Highlight of the series, almost as good as the first.

Mage versus has been successfully avoiding attention as an independent, escaped from his previous Dark master and not affiliated to the sometimes absolutist and always political manoeuvrings of the Light. But various interactions, not always of his own choosing have raised his profile as he's survived some encounters through trickery, wits and friends that he'd otherwise be overmastered in sheer power. Which means he now has the attention of both the Light and the Dark and they both require him to choose a side. Neither option appeals, but it turns out you can only run so far....

I've liked all this series, Versus is kept underpowered (cf dresden who's getting silly). but the interactions remain clever and fresh. He suffers and his friends have interactions off-camera so that it all feels real. very well done.

Ends on a bit of a cliffhnager though so make sure you have Bound available to read directly afterwards. ( )

Alex has a week to figure out how to reverse a secret death sentence. Not only is he under the axe but anyone under him as well. Even with Alex being a diviner he always can’t see what is going to happen thanks to others free will. Plans are put into place to legally disassociate everyone from him but will it be enough to save them all. Alex does some work hoping that the favors he can collect can sway the outstanding votes to swing the decision back his way. This is very much a cliffhanger ending and I wanted to get the next book right away but now I know what I will be listening to on the next long drive in a few weeks.

( )

When you learn that you are to be executed in a week and that does not turn to be the worst thing to happen to you that week, you probably need to rethink some of your life choices. Alternatively, you can behave like Alex Verus and just continue doing things your way - trying to protect the family you somehow acquired along the way and looking for a way out of that little problem of being sentenced to death.

After the relative slowness of the previous 2 novels, all of the build-up finally pays off. Alex had been really annoying a lot of very powerful people and one of them strikes where it hurts the most - the death sentence is for Alex and everyone connected to him. Of course, all the maneuvering and shenanigans that cause people to be pissed off at him also managed to make some people to care enough for him - enough to warn him and to assist him in looking for a way out.

The obvious way - leave England and never come back does not really work - even if Alex could have done it on his own, his friends are a different matter. And while he is trying to find a solution, another mage (or three) decide that this is the perfect week to harass him for being on Richard's side and working for him (because once a dark mage apprentice, always a dark mage of course - plus the return of Richard and the rise of the dark mages, including getting into the Council for the first time, did manage to rattle everyone's cage).

A few attempts at everyone's lives later (some of them more creative than others), yet another attempt in burning Alex's shop (and home) and our rag-tag band seems to be hopelessly destined to finally run out of luck despite all their attempts to do something and prevent the executions at the end of the week.

The end of the novel made me laugh. Not because it is funny or because it would make anyone's life easier. But while attempting to stop Alex from doing things he never planned to do anyway, the light mages of Britain managed to get themselves into a bigger mess than they were trying to prevent happening. And who remains caught in the middle of it all? Alex Verus of course.

Let's see what happens next. ( )

Man, Benedict Jacka, why you gotta be so hard on Verus? The plot thickens. Things go rapidly downhill. And the political maneuvering just keeps getting both more vicious and more horrible. I like Arachne's advice, that he may need to become a power. I hope he does it by starting Hogwarts and taking care of the young wizards, but I suspect that's not likely until he makes it out of all the next sets of traps and negotiations. ( )

Okay, Wow - zu Anfang schon mal so viel: Dieses Buch ist der Hammer. Eine absolute Achterbahnfahrt, einfach unglaublich. Ich mag bisher ja alle Bände der Reihe, aber was hier wieder alles passiert, es macht mich tatsächlich sprachlos. Ich weiß gar nicht wo ich anfangen soll, außer dabei, dass ich ziemlich begeistert bin und das Buch absolut nicht aus der Hand legen konnte.

Natürlich war es wieder spannend und auch ein paar witzige Szenen durften nicht fehlen, aber insgesamt waren diese weniger und es wurde sehr schnell ziemlich wild - im positiven Sinn natürlich. Ich würde sogar meinen, dass es hier wesentlich schneller fahrt aufnimmt, als in allen sechs bisherigen Büchern. Gleichzeitig ging es aber auch echt ans Herz, manche Dinge haben mich wirklich schlucken lassen, ja ich war sogar traurig. Es sieht in diesem Teil der Reihe absolut nicht gut aus für Alex und Co. Also macht euch gefasst mit zu leiden.

Falls ihr nun aber denkt, die übliche Spannung, Action, oder allgemeine Aufregung - samt der beinahe liebgewonnenen Anschläge auf Alex - würde dann zum Ende nachlassen... nein, tun sie nicht. Der Autor zieht es einfach wieder komplett durch und haut da ein Ende raus, das ich echt froh bin, dass der achte Band schon bald erscheint. Ich kann die Fortsetzung ehrlich gesagt auch kaum noch erwarten und frage mich wirklich was da alles auf uns zukommen wird. Gefühlt überrascht mich Benedict Jacka jedes Mal aufs Neue. Und wenn ich denke, neu geht da doch gar nicht mehr, dann kommt er mit der nächsten Unmöglichkeit um die Ecke - so macht es Spaß!

Gerade mit den letzten Büchern deutete sich nun auch immer mehr ein größeres Ziel der Reihe an, was man so zum ersten Band noch gar nicht hatte. Was anfangs noch geradeso einzeln unabhängig lesbar war, wurde immer mehr zu was ganz Großem. Es lässt mich aber auch ahnen, dass die Geschichte vielleicht ihrem endgültigen Ziel entgegen rennt. Ich hoffe allerdings noch auf viele weitere Alex Verus Abenteuer. (Die Hoffnung stirbt bekanntlich zu Letzt)

Ich kann diese Reihe wirklich empfehlen, lest diese Bücher - Alex ist ein super Charakter, die Leute um ihn herum, die Fähigkeiten, die Intrigen der Magier... Es macht einfach Spaß! Aber startet unbedingt mit dem Anfang, denn sonst kommt ihr irgendwann nicht mehr bei allem mit. Es baut alles aufeinander auf und die Figuren spielen alle immer wieder eine Rolle. Grundsätzlich erleichtert es aber auch vieles die Hintergründe zu kennen. Mal davon abgesehen: Alle Bände sind super und lohnen sich! ( )