Book Review: Cursed by Benedict Jacka
The second Alex Verus novel continues in the vein of the first. Which is to say that comparisons between this urban fantasy series and Jim Butcher’s Dresden novels are inevitable and in some cases obvious. That’s not entirely fair because Verus is a very different character to Dresden but, as my father likes to tell me, life isn’t fair.
One of the challenges with reviewing series books is coming up with something new to say. Unless the author doe something radically different, the people who liked the first book will like the second, and those who didn’t, won’t. Benedict Jacka isn’t breaking new ground here, but he’s executing well.
What’s It All About?
Having set up the basic premise in the first book and established where Verus fits in this world as well as giving him an apprentice in the form of Luna, Jacka shakes the tree a bit to see what will fall out. Luna is tempted with the possibility of an escape from her curse, something that Alex has been unable to offer, as well as a romantic entanglement while Verus finds himself and his increased notoriety attracting all sorts of attention from other mages.
There are three major strands to the plot, each of which inevitably twists and threads itself together as things progress. Luna’s new friend comes into possession of the “Monkey’s Paw”, a potent magical artifact that can grant wishes… at a price. Meanwhile Alex rescues a damsel in distress who may be a little bit more than that. And finally there’s the matter of a newly discovered ritual that can extract magic from magical creatures and give it to a mage.
More Thinking Than Doing
One of the things that distinguishes Alex Verus from similar characters is that he tends to think and plan rather than act. It’s a habit that stems directly from his powers, both their limitations and their function. At one point during the book Verus is accused of being exceptionally cold. That’s not really the case, but he’s a thinker and a planner so he may seem that way.
That same tendency exacerbates the tension between Alex and his apprentice Luna. She is frustrated by the slow and methodical approach he takes and wants quick results. But Verus has, through his powers, has seen the consequences of hasty actions frequently in the form of his own death.
When The Good Is Worse Than The Bad
Verus is an unaligned mage who was formerly apprentice to a dark mage, but now mostly sides with the light mages. Except. Turns out that a lot of light mages are kind of dark themselves. And Verus has a habit of working with other dark mages when their interests coincide.
So who exactly are the good guys here? Even Verus himself has a dark side and is prepared to take some drastic measures if he thinks he needs to . This is something that was established in the first book and it’s spelled out even more obviously this time round. Dark and Light are labels, but they aren’t synonymous with good and bad.
There are other good mages, out there, but it does seem like they’re a minority and not the real power of the council. I have a feeling that’s something that will be explored further in the rest of the series too. We’ve had several glimpses now of the power structure of mages but there are a lot of details still to be filled in.
Limiting Powers
While some of the mages have obvious physical powers like ice and fire, Verus power is more complex. His ability to see the future gives him huge potential power not to mention the ability to solve a lot of mysteries before they’ve really got going. So Benedict Jacka spends a good portion of time establishing limiting factors that stop Verus from knowing everything. And it works, there aren’t any points where I feel like the author is cheating either to give Alex information he shouldn’t have or to stop him knowing something he should know.
There are similar issues with Luna’s curse too. Since that manipulates luck its nature is particularly vague. I don’t think Jacka is quite so successful here. Luna’s protection from bad luck makes sense, but how exactly the curse distinguishes between random bad luck and deliberate attacks is something I don’t quite get.
Did You Like It?
Yes, I like the tone of the book (which is quite like Dresden though with less pop culture references) and find myself rather fond of Verus as a character. The story flowed along quickly and entertainingly, at this point I think Jacka probably has me for the whole series.
Buy, Borrow or Skip?
I’m saying buy for this one.
by Benedict Jacka [Ace]
Price:
$7.98
£0.43
CDN$ 8.54
EUR 7,86
EUR 7,86
