Fated

Jacka’s extremely promising urban fantasy series starter introduces cheeky British diviner Alex Verus, who’s caught in the middle of a conflict between Light and Dark mages over an ancient magical weapon. Alex can not only see all possible futures but can often choose which ones to make real, so both sides want to use him as a tool. Alex, alienated from other mages because he has developed empathy for the beings around him, refuses to take sides. To save himself and his dependents—Luna, a lonely, cursed young woman, and Starbreeze, an ancient air elemental who’s “dumb as a sack of rocks”—he’s forced to think and move nimbly through London and its associated magical realms. Jacka deftly invents the rules of magic as he goes along, creating an emotionally satisfying story arc and a protagonist who will keep readers coming back. Agent: Sophie Hicks, Ed Victor Literary Agency. (Mar.)