A Judgement of Powers

Jacka’s third Inheritance of Magic fantasy (after An Instruction in Shadow) immediately immerses readers in his alternate London, where quotidian worries, such as how to pay the rent, coexist with far greater threats, such as being targeted by the Winged, a powerful cult. This time out, Stephen Oakwood finally reunites with his missing father, and learns that he had joined the Winged. The reunion leaves Oakwood more informed, but still in peril. His ability to see essentia, raw energy which “flows through the world in invisible currents,” and which can be used to cast spells, may have been given to him by a demon seeking to use him for an unknown purpose. It also has made him a target for the Winged, who want him to become one of them, or be killed. At the same time, his part-time security job guarding Calhoun Ashford grows more hazardous when Ashford is targeted by an assassin. Jacka’s signature mix of grounded daily life with a thoroughly explored magic system makes it easy to suspend disbelief. This keeps the series going strong. (Nov.)