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    Taken
    Taken
    Taken
    Audiobook10 hours

    Taken

    Written by Benedict Jacka

    Narrated by Gildart Jackson

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    This time last year, I could go weeks without seeing another mage. In mage society I was an unknown and, all in all, that was how I liked it. It's hard to say what changed. Whatever it was, I got involved in the magical world again and started getting myself a reputation.

    Alex Verus's insights into the future used to be the best-kept secret in London. Now, with the aid of his apprentice, Luna, his unique investigative talents are all the rage. He just has to be careful about picking his employers, because everyone-even the beautiful woman who practically begs him to run security for a prestigious tournament-has motives that can be hard to predict. And Alex doesn't do unpredictable.

    But his latest gig just might be impossible. Apprentices have been vanishing without a trace-and someone on the Council could be involved. Alex has no evidence, no witnesses, and no suspects. All he knows is that someone is keeping tabs on him. And after assassins target Luna's classmate, Alex sees that he doesn't know the half of it-and that he could be the next to disappear.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 27, 2014
    ISBN9781452688787
    Taken

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    Reviews for Taken

    4/5

    289 ratings16 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Apprentices and adepts are going missing and there's concern it's deliberate. Alex is worried about Laura, and so helps investigate.
    • 5/5
      Great book I love it so much just great .
    • 4/5
      Better plot than last one. Narrator is great. Looking forward to the next one.
    • 4/5
      An excellent series, at home and comfortable with my favorites in urban fantasy -- Verus is a mage who has held himself apart from the magical community, but pulls out some badass skills as needed. I like the world, the character, his fascinating power and the non-stop action. I'm a big fan of the detective aspect as well. Yep, still loving it.
    • 4/5
      Alex Verus is back in Jacka's third book in this series. Again it continues off the previous book, with an undetermined, though short, amount of time since the last adventure. Just as the previous stories, I was a bit off in guessing what was going to happen next, but was able to guess the end result, for the most part. The enjoyment was in reading how Jacka took the story, and the character interaction, even if they had no part to the end story. Also, after having read the first two books, there is some new character background for some of the secondary characters, which was sort of nice. I like to drop myself into these type of stories dealing with magic in a current time setting. The stories just don't seem long enough, because I am so immersed that I read through it, sometimes in one sitting.
    • 3/5
      I read the first two books a long time ago and recently listened to them on audio to refresh myself. I was surprised that I really didn’t remember any of book 2 so it was like listening to a new book. This book deals with Alex being pulled into investigating why apprentices are going missing. Two of Luna’s fellow apprentices and friends are not the normal light or dark students since they are under the protection of magical creature instead of a mage. Mage society has rules but the number one rule seems to be is if you don’t have power then you don’t matter. Students don’t have power, so they don’t matter that much. Alex figures out the mystery by the end and saves the day by the skin of his teeth but you know that at some point some of it will come back to haunt him.
    • 4/5
      This was really good! I had never heard of this series until my friend Anne decided to host a read along on her blog, Books of My Heart, this year. Since the pace was set at only one book per month, I decided that I could make enough room in my reading schedule to fit this series in without too much work. That has turned out to be a fantastic decision because I have had a great time with each installment.I really like both Alex and Luna and I was really happy that this book focused so heavily on Luna and the other apprentices. It was great meeting a few new characters and seeing a little more about how their world works. Luna has now completely committed to her role as an apprentice and is working incredibly hard to meet the demands put on her. I really liked getting to see the relationships between the apprentices.I never tire of watching Alex in action. His ability to see into the future is so unique in useful as it is used in this story. I love the way he is able to make smart decisions quickly and takes responsibility for his actions. Alex is really just a great guy who is always looking to save the day and take care of those who need his help and he does it quite competently.I thought that the mystery in this book was very well done. I had no idea what was going on with the disappearing apprentices but I had a blast going along for the ride to find out. There was plenty of action and some completely unexpected antics to keep things really interesting. I love that this story kept me guessing until the very end.Gildart Jackson does a fantastic job with this series. He is the voice of Alex in my mind and I do think that he really does bring the character to life. I think that he does a great job with all of the character voices and dialogue always flowed nicely. I think he has a very pleasant reading voice and I enjoyed listening to his narration for hours at a time.I would recommend this series to others. This is the third book in the Alex Verus series which I do think would be best read in order if at all possible. I can't wait to get started on the next book in the series very soon.
    • 4/5
      Great book, as all in the series
    • 4/5
      Alex Verus has been given an invitation he can't refuse and his apprentice is going to be caught in magical politics again. There's ancient grudges and missing apprentices and magic workings that hamper Alex. But Alex is a survivor, and he will solve the mystery, even if the resolution may take some sideways thinking.I like Alex as a character, not sure that I'd like to meet him!
    • 4/5
      Still reading this series and still loving it!

