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Fated: An Alex Verus Novel by Benedict Jacka (view source)
Revision as of 14:20, 1 March 2012
, 14:20, 1 March 2012no edit summary
Perhaps I should elaborate. Every fan of fantasy (including me) realises that the writer's chosen world has to have rules and structure and the readers need to be aware of them. However, at intervals during that first third, it's almost as if Benedict Jacka has copied chunks from a fantasy encyclopaedia, to lecture the reader about definitions of certain mage/diviner genres and abilities etc. It does stop (thank goodness) but, whilst it's happening, it's a subtle as a brick. Also, as these learning opportunities appear in chunks, they stop the story stone dead. The momentum builds again and recovers once the Mage/Dark v Light 101 sessions have finished, but it's lost the book half a star. Sorry Benedict. Sorry Mr Butcher.
The publishers have great faith. By the end of September 2012 Alex Verus novels 2 and 3 will be with us and, as long as ''Fated'' has taught us all the fantasy faction that we need to know or the fantasopaedia will be more subtly intertwined next time, I'm really looking forward to bumping into Alex again."
If you've enjoyed this, then try something from [[:Category:Jim Butcher|Jim Butcher's Dresden Files]] perhaps [[Proven Guilty (Dresden Case Files) by Jim Butcher|Proven Guilty]]. If you enjoy urban fantasy but want to try something different, but similarly humorous, try [[Dead Men's Boots: A Felix Castor Novel by Mike Carey]].
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