Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Orbit (2012), Paperback, 336 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Since his second sight made him infamous for defeating powerful dark mages, Alex has been keeping his head down. But now he's discovered the resurgence of a forbidden ritual. Someone is harvesting the life-force of magical creatures-destroying them in the process. And draining humans is next on the agenda. Hired to investigate, Alex realizes that not everyone on the Council wants him delving any deeper. Struggling to distinguish ally from enemy, he finds himself the target of those who would risk their own sanity for power . . .
User reviews
LibraryThing member Candacemom2two
Cursed is the second novel in the Alex Verus series and one I was really looking forward to. Alex Verus is such a great character to read about because he feels real in the sense that he's afraid of things and he's smart enough to try to stay out of danger, but at the same time he's not too afraid
I think I liked this one even better than the first, but that's really no surprise. I'm now settled into this world and have a good idea of how things work and how Alex thinks as well as how his abilities work. Alex definitely shows us a bit more in this one as he struggles with a bit of a romance issue and we get to know more about his relationship with Luna.
This was a very fast read as it was easy to keep reading it. There wasn't anything confusing or overwhelming but it was pretty constant action with just enough downtime to compute everything that was going on.
If you haven't yet started this series I highly recommend you do so as you are certainly missing out!
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to jump in when he knows it's the right thing to do, and he doesn't let his fear drive his actions. He's a fast thinker and uses his ability to see into the future to maximum ability. This makes him a pretty great mage because of his fast thinking and being able to see what his actions will do makes his final decisions pretty perfect. I think I liked this one even better than the first, but that's really no surprise. I'm now settled into this world and have a good idea of how things work and how Alex thinks as well as how his abilities work. Alex definitely shows us a bit more in this one as he struggles with a bit of a romance issue and we get to know more about his relationship with Luna.
This was a very fast read as it was easy to keep reading it. There wasn't anything confusing or overwhelming but it was pretty constant action with just enough downtime to compute everything that was going on.
If you haven't yet started this series I highly recommend you do so as you are certainly missing out!
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LibraryThing member LeHack
It isn't a Harry Dresden novel, but it comes close. Verus is a mage, but with special divining powers. Luna is his not-too-dedicated apprentice who has a special curse. Verus discovers that creatures with special magic are being killed to capture/steal their magic. Cursed is the 2nd book in the
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series. Local BN didn't have the first book. Show Less
LibraryThing member RSard
I picked up this copy cheap at a sale, and I'm glad I did. I might have hesitated to pay full price for it - somehow it and the author had never crossed my horizon - and that would have been a pity.
The story is told with verve. Technically the writing might have a few weak points, but the point is
The feel of the world was real without being overwhelming (always a tricky balance) and the characters were interesting and meshed with the plot development. Alex is a pragmatist with at least some sense of humanism/morals, a position which makes things awkward for him - not least in his dealings with his apprentice. At what point should doing what someone else wants (friendship and support) become subservient to what they need (mentoring) especially when it is what you want as well? How do you become a teacher and stay a friend? Can you? And what about friends in trouble? What lengths do you go to, what risks do you take for them? What if they aren't human and don't 'count' in others eyes?
This one will be going on the shelf. YA, but perfect for anyone needing distraction from real life.
The story is told with verve. Technically the writing might have a few weak points, but the point is
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_I didn't care_. while I was reading. It was a magical buckle-your-swash along for the ride kind of story that is fun to read. The feel of the world was real without being overwhelming (always a tricky balance) and the characters were interesting and meshed with the plot development. Alex is a pragmatist with at least some sense of humanism/morals, a position which makes things awkward for him - not least in his dealings with his apprentice. At what point should doing what someone else wants (friendship and support) become subservient to what they need (mentoring) especially when it is what you want as well? How do you become a teacher and stay a friend? Can you? And what about friends in trouble? What lengths do you go to, what risks do you take for them? What if they aren't human and don't 'count' in others eyes?
This one will be going on the shelf. YA, but perfect for anyone needing distraction from real life.
