LOOOOT

definitely

REVIEW!

THE SETTING

IS

Elemental

Living Mages

Universal Mages

THE PROTAGONIST

if he feels like it

THE PLOT

[(the fact that there is a sequel, gives it away, I suppose. (hide spoiler)

WHAT BOTHERED ME IN BOOK 1 AND DOES IT IMPROVE?

WHAT I REALLY REALLY LIKE!

It's not Luna.

AUDIOBOOKS

COVERS

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WEBSITE AND EXTRAS:

CONCLUSION:

RECOMMENDATIONS

All images can be found with better resolution here: https://gerynh.tumblr.com/ I wonder how explaining these books to people would go?Ok, ok, I know people keep comparing Alex Verus to Harry Dresden. But you know what, now that I have finally read the first 7 books of the Dresden Files (thus becoming a specialist on the topic), I can safely say… I like Alex Verus a LOTbetter.Why?Ok, we all have reasons to resonate with some characters/stories more than others.Me, personally, I adore books filled with more politics, action scenes, magic fights and …ONE LOVE-INTEREST! Ok, it doesn’t have to be ONE, butnot every single person with boobs that happens to pass near the main hero!Back to the point …I mean, back to the~Don’t expect police investiagations or crime stories involving vampires, fairies, werewolves and others. Nor is the protagonist a powerful avatar, able to use all types of magic through martial arts.But the worldsecretly inhabited by mages who have their own governing system. AND each mage can only use one type of magic…hmmm, maybe Dresden Files+X-men.You have the most commonMages who can use powers such as air, fire, water, lightning, force, etc.are mages who can affect living things (either to influence their mind, heal/mess up their bodies, etc)And the final, rarest and strangest of them all are the- they can affect time, space, chance, they can see the past or the present, etc.Anyways, most mages belong either to the Light or the Dark ...faction.Both factions can be equally evil and cruel (it's only a matter of whether you feel the need to hide the bodies or brag about them). There is a constant struggle for power and status, even among the Light mages. Therefore, enlisting/enslaving/black-mailing useful minions is a great pass-time for the big players in the magical society.And having someone who can see the future in your team can be highly profitable.Alex Verus is a diviner. No, he cannot shoot deadly bullets made of air, disintegrate you with a touch or anything as flashy, but he can come up with other creative ways to hurt youand annoy the crap out of you while he's at it. This rare type of mages specializes in information- they can learn any new skills instantly just by checking into the future in which they've spent hours/days studying them; they can find out any dark secrets about you if they put their mind into it; they are hard to surprise, hard to kill and hard to be found if they don't want to be found. Random chances and free will limit the certainty of their predictions, but Diviners are the best at exploiting any situation to fit their needs.Nevertheless, being a neutral mage (not belonging to either the Dark or the Light faction), means that Alex Verus has plenty of time to mind his own business (a small shop selling books, herbs and other "magical" thing-a-ma-bobs), advise any confused novices and, of course, look through the future for the fun of it...sometimes resulting in answering his customers' questions before they even ask them.Alex's peaceful and predictable life comes to an end when he becomes the center of attention for major players in the magical world. They all have one thing in common - they need a diviner (who hasn't gone into hiding yet) to retrieve an ancient, seemingly-impossible-to-get, artifact. Corrupt Council members, powerful Dark Mages, dangerous acquantances from his past, are just a few of the new additions to Alex's list of people-to-avoid-at-any-cost. The only question is: should he run or will his curiosity be the death of him. (view spoiler) - One of Alex's few friends, an adept with a very dangerous ability, Luna is one of the main reasons readers can decide to turn away from the series. GOOD NEWS - she doesn't stay a useless wimp for long (only in the first 2 books). And neither does Alex keep treating her like a pet dog. XD- The first book has a few, which I didn't notice during my first read (cause I was having too much fun!)- All you need to know is that Onyx is a Dark Force Mage who absolutely despises Alex! Every scene where these two interact or fight with each other are priceless!Rather slow (it takes a few books until you even realize there is one), but worth it! One of my favorite fictional couples of all time!The audiobooks are pretty good! It took me a bit of time to get used to the narrator's style, but other than that, I have no major complains."I LOVE THE BRITISH ONES!" is what I would've said, before THIS HAPPENED!WHY PUBLISHER!!! WHYYYYYY! Now I need to buy the new ones as well in order to have matching covers…you’re so cruel…I like the new ones too...There is a WHOLE encyclopedia regarding the Alex Verus's world! Definitely worth checking out if you're a fan.Despite having read a HUUUUUGE amount of Urban Fantasies featuring male mages as protagonists, there's something about the Alex Verus series that totally captivates me: maybe it's the awesome divination magic that is used in a super creative fashion; maybe it's the world-building that might seem limited compared to other books, but it's very well thought-out, detailed and believable; maybe it's Alex himself. Whatever it is, I consider Alex Verus to be one of my top 10 favorite series of all time (and top 3 favorite Urban Fantasy series)if you enjoy Urban Fantasy, then definitelyPaperbacks are perfect (wait for the new covers to come out if you're living in the UK). Audiobooks are great too, but it took me some time getting used to the narrator. Nevertheless, still worth buying and highly enjoyable!Dragon Mafia + Humor + MOST LOVABLE CHARACTERS in the history of Urban Fantasy.My review for book 1 and book 2 Rather generic (vampires, fairies, werewolves etc. with a coyote shapeshifter as a protagonist), but enjoyable with a good world-building! Honestly, I don’t know how to sell it, not sure why I like it so much XD My review. Fae - the real, scary ones, Cool setting- Dublin, lots of eye-candy for the ladies, murder mystery, horror, gore and a gripping story! To be reviewed.– Unique, rather slow, but imaginative and well-researched. If you’re not a fan of Neil Gaiman’s pretentious-sounding style though, I would stay away from it.– Enjoyed the first two books only – mystery, gore, murder and WEREWOLVES. Also, a love interest with questionable sanity.- DUH! Ok, half of the readers adore it, the other half hate it with passion! I tend to deviate between the two. Crime/Mystery/Urban Fantasy.- Focuses more on pagan deities (Celtic, Norse, Slavic), fairies and other mythical creatures. Couldn’t get into it, but it’s the second most popular one, so…-Very different and original. The style wasn’t my thing, but if you’re looking for a Fantasy/Crime book with an English twist, then go for it.-More of an anti-hero, a lot darker and gorier than the rest. Barely any magic though…-A Harry Dresden Fanfiction :D that I enjoyed more than the majority of Harry’s books! Nevertheless, lots of similarities with the Dresden Files…И за мойте сънародници ;): Truly amazing! One of the best books I've read for a really long time and I am already looking forward to reading Cursed, Taken and Chosen (and if I can find them, the 2 Ninja books as well)!Thank you, Benedict Jacka, for sharing your work with us!["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>