Favours

Favours by Benedict Jacka

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It has been a few years since I read my last Benedict Jacka novel (Fated #2.) I remember the general outlines of the first two books, but I don't remember Sonders, who is the main character in this novella. Sonders was previously a spear-carrier called in by lead character Alex Verrus.

In Jacka's story, magic users are divided between light and dark mages, and individual mages specialize in various kinds of magic, e.g., battle magic, elemental magic, etc. Sonders is a “time mage.” He has the ability to view past events. He's called in to examine a theft of important documents that can be used to blackmail important people on the Light Council. Murders occur as he investigates and ultimately Sonders finds himself holding a chit in the big game of power politics in the Light Council.

The story is interesting for taking someone who was a plot device in the prior book, like so many expendable characters in similar books, and making him the main character in his own story. In this regard, we see the world from Sonders' perspective. I couldn't tell if I liked Sonders. He seemed driven to solve the mystery and see justice done, but he also ended up coming across as a mercenary. Perhaps that was the point of the story. It should be interesting to see how this sub-story develops.