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LibraryThing member riverwillow
I think this series may be building into something quite good, but its not quite there yet. The relationship between Alex and Luna, his not-quite apprentice, is at the heart of this book. Luna's found a boyfriend who may or, according to Alex hasn't, found a way to control Luna's curse. I loved
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Alex's complex reactions to Luna's relationship, and Luna's delight at finally being able to get close to someone without fearing the consequences - we saw a little of this in Fated but it was nice to see this used as a way of developing the story. I will look out for the other books in the series as I'm interested to see how this develops. Show Less
LibraryThing member ChrisWeir
Was my first encounter with Veris, but must say I'll be looking for the first book and the future installments of the series.
I started reading this and realized crap it's a modern British novel, not really my genre of choice. Re-read the back cover and I'm like oh, the monkey's paw that's why you
Veris is a mage in modern day London. He plays kind of a reluctant hero as he is not a "battle" mage. But seems to be the normal or lesser guy who becomes the hero in the novel.
Excellent read and as noted will be looking for other installments in the series to come.
I started reading this and realized crap it's a modern British novel, not really my genre of choice. Re-read the back cover and I'm like oh, the monkey's paw that's why you
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bought it. That being said was enthralled in the first 30 or so pages. Read nearly half of the book in one sitting.Veris is a mage in modern day London. He plays kind of a reluctant hero as he is not a "battle" mage. But seems to be the normal or lesser guy who becomes the hero in the novel.
Excellent read and as noted will be looking for other installments in the series to come.
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LibraryThing member MikeRhode
An enjoyable read - not deep - more British magicians - but fun.
LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
The second book is set a few months after the first book. Once again Alex is called in to work something and there is more going on and not everything is what it seems. Nothing too deep but a nice light read. Hopefully there will be more back story and more of the non humans in this magical world
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introduced. Show Less
LibraryThing member les121
Cursed builds on the world and the characters we were introduced to in Fated. It's entertaining, fast-paced, and difficult to put down - an excellent followup that will leave you eager for more.
LibraryThing member ajohnson2371
Excellent read. Almost nearly as good as The Dresden Files, and that's saying quite a lot about such a young series.
LibraryThing member krau0098
This is the second book in the Alex Verus series. This was another entertaining and well done investigative urban fantasy set in London. I really enjoyed it a lot.
I listened to this as on audiobook and the audiobook was extremely well done. I was very impressed with the narration; the narrator
A few months have passed and Alex has gained a bit of notoriety for his actions in the first book. Alex is hired for a seemingly simple job; accompany some white mages and help them dispose of a werewolf that has been killing people in the area. However, when they arrive the werewolf is already dead and the circumstances around this death are mysterious; it looks like someone has drained the magic from this creature and Alex must find out who and why before humans are next.
Meanwhile Alex has in his possession (and tightly locked away) a powerful magic item called The Moneky’s Paw. Luna has a new friend named Marten that ends up taking this magical item and nothing good has ever come of someone using the Monkey’s Paw.
There is a lot of humor in here as well as magic and action. I enjoy Alex as a character and how he walks the line between white and dark magic. I was irritated at how selfish and stupid Luna was in this installment, but I do understand why she did what she did. I continue to really enjoy Arachne as a character and I loved some of the other monsters we met throughout.
The plot is somewhat similar to the first book. Basically a dark ritual has been discovered and Alex ends up trying to stop it being used for evil. Some of the plot threads from the first book continue and some are new. There are some good twists and turns and this is very much an investigative urban fantasy.
Overall I enjoyed this book a lot and thought it was a fun read. I would definitely recommend to fans of The Dresden Files or The Iron Druid Chronicles; although so far this series isn’t quite as good as either of those ones. I plan on continuing reading this series; it’s been a high quality urban fantasy that is fun, entertaining and has some interesting magic in it.
