Forged by Benedict Jacka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ah, to me, these books are pure candy. Having journeyed with Alex Verus for so long, to see him change, even fundamentally, is quite heartbreaking.

Fortunately, I can't fault him at all. He may have been a bit too understanding and accepting and conciliatory with the White Council. Hell, the more I keep reading, the less sure I am about all sides, including the Black Council. Obviously, this is intentional, even from the first book, but to see Verus take his independence this far... with a correspondingly high death-toll... is pretty amazing.

I feel his anger. I understand it. I also reveled in the full import of the decisions he made in this novel. They were visceral and bloody and heartbreaking, though perhaps not as heartbreaking as some of the previous novels.

This is the time to wrap up so much. I can feel it coming. Indeed, after reading through the massive amounts of awesome divination/action magic, fate weaving, and close call after close call, I have to admit this is one of the most cinematic UF's I've read, right up there with Jim Butcher on the close-contact scenes. In some small ways, it might even be better. Suffice to say, it's close.


I frankly can't believe what Jacka pulled off. It's definitely angry and viscerally satisfying, but underneath it was a deep and abiding call for peace.

I wonder if all of us might eventually get it.



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