Take a photo of a barcode or cover
kittyg 's review for:
An Inheritance of Magic
by Benedict Jacka
*This was sent to me from the publisher just before it was released*
I have to say, this book I knew nothing about, it just turned up in the post one day and I decided that it looked like it would be good fun to try. The story is a fairly adventure-based one following a young man who has lost his parents and also his way in the world. He wants to try and learn magic (Drucraft) but it's a pretty hard thing to learn without money and a teacher, so he's kind of just muddling his way through life and not got a very clear goal.
The story takes a turn early on when a young woman turns up and shifts his world, not only by showing him what magic can do (and the risks it can reveal) but also by revealing how he might fit into the world of magic. He's got a new mission and a new purpose after this, and learning magic is at the forefront of that journey.
The book is written in fairly colloquial and simple language which means it's easy to fly through the pages, and it's a London-setting. I do think that some of the characters say some questionable things at times, and it reads much like a Dresden files instalment at times. This isn't necessarily a 'bad' thing, but as urban fantasy goes I felt as if this wasn't fully my cup of tea with the actual writing.
There are some pretty dark moments in this and the story doesn't shy away from that, but it also never felt truly 'deep' to me on character. Stephen, our main character, just doesn't feel 'real' to me so I never fully connected with him or the dangers he faced.
In the end, the magic in this one felt a little bit like it was similar to the Arcane Ascension series in that it felt a little but LitRPG in theme with stats and levels and so on. The magic comes from magical 'Wells' of different kinds and there's a life to be made from spotting new Wells of magic and calling them in, but equally you can steal the magic for your own ends.
I think by the end of the book I really enjoyed the magic and the adventure is fun and engaging, but the writing and the characters haven't ticked all my personal boxes. I don't know yet if I will definitely continue, but I can see that this is the start of a fun series and I think there's potential here and many Urban fantasy readers will likely enjoy this.
3*s
I have to say, this book I knew nothing about, it just turned up in the post one day and I decided that it looked like it would be good fun to try. The story is a fairly adventure-based one following a young man who has lost his parents and also his way in the world. He wants to try and learn magic (Drucraft) but it's a pretty hard thing to learn without money and a teacher, so he's kind of just muddling his way through life and not got a very clear goal.
The story takes a turn early on when a young woman turns up and shifts his world, not only by showing him what magic can do (and the risks it can reveal) but also by revealing how he might fit into the world of magic. He's got a new mission and a new purpose after this, and learning magic is at the forefront of that journey.
The book is written in fairly colloquial and simple language which means it's easy to fly through the pages, and it's a London-setting. I do think that some of the characters say some questionable things at times, and it reads much like a Dresden files instalment at times. This isn't necessarily a 'bad' thing, but as urban fantasy goes I felt as if this wasn't fully my cup of tea with the actual writing.
There are some pretty dark moments in this and the story doesn't shy away from that, but it also never felt truly 'deep' to me on character. Stephen, our main character, just doesn't feel 'real' to me so I never fully connected with him or the dangers he faced.
In the end, the magic in this one felt a little bit like it was similar to the Arcane Ascension series in that it felt a little but LitRPG in theme with stats and levels and so on. The magic comes from magical 'Wells' of different kinds and there's a life to be made from spotting new Wells of magic and calling them in, but equally you can steal the magic for your own ends.
I think by the end of the book I really enjoyed the magic and the adventure is fun and engaging, but the writing and the characters haven't ticked all my personal boxes. I don't know yet if I will definitely continue, but I can see that this is the start of a fun series and I think there's potential here and many Urban fantasy readers will likely enjoy this.
3*s