Bound (Alex Verus) by Benedict Jacka

[btkong]

Post any reviews on the newest Alex Verus.

I've read it and overall, it delivers. The plot moves forward (finally) and there's the usual mix of magic, mystery, and action that we all love.

Definitely the next best thing (or maybe better, depending on your tastes) to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files.

8/10

 

[Theophania]

I read it and reviewed it here. Personally, I think it's one of the better ones in the series - I was getting a bit sick of Alex doing the lone wolf thing. Anybody sensible would have realised long since that he needed to start building a power base of his own, since evidence showed that he wasn't going to be allowed to live a quiet life. Finally, Alex is waking up and starting to be a bit more proactive.

It's not perfect, but it's maintaining the series as one I'll carry on reading - definitely one of the better urban fantasy series out there (although, for me, not as good as the Dresden Files!).

 

[Cyphon]

Finished this up tonight and the easy summary is that it is more of the same. I don't say that as a bad thing because this has always been a solid series and has typically avoided any low points but also never really reaches the heights of some of the better series out there. Jacka keeps his books short and I think that both helps and hurts. On one side of things, it never bogs down and as I said earlier never really reaches any low points. On the flip side of that, the books lack detail and the plot never seems to move very far.

One thing that has always bothered me about the series is how loosely defined the magic system is. Most of the time power appears limitless and you can't help but wonder why the wielder of said power doesn't just quickly solo things. I know he has a site that goes into way more detail and I have explored it some but as a reader this stuff should be a part of the story, not something you have to search around to find answers for.

Anyway, despite my complaints I really do enjoy the series and one of the better things going for it is that we don't seem to be locked into any grand plot at this point so there are so many ways it can go and so many potential books still to come.

8/10

 

[Zyodes]

I finished this book a few days ago and it was one of the less memorable ones of the series to me. I felt that the break in the formula, as in this takes place over months rather than a few weeks or days, as in most other Alex Verus novels, did not do the book much good. Usually there is a focus on the pressure that Alex is feeling, and now in the clutches of his former master and forced to work with people who've wanted him dead for years it all becomes rather mundane. The book focusses on the boredom that Alex and Ann are feeling rather than the constant pressure of the last book, which was an adrenaline rush through and through. I liked that we're finally getting somewhere with Richard's plan but it was less of a pay off than I had hoped for. I also liked that Alex is becoming more pro-active in planning his escape from Richard and the other dark mages. Overall I think the character development was good in this book, with Alex becoming more of a force to be reckoned with and Ann becoming more ruthless, but the timescale of the book hurt the sense of tension that is a staple in this series.

7/10