Cursed (Alex Verus, #2)

by Benedict Jacka

Dark rituals drag London mage Alex Verus into the center of a conspiracy in this thrilling novel from the national bestselling author of Marked.

Since his second sight made him infamous for defeating powerful dark mages, Alex Verus has been keeping his head down. But now he's discovered the resurgence of a forbidden ritual. Someone is harvesting the life-force of magical creatures—destroying them in the process. And draining humans is next on the agenda.

Hired to investigate, Alex discovers not everyone on the Council wants him delving any deeper. Struggling to distinguish ally from enemy, he finds himself the target of those who would risk their own sanity for power. Alex still has the advantage of seeing the future—but he might not have a future for much longer.

• ISBN10: 1937007596
• ISBN13: 9781937007591
• Publish Date: 29 May 2012 (first published 1 May 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Ace Books
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781937007591

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

Cursed takes place shortly after Fated, and Alex is enjoying or not, a bit of notoriety from the events that occurred. A friend of Luna’s takes something dangerous from his shop. A woman comes in seeking help, and something tries to kill them. Someone or something is killing magical creatures. Before you know it, Alex ends up in the thick of things. I’ve got my headphones and I am ready to help solve the case.

Despite the fast-pace and intense action scenes, Jacka allowed us to get to know the characters, in particular Luna, who made quite a few mistakes in Cursed. He also moved the overall series ARC. I enjoyed learning more about our friend Spider and was delighted she will be a repeating character. I really adore her.

Alex is clever, loyal and a likable character. His ability to see different futures, collect clues, find motives and moral compass make him a delightful hero. Much like Harry Dresden he does his own thing, isn’t part of the Council and the Dark and Light Mages.

Gildart Jackson did a stellar job with the narration from secondary characters to Alex himself. I loved all the different voices and his ability to build suspense and show emotions through inflection.

If you love quirky characters, mystery and solid urban fantasy you’ll want to begin the Alex Verus series if you haven’t already done so. I have the fourth book queue and ready for listening. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[lisacee]

This book is not the Dresden Files, but I can't help but compare them.

Where Dresden's world felt original and full, it feels like Verus is piggybacking on it. Making small changes but not defining itself.

[wyvernfriend]

Alex Verus would like a nice quiet life, but everyone seems to be unable to let him and he can't stand seeing his friends hurt and some friends are less human like than others.

This was interesting and it was also interesting how he learns as well about himself and about those around him.