Alex Verus just can’t stay out of trouble. Although at the start of the book he turns down a suspicious job offer from a mind-reader called Crystal, he then accepts a request from the enigmatic Talisid of the Light Council. Apprentices have been disappearing and Verus is asked to investigate. Even the close-mouthed Talisid describes the job as extremely dangerous... Within a few pages, Verus has received an invitation from a powerful non-human, Jagadev – a rakshasa, delivered by his apprentice / ward Anne, whom we first met at the end of “Fated”. His diviner’s magic warns him of an attempt on her life within the next few minutes, and enables him to save her and let them escape to a bolt-hole, although she is badly wounded in the attack. From there complications abound. Multiple sources, including Jagadev and the deadly Morden, all point his investigation towards a house called Fountain Reach where a magic tournament is being held. Perhaps not coincidentally, providing surveillance for this tournament was the job the mysterious Crystal was offering. Verus and Luna get inside by entering Luna in the tournament. Anne and her fellow ward Variam (a stroppy little so-and-so) are also there, as is Verus’ old enemy Onyx. As usual, things then get extremely lethal. “Taken” is now the third novel in the Alex Verus series and the world he inhabits is increasingly well defined. Verus himself has grown in stature, from the apparently weak and vacillating character we met at the start of “Cursed” to a self-assured individual, secure in the use of his magic, who can also be a ruthless killer at need. Jacka has added new twists and subtle developments in the way he uses his magic gift – clearly a great deal of thought has gone into the potential applications of being a diviner. The same is true of various other branches of magic we encounter. There is also a lot of detail about duelling, the apprentice system and other aspects of the magical milieu, all helping to flesh out the background and place Verus and his ilk in a believably well-rounded environment. For all the good points though, there are weaknesses too. Jacka’s use of real London locations (and not just the obvious tourist spots) is an important part of his world-building and helps create a believable setting for events. However, his geography outside London is so vague that you wonder if he ever strays far beyond Underground Zone 2 or 3. Fountain Reach is somewhere “in the Cotswolds between Oxford and Gloucester” but no more than that. Verus travels there by rail (which limits its location somewhat) but the town where he alights is unnamed and Jacka fails to even note that Verus would have to travel from Paddington (itself a good location for fixing the story within a real-world context). His safe house in Wales is “fifteen miles from the nearest village” – even in the wilder parts of Wales that would be pretty difficult to achieve. In places, you feel that the text has been written (or edited) with the American market in mind. For instance, I don’t know of anyone native to these shores who has “oatmeal” for breakfast – we have “porridge” (or perhaps “porage” if you are Scottish). Little things like this jar and spoil the “British” atmosphere Jacka is trying to create. Once again, the level of mayhem which is unleashed at times is such that it is totally unrealistic to assume it could all be hushed up. The chaos on the M4, for example, would be lead news on all the television channels. (For that matter, where is the television / radio etc. – nary a mention anywhere?) Although this is only the third Verus novel, I already feel that the books are in danger of getting formulaic, with Alex forever being involved in ludicrously excessive levels of danger and violence. It is one of the great weaknesses of SF and fantasy (and other genres as well) that novels inevitably have to involve their protagonists in major (often world-shattering) events. The SF / fantasy novel of the quotidian, showing the lives of the characters through small everyday events within their non-everyday setting, is virtually non-existent. Even Jack Vance, the master of the planetary romance and of building other worlds, never let the worlds he created be the stars of the story – they were always just the background. It would be unrealistic to expect that the next Alex Verus book will be nothing but the minutiae of the every-day life of a mage, but I really think that Jacka needs to tone the action levels down and concentrate rather more on the characters and their interactions. Overall, though, this is another pretty good book, if somewhat marred by the flaws noted above.