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lzad's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Very satisfying ending to a brilliant series. I'd love to have more but understand why Jacka wants to move on and he leaves our heroes in a good place - and after so much heartbreak, I'm happy for them.
hirvimaki's review against another edition
5.0
And...wow! What a way to end a series. Wrap things up. I'm usually rather disappointed in endings, even good ones, because you have that right-after-Christmas feeling that is a little hollow. Not so with book. It was immensely satisfying. A very well crafted tale.
willrefuge's review against another edition
5.0
5 / 5 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2021/12/07/risen-by-benedict-jacka-review/
Well, we’ve reached the end. It’s been twelve books, most of them a legitimate joy to read, but the final—yes, FINAL—book in the Alex Verus series is nigh. This is a series I’d very much like to revisit, perhaps as soon as next year, and reread from the very beginning.
But first, the end.
—
Power doesn’t need a purpose: power is its own purpose. It is the only goal that has value in itself, because it is the means by which all other goals are achieved.
—
The path for Alex Verus has been long and hard—from a former dark apprentice to an independent, non-council nobody running a shop in Camden, to one of the premier independent mages in all of Britain—but perhaps no part of it has been more difficult than what he faces now. An army of Djinn, led by Anne, his former lover. Or, what used to be Anne. Instead, what wears her face nowadays is a marid, a sultan-level djinn once in considered the greatest threat to humanity’s future. Once, and possibly again.
For the marid is raising an army—and using Anne to do so, much as she once used it—and preparing a ritual that will allow it to possess every mage in Britain, or perhaps, the world. Luckily all the mages in Britain have realized the threat. Now they gather, light and dark and independent all together, setting aside their differences and disagreements in order to fight on the same side until this most horrible of enemies has been defeated!
Or, you know, until it’s really worth it to stab the other in the back. Say they have like a fruit cup or something.
The Council don’t trust Drakh in the least, which is good because neither does Alex. The problem is, he doesn’t really trust the Council either. And the cost of his cooperation with the two is going to be really, really high.
But he’s picked up a few allies of his own. Minus Anne and Variam—currently possessed by djinn—Alex still has Luna (the mage Vesta) on his side, as well as the blink fox, Hermes. He’s also picked up a wayward dark apprentice. And, well, Landis probably won’t betray him. He’s got this made.
But when all cards are on the table, Alex isn’t sure what he’s going to do. If it comes down to it, will he be able to face Richard alone? Will he be able to save Caldera, or Variam, or Anne? Will he be able to stop the djinn, and save the world? And will he be able to do it all before the Fateweaver consumes him, and transforms him into a block of stone?
Man, what a ride!
Admittedly, Risen wasn’t quite the same ride as Forged, as we certainly know what to expect. In general, at least. There’s a war on, and it’s not going to stop until one of the two sides is dead. In that sense, it’s a bit like Battle Ground. But fortunately, it’s also completely different.
In Battle Ground, it was us or them. In Risen, sides are a lot more complicated. Everyone is—on some level, at one time or another—planning to betray everyone else. It’s just the where and when, if or if not it’ll happen, and where the chips fall when it does. There’s also a lot more preparation, a lot of calm before and between the storm. There’s a certain amount of tension in Risen that keeps building, on and on through the fighting, through the breaks and planning and backstabbing. Where Battle Ground just went action action action and tried to constantly push the pace, Risen doesn’t just throw out what has worked for the series to date. There’s still the same amount of intrigue and mystery, it’s just the stakes are higher this time. And this IS the end—one way or another.
It also remembers to be funny every now and then. While Alex has gotten a whole lot darker in recent entries, he’s still the same bottle of pent up cynicism and sarcasm we’ve come to know and love.
—
“So… you’re guessing?”
“Pretty much,” I said. “And if I’m wrong, I just screwed everything up in a really major way and the Council are going to be very, very pissed off.”
—
TL;DR
I don’t really know what else to say about this. I loved Risen. I loved Forged and Fallen before it. Marked and Bound and Burned before them. And Veiled and Hidden and Chosen and Taken and Cursed. And Fated. With the way the Dresden series has stumbled recently, this may just be my favorite urban fantasy series of all time. In part because everyone loves an underdog. But once they have transcended underdogdom, and maybe even defected to the dark side… what then? Are they still the hero; someone to root for, someone to love, to relate to, to look up to, to enjoy? Or are they something else, something they can never come back from? The Verus series tells the story of Alex as he wanders down this path. As he confronts difficult situations—ones that have no perfect solution—and makes his own decisions. He’s not perfect. He’s not evil. But he sure ain’t all that good either. He’s human. And… he has light at the end of the tunnel. In an age when so many series just go on and on and on, Benedict Jacka knows when to stop. I think that’s one example of why Alex Verus is great. Yeah, I would’ve loved to see more of him; just another book, or two, or ten. I would’ve read them and I would’ve loved them. Until I didn’t. Alternatively, the series could just end right now. An ending not for me, but for Alex. An ending he not only deserves, but has earned ten times over. So if you’re a fan of urban fantasy and haven’t read Alex Verus, I say this: yeah, the first book isn’t perfect—but it’s headed somewhere special, and you’ll want to be there at the close, at the end of all things.
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2021/12/07/risen-by-benedict-jacka-review/
Well, we’ve reached the end. It’s been twelve books, most of them a legitimate joy to read, but the final—yes, FINAL—book in the Alex Verus series is nigh. This is a series I’d very much like to revisit, perhaps as soon as next year, and reread from the very beginning.
