Forged (Alex Verus #11)

The past couple books have in my opinion improved drastically in terms of progressing the story line!
I like that Alex is both dying and also much more powerful. It really sucks that he’s been pushed so far into the dark category, but honestly everyone seems to be able to spin everyone else as evil and/or good as the like and the reasoning is entirely plausible. Perfect thats the part of Jackas writing that I feel is the most fantastic or fantasy like, magic is more plausible than some of these jokers reasoning skill. Personally I wonder if the author is still hoping for inspiration when it comes to his main bad guys motivations, but at least he’s as whacked out where reason is concerned at the end of this book as he’s been in every other. Some how the world being over run by evil warring upon humanity Jinn is all Alex’s fault. What I love about the authors writing is the non stop action and continuing suspense. I hope Alex gains immortality and a permanent symbiotic relationship with the fateweaver. I also look forward to reading about a terrible tragic ending for Anne as Alex is forced to pull the trigger on her messed up Jinn addiction. And then it’d be great if Alex makes ol Richard his B, and goes on to rule Great Britain as a closet dictator with an appropriately awesome harem of worshipful hotties and friends out the whazzoo wanting to capitalize on his new power position. I’ll only be disappointed if Alex dies, or is forced to give up half his newly aquired power. Otherwise I would love to follow his exploits as he so so SLOWLY, conquers a small piece of Europe.
Fun reading! Went too fast. Hate waiting for the next volume that will likely have a similarly annoying cliff for us all to hang out on. Conquer already. Come up with some new bad guys, give Alex some new hotties. Poor Alex is completely mind screwed. I miss the giant spider and the dragon. A giant spider that makes cloths as a friend. Sure miss her.

If one like mage/ alternative universe, this is another in an excellently written series. That said, as with the Dresden files, it’s harder and harder to see how a good outcome will happen for Alex. The real world is depressing enough and filled with enough evil and selfish people. One can wish that the fiction one reads (ultimately you read these for enjoyment) would not be equally depressing. I await the next in this series, but I hope it will ultimately end in a series I can recommended to others and reread with joy. The real world often has things beyond your control. I the fictional world, let the good guy win.

The series is good. If you’re in this deep, you know all about that.

This book feels like a filler episode, though. In the absence of his tailor friend, the author has hamstrung himself as one of the deus ex aspects of Alex’s support circle is gone, and the writing suffers for it. While it makes sense there isn’t a way for the author to nudge his character in the ‘write’ direction, Jacka doesn’t find a way to make Alex’s bumbling interesting.

There’s enough in the histories that I’m willing to wait another book (maybe two) for things to pick up, but

Also, the “twist” at the end is grotesquely predictable, but rather than feeling like the natural consequence of the last few books, it feels kajiggered into place for shock value.

If this were a meal, I would have sent it back and had the chicken instead.

I have groused in recent reviews of this series that we seemed to be getting
a number of “middle books”, when the series needed to move onwards.
Alex had been advised by his spider-mentor to pick a side or be a side,
and in this book he took that advice — in spades.

Alex has got problems. Lots of them. After making a considerable
effort to come to terms with England’s Light Council, they are once
more trying to kill him. His friends are all under surveillance;
his girl friend is, on top of being split into light & dark personas,
gradually being taken over by a powerful Djin, and the powerful
artifact he acquired to enhance his Divination powers is gradually
killing him.

Given the limited time that he has to work with, Alex has decided
that he is here to kick posteriors and chew bubblegum, and he
is all out of gum. I must say that this is a book with an impressive
body-count, and if Alex doesn’t enjoy adding to it, he is no longer
willing to be a door-mat, and this applies to even those he once
considered friends.

Does it work? Well, that would be telling, but I’ll just say that
by the end of the book Alex has different problems.

Big ones.

This book was a very taut return to form.

Packed with tension and action, but short and cliffhangery. Jacka has announced that the next book is the last, making this one the penultimate showdown. I won’t tell you who the final showdown is with, but I will say that in this book he has at least provisionally resolved his issues with two of the following three parties: the Council, Richard Drakh, and Anne. Bottom line: tough, gritty, dark, with some triumphs, but shorter than you’d like.

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