      I think the world building in this series is top notch with a unique world and fun, interesting characters. Three books in and I am still very interested in all the main characters and even most of the tertiary and secondary characters. Alex Verus is a great character with real dark stuff in his past and I feel that has led to his extreme need to protect people and help when he can.

      The plot to this book is pretty interesting. Mage apprentices have been vanishing without a trace and Alex Verus is tasked with finding out why. The new characters introduced with this book are universally interesting and not cliched and I found myself basically speed reading to find out where the story was going.

      Definitely recommended!
    • 4/5
      This is the third book in the Alex Verus series (currently there are seven books released in this series). This was a well done investigative urban fantasy series. Although I never think these books are spectacular I do enjoy them quite a bit.I listened to this on audiobook and this is a great series to listen to on audiobook. The narrator does an awesome job and I would highly recommend the audiobook version of this series.This whole series reminds me of a cross between The Dresden Files and the Iron Druid Chronicles. Verus is a diviner who gets his butt kicked a lot but usually is clever enough to makes things come out in his favor in the end. Luna is now officially his apprentice and she is slowly learning to get her curse under control. There is quite a bit of characters growth for Luna in this book as well. We meet some new characters in this book; Anne and Variam are the two major newbies to the story. They were both very intriguing characters and are well fleshed out. We also meet some of the other types of magical creatures in this world (Rakshasa for one). The world-building was well done and the story is interesting. I enjoyed watching Alex try to unravel the mysteries of this big old house as he tried to prevent the kidnapping of yet more apprentices.The story is fast-paced with lots of humor throughout. I enjoy how Alex continues to use his divining ability in creative ways. The story ties up in a good place and I am curious to see where this series goes next. Although there are some elements of the story that span from book to book, the books in this series have been very self-contained.. It’d be nice to have a more interesting and solid plot that spans multiple books in this series.This is definitely an urban fantasy book; there isn’t much romance in here at all. There are some hints that there may be romances in the future but the story is pretty solid urban fantasy.Overall this is a fun urban fantasy read. I enjoyed the characters, the world, and the story. The Alex Verus series in general has been fun to listen to; it’s pretty typical urban fantasy fare but well done. I plan on continuing the series. I would recommend to fans of The Dresden Files or the Iron Druid Chronicles.
    • 4/5
      Taken is another strong entry in an already excellent series. The comparison between these books and the Dresden Files is well deserved. I can't wait to read more!
    • 4/5
      As always, top-notch. I'd love to see this series adapted for TV as a mini-series.
      Jacka always manages to keep you guessing until the very end. This series is right up there with Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files (another favorite), and I can't wait to pick up the next one.
    • 4/5
      Jacka is really getting into his stride with this book. The relationship between Alex and Luna has always felt very real and is developing nicely now that Alex has taken Luna on as his apprentice. I also really liked how Jacka introduce some of Luna's fellow apprentices and their messy, complicated relationships. I am really looking forward to reading the next instalment in this series.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful series, now one of my favorites. If you like any urban fantasy this is a must read series. Great characters, intriguing mystery plots and a lot of action.
    • 4/5
      Alex Verus is asked to look into the disappearance of several apprentice mages. Things get complicated.On par with the others in the series.