SFF

An Instruction in Shadow

by Benedict Jacka
Ace: Berkley. (Inheritance of Magic, Bk. 2). Oct. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9780593549865. pap. $19. FANTASY
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Stephen Oakwood barely managed to survive the introduction to his mother’s rich and powerful family with their literally backstabbing games of power. He’d prefer to have nothing to do with them, but neither they nor their world of magic and money are willing to leave him alone. Nor are they willing to give up the information he’s been searching for—the location of his missing father. Stephen is too useful a potential pawn to leave alone, and too many in the magical world hope to use Stephen’s quest as a way of getting him under their thumbs—or putting him in a shallow grave. He knows he can’t fight them on their terms, but from the shadows, he has a chance to outmaneuver them all.
VERDICT The new magic system introduced in this series, which began with An Inheritance of Magic, continues to fascinate, and the stories will remind readers of classic urban fantasies (such as the “Dresden Files” series from Jim Butcher), as Stephen’s world gets more dangerous and he powers through each setback by learning bigger and better magic and paying a higher price each and every time.
Reviewed by Marlene Harris , Sep 01, 2024
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