I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
Marked
by
Benedict Jacka
urban fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by Ace Books on July 3, 2018 and has 316 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Fated, Cursed, Taken, Chosen, Hidden, Veiled, Burned, Bound, Fallen, Forged
Ninth in the Alex Verus urban fantasy series and revolving around a former Dark mage struggling to stay alive. It’s been eight months since Bound, 8.
My Take
Jacka is using first person protagonist point-of-view from Alex’s perspective, so all of Alex’s thoughts are revealed to us. Well, yeah, and his actions and anything he himself experiences.
Except for his few friends, Alex is always wary, for both Light and Dark want Alex’s blood. The Dark believe he betrayed them while the Light thinks he will. Both think Alex knows more about the other.
Marked starts out with an intro event that quickly informs us of Alex’s world and the dangers of those stolen artifacts. And its danged sad, *grin*.
It slowly becomes apparent to Alex the true strategy behind Richard and Morden’s plans. Not good. That man has got plans within plans within plans. Nor is it good that the rest of the Light Council keeps trying to prevent Alex from knowing anything.
It’s a thorny path Alex is trying to follow, trying to keep his friends safe. The situation between Anne and Not-Anne is NOT helping matters. Then again, it’s Anne who notes that Alex doesn’t “even bother identifying the people trying to kill” him.
Alex does have an interesting epiphany once he finally decides to really talk with Anne. Hoo boy. More growth occurs as Alex realizes how impaired he is socially.
Anne’s character arc is trickier than Alex’s. Between her childhood, her abilities, her Dark associations, Richard’s attention, and that shadow split . . oy. Then she notes the truth about having adventures.
One of the fun bits about the Alex Verus series is how tricky the politics are that are keeping Alex alive. Every word, every sentence has to be explored for its various meanings. The bad Light guys are always trying to re-write history. It is nice to know that some of the Council understands the animosity in which Alex is held by others on the Council. Gives me hope.
One of Alex’s goals is to open up protection from other mages for those who aren’t on the Council. Another, oh boy. Alex does make a good point about there being a lot of mages who simply want to live a normal life, yet he notes how badly the Light communicates within the Council and even worse with those outside it. The Dark has a more liberal policy.
There’s a bit of back history on how the Council evolved and Luna’s current living conditions.
Oy, Alex’s problems are so similar to our current political situation. Everyone is out for themselves. Sadly, there are those who can stop the bad guys, but don’t. Then there are those who want to stop them, but can’t.
”You can solve problems. You can’t solve being dead.”
Yep, I’ll bet you can tell there are a wide range of characters and while most of the action is Alex talking his way in and out of trouble, there’ll be more active excitement.
What’ll crack you up, is how idiotic the Light Council. They want to get rid of the one man who is actually accomplishing something.
The Story
It’s taken time, but Alex has come to know that each mage in the Light and the Dark have their own agendas. A realization that the current deal from the Light Council is not one Alex can turn down, and yet it will again open him up to yet more accusations from those against him.
He’ll do his best, but betrayal is everywhere.
The Characters
Alex Verus, a diviner who sees the possible futures, is a Councilor in the Junior Council (Burned, 7), a placeholder while Morden is in prison.
His friends include Luna Mancuso, who is managing the Arcana Emporium, Alex’s old magic shop. She’s also Alex’s apprentice with a luck issue. The protective Variam “Vari” Singh, a fire mage, is apprenticed with Landis, who is a Keeper. Anne Walker, a Life mage capable of healing or killing, has split into two. They’re all living in the Hollow, a safe place in a shadow realm where they all can actually sleep safely. Not-Anne, who is trapped in Elsewhere, is an alternate personality, a shadow of Anne who may be possessed by the jinn. Karyos, a hamadryad, created the Hollow (Bound, 8). Chalice is a Black mage training Luna, for a price.
Arachne, a gigantic magical spider with a clothing design business, fled to a shadow realm; she’s also Alex’s best and oldest friend. She knows a dragon. Hermes is the blink-fox who came through in Hidden, 5. Dr Ruth Shirland is a mind-mage and consulting psychologist trying to help Anne.
The Light mages are . . .