I listened to this as on audiobook and the audiobook was extremely well done. I was very impressed with the narration; the narrator
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sounds exactly like I imagine Alex would and does an excellent job with other character voices as well. A few months have passed and Alex has gained a bit of notoriety for his actions in the first book. Alex is hired for a seemingly simple job; accompany some white mages and help them dispose of a werewolf that has been killing people in the area. However, when they arrive the werewolf is already dead and the circumstances around this death are mysterious; it looks like someone has drained the magic from this creature and Alex must find out who and why before humans are next.
Meanwhile Alex has in his possession (and tightly locked away) a powerful magic item called The Moneky’s Paw. Luna has a new friend named Marten that ends up taking this magical item and nothing good has ever come of someone using the Monkey’s Paw.
There is a lot of humor in here as well as magic and action. I enjoy Alex as a character and how he walks the line between white and dark magic. I was irritated at how selfish and stupid Luna was in this installment, but I do understand why she did what she did. I continue to really enjoy Arachne as a character and I loved some of the other monsters we met throughout.
The plot is somewhat similar to the first book. Basically a dark ritual has been discovered and Alex ends up trying to stop it being used for evil. Some of the plot threads from the first book continue and some are new. There are some good twists and turns and this is very much an investigative urban fantasy.
Overall I enjoyed this book a lot and thought it was a fun read. I would definitely recommend to fans of The Dresden Files or The Iron Druid Chronicles; although so far this series isn’t quite as good as either of those ones. I plan on continuing reading this series; it’s been a high quality urban fantasy that is fun, entertaining and has some interesting magic in it.
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LibraryThing member kimberwolf
Cursed by Benedict Jacka
Genre(s): Paranormal adventure/mystery
3 stars
Alex Vera is a mage with the power of pre-cognition. He owns a magic shop in London and has an unofficial apprentice named Luna whose curse makes her lucky by pulling the luck from anyone who gets too physically close to her. In
The first half of this book may have suffered a bit from second-novel syndrome. It was a lot of set-up and explanation and felt very meandering. The second half felt more cohesive as the meandering story lines came together and the action heated up. I've enjoyed the first two books in the series, but I don't feel a burning desire to start the next one right away. I've heard mention of, and can see, the parallel between Jacka's Alex Vera and Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden, but in my eyes, so far, there is no real comparison—the Harry Dresden series is my favorite of the two by a long shot. Of course, the Harry Dresden books did start out a little rougher and improved over time, so perhaps the Alex Vera books will do the same. I'll continue to read the series and see how it goes.
Genre(s): Paranormal adventure/mystery
3 stars
Alex Vera is a mage with the power of pre-cognition. He owns a magic shop in London and has an unofficial apprentice named Luna whose curse makes her lucky by pulling the luck from anyone who gets too physically close to her. In
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Cursed, the second book in the Alex Vera series, Alex is faced with the possibility of losing his apprentice/friend Luna when she begins keeping company with a young man of questionable morals who has some magic wishes coming to him – and who promises to help Luna get rid of her curse. Alex warns Luna that magic wishes are dangerous and unpredictable, but Luna is not inclined to listen. Alex's other challenge in this story is that an old ritual that had been believed forgotten has been revived – and on top of being illegal to use, it could end up killing magical creatures that Alex considers his friends. Alex is not aligned with either the Light or the Dark mages, and really, it's hard to tell the difference at times because being a Light mage doesn't necessarily mean your one of the good guys. So Alex aligns himself with those who will help him accomplish his goals to save his friends, including a young, new Light mage named Sonder who's power has to do with the observance and manipulation of time, and a very powerful Dark mage named Cinder who's power is over fire – he can incinerate and obliterate people and things with great force. Together they plan to save their associates who have been taken hostage and stop the evil-doer who is endangering a magical creature from completing his ritual.The first half of this book may have suffered a bit from second-novel syndrome. It was a lot of set-up and explanation and felt very meandering. The second half felt more cohesive as the meandering story lines came together and the action heated up. I've enjoyed the first two books in the series, but I don't feel a burning desire to start the next one right away. I've heard mention of, and can see, the parallel between Jacka's Alex Vera and Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden, but in my eyes, so far, there is no real comparison—the Harry Dresden series is my favorite of the two by a long shot. Of course, the Harry Dresden books did start out a little rougher and improved over time, so perhaps the Alex Vera books will do the same. I'll continue to read the series and see how it goes.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
Alex wants a quiet life. Training his friend how to deal with her curse, running his magic shop, minimal interaction with the mage council; it's all good. But then people drag him into trouble and start threatening his friends and he will not put up with that.
