Publisher Description
Alex Verus must keep his friends close—and his enemies closer—in the epic conclusion to the bestselling urban fantasy series about a London-based mage.
Mage Alex Verus has gone from a Camden shopkeeper to one of the most powerful mages in Britain. Now his last and most dangerous battle lies before him. His lover, the life mage Anne, has fallen fully under the control of the deadly creature she made a bargain with, and it is preparing to create an army of mages subject to its every whim.
Alex, the Council, and the Dark mage Richard Drakh agree to call a truce in their war, and plans are made for a joint attack. But Alex knows that it's only a matter of time before Drakh and the Council turn on each other . . . and neither cares about keeping Anne alive. Can Alex figure out a way to stop Anne and to free her from possession before time runs out?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jacka brings his astonishingly smart Alex Verus urban fantasy series to a thoroughly satisfying conclusion (after Forged) with the long-awaited epic battle between the Dark mages, led by devious Richard Drakh, and the squabbling, morally compromised Light Council, its members now uneasily united against a hoard of jinn possessing the body of Anne Walker. But as that battle rages on, the story's focus is on Alex Verus, formerly a minor divining mage who has been forced to accept the magical, deadly fateweaver into his body as the source of the power he needs to rescue Anne, his lover. The action sequences are handled wonderfully, but Jacka doesn't stop there. He goes on to consider what Anne needs to be truly saved not just from the jinn but also from her own self-destructive impulses. And, having sacrificed his own life for magical power, Alex is qualified to ask Drakh, during their final confrontation, what they've really been fighting for. With mature emotional stakes, rousing combat, and wry humor, this is urban fantasy done right. New readers should start at the beginning and savor each installment.
