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An Inheritance of Magic

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An Inheritance of Magic

Written by: Benedict Jacka
Narrated by: Will Watt
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About this listen

The super-rich control everything—including magic—in this thrilling and brilliant, contemporary fantasy from the author of the Alex Verus novels.

The wealthy seem to exist in a different, glittering world from the rest of us. Almost as if by . . . magic.

Stephen Oakwood is a young man on the edge of this hidden world. He has talent and potential, but turning that potential into magical power takes money, opportunity, and training. All Stephen has is a minimum wage job and a cat.

But when a chance encounter with a member of House Ashford gets him noticed by the wrong people, Stephen is thrown in the deep end. For centuries, the vast corporations and aristocratic Houses of the magical world have grown impossibly rich and influential by hoarding their knowledge. To survive, Stephen will have to take his talent and build it up into something greater—for only then can he beat them at their own game.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF containing the Glossary from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio

©2023 Benedict Jacka (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Action & Adventure Dark Fantasy Fantasy Magic Sword & Sorcery Fiction Cats

What the critics say

"One of the most satisfying contemporary fantasies I have read in a long time; cozy and human, with some good fight scenes to boot. . . . an enchanting journey into a world where sorcery may be for sale, but agency is beyond price."—Wall Street Journal

"Benedict Jacka gives us a flawed protagonist but ensures we are always on his side. Stephen Oakwood has many strikes against him: absent father and mother, financial woes, dead-end jobs. But he perseveres in the face of danger and death, and he loves his cat. It's more than enough. Benedict Jacka is one of my must-reads."—#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris

"This first entry in Jacka’s (Risen) new urban fantasy series combines a coming-of-age and coming-into-power story with a fresh new take on magic. Stephen is a character at a crossroads, and watching him figure out which way to turn and how to amass enough power to make it happen will power the series. . . . Readers looking for a new take on urban fantasy, those who enjoy coming-of-age or training stories, and anyone who likes watching the rich fall will be delighted."—Library Journal

All stars
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This is good. The characters are compelling and very relatable. No world saving, no chosen one, no fantastical beats (yet), It's a human-sized slow burn, yut, suspenseful, interesting.

Sometimes audiobooks drift into the background but not this one. I was glued to it the whole time, and dreading the end because, well, it would be over, and listening to it was so good. I read all the Alex Verus novels, but this was better.

Reader was fantastic. One of the perfect marriages of voice and story that you stumble across every so often.

Slower story, but excellent

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The narrator’s performance adds a great deal to this story - not sure I would have finished had it been book form.

I liked the style - modern, urban, sensible magic (! lol) and good characters. Most especially, it features an heroic cat, named Hobbes. Hobbesian philosophy suggests the social contract is where it’s at - we are not sole agents but join together in society for shared goals. The book sets up a “good against evil” dynamic, and it’s pretty fun in the world created by the author. Less so irl.

Very entertaining

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Awesome narration, engaging storyline. Benedict Jacka is a master story teller - intelligent, nuanced and just plain fun. Can’t wait for more.

There is indeed life after Alex Verus

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I've read all of the Alex Verus series and loved every minute of it. Benedict does a marvelous job of making the main character start as a bit of an underdog.

As far as magic systems go, this one is (so far) more like people having the ability to use/make magic items. If that is or isn't your thing I would recommend giving this novel a try. So far, I preferred the Alex Verus series, but Benedict's distinct writing voice is very much present in this book (and I love it!)...but I really miss the narration of Gildart Jackson.

This narrator was good but, honestly, I couldn't really ever get into his accent. It took me out of the story more often than not.

Overall good start to a series and I'm looking forward to the second book.

Great writing, good start to a series

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The voice acting from Will Whatt is top quality as expected from a Benadict Jacka story. The voice and tone something fresh and new. This book sets up a fresh new magic system that looks flexible and limiting, leaving much still to be discovered.

This is a fun start to something new and I recommend it for anyone that enjoys a bit of intrigue with their magic.

This is not Alex Versus but is a wonderful start to something new.

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I've gone through all of his previous works, loved this new world. hits similar notes but a fresh world. I don't usually leave reviews but I just finished this book and want to fan the flame in my small capacity. Excitedly waiting for book 2.

Loved it and can't wait for the next.

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Loved this book! It takes a few chapters to get sucked in but after that I was very invested. Great book

Great book

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I think this was written with the express purpose of beginning a series, not to tell a story. Very little actually happens it's more of an info dump title. It's almost like starting a series with a filler novel. No idea how anyone could give this 5 stars, it is flawed in more ways than one.

I gave it a read because I liked the Alex Versus books but this fell far short.

Very, very, dry. If you would enjoy reading a magical textbook maybe you would enjoy this.

I was waiting for a magical John Wick to emerge when they hurt his pet but alas it was a rather flaccid young adult story full of indecision, meandering, and angst. Just something happening other than "and he did the same thing again but slightly different the next day" again and again would be nice.

The main character is also undermined heavily in the scenes discussing the problem with pain and the priest. He acts like a petulant, arrogant, and low intelligence child for days putting in the minimum effort. We are expected to believe our character is able to self teach himself magic, that he is able to think and plan deeply on his own, but he is unable to essentially do a middle school research paper. He completely misses the point of the whole exercise. It also illustrates he is unable to read the room and take in context in situations.

Also, complaining about money gets old in real life to the point where at times you groan when certain people start to whinge about it. I do not need chapters of it in a book. Yeah it's realistic but oh my god is it a tired tired thing to hear about. Maybe our author is wealthy and doesn't hear about this often but I really don't need to read about people bitching about wages too.

Honestly not sure why the author thought making sigils is so interesting, the process is often hand waved and done off screen anyways. There's no great description or detail that is interesting.

Slow start, very dull, seems YA.

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