose a side. Neither option appeals, but it turns out you can only run so far....

I've liked all this series, Versus is kept underpowered (cf dresden who's getting silly). but the show more interactions remain clever and fresh. He suffers and his friends have interactions off-camera so that it all feels real. very well done.

Ends on a bit of a cliffhnager though so make sure you have Bound available to read directly afterwards. show less