Yes the female characters are almost
Yes the female characters are almost
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all there to be rescued or to sleep with and I'd like to see that improve, but I found this an interesting read. Breakneck in parts, it kept me entertained, but he needs to learn how to protect himself from predators, and trust those around him have some input. Show Less
LibraryThing member Sarah_Buckley
So good! I'm really glad I decided to read this series. Great characters and a fantastic setting.
About five months have passed since the last book and Alex Verus has been keeping busy with his shop and keeping his head down so it stays attached to his shoulders. That all changes when he finds out
The plot was a little same-y but I found it interesting and the world was still interesting. Verus is still a great main character with an interesting backstory and multiple grey areas in his life. Luna suffers in this book as she appears to get dumber and more helpless and is easily mislead into danger. Still, the plot was satisfactory and I'm still looking forward to the rest of the series.
About five months have passed since the last book and Alex Verus has been keeping busy with his shop and keeping his head down so it stays attached to his shoulders. That all changes when he finds out
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something is killing magical creatures. Not just killing them but draining their magic away completely. He runs into several different factions who really object to him looking into the problem but his conscious (and his friendly relationship with Arachne) cause him to run ahead into danger anyway. The plot was a little same-y but I found it interesting and the world was still interesting. Verus is still a great main character with an interesting backstory and multiple grey areas in his life. Luna suffers in this book as she appears to get dumber and more helpless and is easily mislead into danger. Still, the plot was satisfactory and I'm still looking forward to the rest of the series.
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LibraryThing member Carolesrandomlife
I liked this book even better than the first installment. I think that the biggest difference was that I was already familiar with the characters and the rules of the world instead when I started this one. It was really easy to slip back into Alex's world and I was really curious about how
This book picks up shortly after the events of the first book. Alex has received some attention but he is back in his shop just getting through each day as it comes. One of Luna's friends stops in the shop and picks up a dangerous item despite Alex's warnings. There also seems to be some strange deaths of magical creatures that are raising a lot of questions. To top things off, someone seems to be trying to kill Alex.
I am really growing to like this group of characters. Alex is very loyal and is determined to protect those that he considers his friends. As far as that goes, Alex is pretty quick to try to protect anyone who he thinks needs it. I love how he is able to use his abilities and I think that it really keeps the story interesting. Luna is a fun character but she makes some terrible decisions in this book. There are some other really colorful characters that help to move the story along as well.
I thought that this book was pretty exciting. There was a lot going on and I was never quite sure what would happen next. It was fun to watch Alex try to juggle so many things while looking into the future to see potential outcomes. There were a few twists that I didn't see coming and a few moments that had me a bit worried before everything drew to a close.
Gildart Jackson continues to do an amazing job with this series. It was so easy to listen to this book for hours at a time. His pacing is perfect for the story and I think he adds a lot of excitement and emotion to the reading. He does a great job with all of the character voices as well. I do believe that I probably liked this book just a little more because I made the decision to listen to it.
I would recommend this series to others. This is the second book in the Alex Verus series which really does need to be read in order. I found this to be a very exciting and intense story that was very hard to put down. I cannot wait to start the next book!
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everything would work out. This was a book that I wanted to listen to for hours at a time so I finished it up pretty quickly.This book picks up shortly after the events of the first book. Alex has received some attention but he is back in his shop just getting through each day as it comes. One of Luna's friends stops in the shop and picks up a dangerous item despite Alex's warnings. There also seems to be some strange deaths of magical creatures that are raising a lot of questions. To top things off, someone seems to be trying to kill Alex.