But first, the end.
—
Power doesn’t need a purpose: power is its own purpose. It is the only goal that has value in itself, because it is the means by which all other goals are achieved.
—
The path for Alex Verus has been long and hard—from a former dark apprentice to an independent, non-council nobody running a shop in Camden, to one of the premier independent mages in all of Britain—but perhaps no part of it has been more difficult than what he faces now. An army of Djinn, led by Anne, his former lover. Or, what used to be Anne. Instead, what wears her face nowadays is a marid, a sultan-level djinn once in considered the greatest threat to humanity’s future. Once, and possibly again.
For the marid is raising an army—and using Anne to do so, much as she once used it—and preparing a ritual that will allow it to possess every mage in Britain, or perhaps, the world. Luckily all the mages in Britain have realized the threat. Now they gather, light and dark and independent all together, setting aside their differences and disagreements in order to fight on the same side until this most horrible of enemies has been defeated!
Or, you know, until it’s really worth it to stab the other in the back. Say they have like a fruit cup or something.
The Council don’t trust Drakh in the least, which is good because neither does Alex. The problem is, he doesn’t really trust the Council either. And the cost of his cooperation with the two is going to be really, really high.
But he’s picked up a few allies of his own. Minus Anne and Variam—currently possessed by djinn—Alex still has Luna (the mage Vesta) on his side, as well as the blink fox, Hermes. He’s also picked up a wayward dark apprentice. And, well, Landis probably won’t betray him. He’s got this made.
But when all cards are on the table, Alex isn’t sure what he’s going to do. If it comes down to it, will he be able to face Richard alone? Will he be able to save Caldera, or Variam, or Anne? Will he be able to stop the djinn, and save the world? And will he be able to do it all before the Fateweaver consumes him, and transforms him into a block of stone?
Man, what a ride!
Admittedly, Risen wasn’t quite the same ride as Forged, as we certainly know what to expect. In general, at least. There’s a war on, and it’s not going to stop until one of the two sides is dead. In that sense, it’s a bit like Battle Ground. But fortunately, it’s also completely different.
In Battle Ground, it was us or them. In Risen, sides are a lot more complicated. Everyone is—on some level, at one time or another—planning to betray everyone else. It’s just the where and when, if or if not it’ll happen, and where the chips fall when it does. There’s also a lot more preparation, a lot of calm before and between the storm. There’s a certain amount of tension in Risen that keeps building, on and on through the fighting, through the breaks and planning and backstabbing. Where Battle Ground just went action action action and tried to constantly push the pace, Risen doesn’t just throw out what has worked for the series to date. There’s still the same amount of intrigue and mystery, it’s just the stakes are higher this time. And this IS the end—one way or another.
It also remembers to be funny every now and then. While Alex has gotten a whole lot darker in recent entries, he’s still the same bottle of pent up cynicism and sarcasm we’ve come to know and love.
—
“So… you’re guessing?”
“Pretty much,” I said. “And if I’m wrong, I just screwed everything up in a really major way and the Council are going to be very, very pissed off.”
—
TL;DR
I don’t really know what else to say about this. I loved Risen. I loved Forged and Fallen before it. Marked and Bound and Burned before them. And Veiled and Hidden and Chosen and Taken and Cursed. And Fated. With the way the Dresden series has stumbled recently, this may just be my favorite urban fantasy series of all time. In part because everyone loves an underdog. But once they have transcended underdogdom, and maybe even defected to the dark side… what then? Are they still the hero; someone to root for, someone to love, to relate to, to look up to, to enjoy? Or are they something else, something they can never come back from? The Verus series tells the story of Alex as he wanders down this path. As he confronts difficult situations—ones that have no perfect solution—and makes his own decisions. He’s not perfect. He’s not evil. But he sure ain’t all that good either. He’s human. And… he has light at the end of the tunnel. In an age when so many series just go on and on and on, Benedict Jacka knows when to stop. I think that’s one example of why Alex Verus is great. Yeah, I would’ve loved to see more of him; just another book, or two, or ten. I would’ve read them and I would’ve loved them. Until I didn’t. Alternatively, the series could just end right now. An ending not for me, but for Alex. An ending he not only deserves, but has earned ten times over. So if you’re a fan of urban fantasy and haven’t read Alex Verus, I say this: yeah, the first book isn’t perfect—but it’s headed somewhere special, and you’ll want to be there at the close, at the end of all things.
joshywardd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sparkatito's review against another edition
4.0
Fitting end (?) to the series. Funny tease by the author about the first-person narrator who we have been listening to for 12 books really being dead... It could be an ending, but definitely left room for more books, perhaps from a different character's POV.
7susanne7's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bookish_seelie's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
themanfromdelmonte's review against another edition
4.0
If you’ve read the rest of the books then you’ll know what to expect from this. There were a couple of things that strayed a bit close to deus ex machina but on the whole it worked quite well. As with Harry Potter I’m a little baffled as to where the rest of the world is when faced with an existential threat of this size but it seems it’s only us Brits that are up to the job (see also Dr Who, 007 …)
The series shouldn’t have a happy ending but Benedict Jacka must have felt a lot of pressure to allow Alex and Anne to enjoy retirement.
The series shouldn’t have a happy ending but Benedict Jacka must have felt a lot of pressure to allow Alex and Anne to enjoy retirement.
belanna2's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0