. . . ruled by the Light Council, but only the powerful are safe. And only those on the Senior Council, seated in the War Rooms, are safe. The Star Chamber is the heart of the War Rooms. The Concord is an international set of laws all mages are required to follow, but it gives no protection to lesser mages. The Senior Councilors include Vaal Levistus, who is an empire builder; Mage Barrayar is his aide; the odious Sal Sarque, who is the leader of the Crusaders; Jarnaff had been his personal aide; Solace is Jarnaff’s replacement; Alma; Julia is her aide; Bahamus, the closest thing to an ally of Alex’s; Druss the Red; the wavering Undaaris; Lyle is his aide; Spire is a swing vote on the Council; and, Morden, who is a Dark mage, and powerful, who now happens to be in San Vittore, a mage prison. The Vault had been the Council’s highest security storage facility. Gythka, golems, are the personal guards of the Light Council. James is a sergeant-at-arms.
The Crusaders are . . .
. . . a militant arm of the Light with Lightbringer, a light and force mage, and Zilean. Both of them hitmen who had delighted in extreme torture in Bound, 8.
The Keepers of the Order of the Star and the Order of the Shield are . . .
. . . the policing arm. The Order of the Star and its Keepers deal with cases directly involving other mages and is the largest of the two organizations. Rain is a captain in the Order of the Star. Nimbus is their director of operations. Keepers include Caldera, an Earth mage who now hates Alex; Chimaera, a fire mage; Ilmarin; Saffron; Slate, who is a death mage who’s not corrupt; his partner, Trask; Gladius, who is a mind mage; Reynolds; White; and, Kowalski. Sergeant Little is one of the four men Alex rescued (Burned, 7). David Sonder, a Time mage, who likes Luna, had been a lifesaver in Bound.
The Order of the Cloak runs . . .
. . . Intelligence, and Talisid is one of them, but has been imprisoned in a bubble realm. Maradok has tried, several times, to kill Alex.
The Dark mages are . . .
. . . split between the powerful Richard Drakh and the almost as powerful Morden. Richard had posed as the Archon in Bound, 8. The schizoid Rachel, a.k.a. Deleo, is supposedly Richard’s Chosen. Vihaela, a death/life hybrid mage, is allied with Drakh. Shireen had been one of Drakh’s apprentices (Fated, 1) and is trapped in Rachel’s head. We met Meredith, an enchantress, in Cursed, 2.
Pyre is a Dark Fire mage and serial killer allied with the crazed, psychotic Onyx, who is Morden’s Chosen. Xiaofan had been one of Pyre’s victims (Veiled, 6). Selene had been a slave in Morden’s mansion. Trey is a brat who works for Onyx.
The White Rose was an independent Dark organization that turned children into sex slaves (Veiled, 6). The Tiger’s Palace is run by Jagadev, a rakshasa, who had held Anne for a while.
Cinder, a Dark Fire mage who possesses the Dragon’s Claw, has bonded with Kyle Summers, an adept space magic user, who had been with the Nighstalkers (Chosen, 4). Will had been the leader of the Nightstalkers.
David Winslow thinks he’s in charge, but truly the Splinter Crown is. Talis had been a death magic adept. Sagash, a Dark mage, had kidnapped Anne.
Lucian had been a walk-in adept to the Arcane Emporium who has been Alex’s main source of information about his world. Stephen, another adept, is a friend of Luna’s. Andrei is an adept who introduces Richard.
Magic items have three categories: one-shots, focuses, and imbued items, the most dangerous. Elsewhere is an alternate plane one can connect to, if they’re dreaming. A dreamshard is a realm created more deliberately. A dreamstone enables you to connect to Elsewhere while awake. A shadow realm is formed by taking a reflection of a location in the world. Gate magic lets you travel instantly from one place to another IF you’re an elementalist, or a death or space mage. Anyone else has to use a gate stone. The Carpenter Club is only for Keepers with at least three years service. The fateweaver (Fated, 1) embroiled Alex with Levistus.
The Cover and Title
The cover background is black at the top with a ragged edge that turns into a fuchsia and purple diamond grid (turned sideways and bent in the middle) that overlaps the skyline of the City of London. On the side nearest us, two boats are tied up, and we can look across the Thames to the Palace of Westminster. The title of the book is at the very top in fuchsia against the black. Just below the ragged edge is the series info in white. At the very bottom is the author’s name in white while a testimonial is in white on the right and above the name with an info blurb between the name and the testimonial, in white.
The title is what Alex has always been, Marked.
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