I am really growing to like this group of characters. Alex is very loyal and is determined to protect those that he considers his friends. As far as that goes, Alex is pretty quick to try to protect anyone who he thinks needs it. I love how he is able to use his abilities and I think that it really keeps the story interesting. Luna is a fun character but she makes some terrible decisions in this book. There are some other really colorful characters that help to move the story along as well.
I thought that this book was pretty exciting. There was a lot going on and I was never quite sure what would happen next. It was fun to watch Alex try to juggle so many things while looking into the future to see potential outcomes. There were a few twists that I didn't see coming and a few moments that had me a bit worried before everything drew to a close.
Gildart Jackson continues to do an amazing job with this series. It was so easy to listen to this book for hours at a time. His pacing is perfect for the story and I think he adds a lot of excitement and emotion to the reading. He does a great job with all of the character voices as well. I do believe that I probably liked this book just a little more because I made the decision to listen to it.
I would recommend this series to others. This is the second book in the Alex Verus series which really does need to be read in order. I found this to be a very exciting and intense story that was very hard to put down. I cannot wait to start the next book!
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LibraryThing member Ralphd00d
This is the second book in the Alex Verus series that started with "Fated", and continues the story from the first book. Due to events from the first book, Alex has started to receive more (unwanted) attention from those in the magic community, which leads him to the next spot of trouble. I won't
I think Jacka does a great job of creating more character development, and background, as the story continues. The relationships between characters gets more defined, as well. How far will the author be able to take this series? I don't know, but books three and four are out, and I will be reading them as well!
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go into detail, as I don't want to ruin the story. I think Jacka does a great job of creating more character development, and background, as the story continues. The relationships between characters gets more defined, as well. How far will the author be able to take this series? I don't know, but books three and four are out, and I will be reading them as well!
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LibraryThing member jennybeast
An excellent series, at home and comfortable with my favorites in urban fantasy -- Verus is a mage who has held himself apart from the magical community, but pulls out some badass skills as needed. I like the world, the character, his fascinating power and the non-stop action. I'm a big fan of the
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detective aspect as well. Staying consistently excellent! Show Less
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Not as inventive as the first It's a tricky balance between continuously leveling Alex and facing ever more ridiculous foes and becoming repetitive.
LibraryThing member AHS-Wolfy
econd book in the Alex Verus urban fantasy series with the unaligned diviner trying to keep a low profile after events from the first book. This proves somewhat impossible though when he finds out someone may have resurrected an old ritual that drains the magical energy from creatures to increase
A decent continuation of the series with recurring characters who are developing nicely. As is the setting and magic system which provides enough distance from the normal flash/bang type of wizard who just throws fireballs around. Not that this book is bereft of the action scenes and there should be enough to satisfy regular devotee’s of the genre.
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the power of the enactor with a side effect of leaving the creature dead. Seeing as he has friends that may be in trouble Alex joins the investigation to find who is behind this forbidden act. Can he find the person(s) responsible without putting his friends in danger and why are the signs pointing towards some old acquaintances being responsible?A decent continuation of the series with recurring characters who are developing nicely. As is the setting and magic system which provides enough distance from the normal flash/bang type of wizard who just throws fireballs around. Not that this book is bereft of the action scenes and there should be enough to satisfy regular devotee’s of the genre.
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LibraryThing member Treebeard_404
Enjoyable continuation of this series.
Language
Original publication date
2012-05-29
Physical description
336 p.
ISBN
035650025X / 9780356500256
Local notes
Since his second sight made him infamous for defeating powerful dark mages, Alex has been keeping his head down. But now he's discovered the resurgence of a forbidden ritual. Someone is harvesting the life-force of magical creatures—destroying them in the process. And draining humans is next on the agenda. Hired to investigate, Alex realizes that not everyone on the Council wants him delving any deeper. Struggling to distinguish ally from enemy, he finds himself the target of those who would risk their own sanity for power.