An Inheritance of Magic has an incredible premise - a world where the wealthy have access to magical knowledge and resources, tucked away from the rest of society - so I went into this book with very high expectations. While I did enjoy this book, I don't think it lived up to its full potential. The world building and magic system was so refreshingly unique, and it was so fascinating to read about the main character's journey to learning how to navigate this magical world he's plunged into. Unfortunately, though, the middle section of the book felt very repetitive, and I thought the side characters' development could have been improved with more exploration of their personalities and motives.

I can see someone else loving this book, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. 3 stars.

A book that started out in quite a compelling manner but unfortunately lost focus on pacing in the latter parts.

This was really not for me, sadly. I found there to be too much in the way of info dumping, but little to no character development. The plot is essentially the same for the majority of the book, and it just repetative and bland. I was surprised this was classed as Adult as it felt YA to me.

I've never read anything by this author again, but just based on this novel, I wouldn't pick up anything else he'd written. The writing style isn't for me.

tldr: should never have been published as adult, and even as YA it's super bad. Writing is awful, characters are bland Mary Sue, the infodumping is ATROCIOUS.
Worse, it's got your covert sexism (fake rape accusation), xenophobia (a walking Chinese stereotype), and weird af religious bits where an f-ing priest makes the protagonist read full on pamphlets before he'll even consider helping...

Won't be reading more, especially since the author's other work apparently has the same *problems*.

More details (and more spite) on my blog

An Inheritance of Magic starts a new series of the same name by Jacka. It’s set in present-day London where the world of magic called drucraft is semi-hidden from ordinary humans—though I don’t see how it’s stayed hidden, considering its importance to institutions like NASA and the military.

Stephen Oakwood is in his early twenties and without a direction in life. He’s had a series of odd jobs to stay afloat after his father disappeared a couple of years earlier, and affinity to magic. But without money, he hasn’t been able to do anything he truly wants, like trying to locate his father (his mother has left when he was a baby) or improve his skills in magic.

Out of the blue, a young woman shows up and tells him he’s connected to one of the important families in the magic world he knows absolutely nothing about. She needs him as leverage in an in-house inheritance battle, but when it turns out he might be more powerful in magic than her, things turn violent. It’s the jolt he’s needed to find his focus. Abandoning everything else, he focuses on his drucraft to be able to defend himself in case her violent thugs return—which they do.

This was a mixed read. I almost abandoned it at the beginning when it took its time to get to the point. It picked up pace and became interesting, if a bit action movie cliched, when a loved one’s (cat in this case) horrific fate pushed the protagonist to action. In a true action movie fashion, Stephen decides he needs physical strength and armaments in order to take down his enemies, even though he is told that he might focus on outsmarting them instead. What follows is the classical training montage. Only, it takes the rest of the book.

There really is no proper plot, just Stephen learning drucraft. At no point is he moving the story forward to direction he needs to go (the half-hearted attempts to locate his father don’t count); he’s only reacting to events. The plot about succession battle in the House Ashworth happens behind the scenes, and the entire book is preparation to something that never comes. Stephen is given a chance to best a few thugs, followed by a slap on a wrist by the grownups, and sent to home to sulk. And that’s the end.

Nevertheless, I persisted to the end. I liked Stephen, even if he was a bit of a sulky baby in his dealings with other people, especially women. His love for his cat made up for a lot. But I disagreed with his notion about what he needed. I never root for the strongest character but the smartest, and he’s never the smart one. The magic system was interesting with its limitations, and the narrative pulled me in easily. I might read the next book too, just to see if that one actually goes anywhere.

Stephen Oakwood is a bit of a loser. His mother left when he was small, his father mysteriously disappeared three years ago, all he has left now is his cat. He lives in a tiny bedsit and works as a temp at the Ministry of Defence fetching records from the basement. His only unusual quality is his aptitude for Drucraft (magic). The problem is, since his father's disappearance Stephen has no-one to ask about Drucraft, its not public knowledge and searching the internet gives as much fantasy as facts. What he does know is he can use his Drucraft to draw essentia (magical essence) from a magical well and create a sigil, the power is in the shaping and depending on the type of well Stephen can create a sigil which emits light, or one which improves speed etc.

Then one day an aristocratic young woman comes to visit, it turns out she is a sort of cousin to Stephen and a member of one of the elite magical Houses, House Ashford, she is looking for Stephen to be an ally against the current heir-apparent. However, when she discovers Stephen's abilities she quickly turns from potential ally to competitor and tries to eliminate him.

Stephen quickly realises he has been thrust into a vicious contest between cousins to be named the heir of House Ashford and in order to survive he will need to rapidly improve his Drucraft. His wealthy cousins have been educated in Drucraft from an early age and attended Drucraft universities, they are enhanced with sigils which Stephen can only dream of, powerful sigils can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, even millions. Stephen's only hope of earning money is to use his natural ability to sense wells and report unclaimed wells for a bounty.

In some ways I've seen this all before, it's not a dissimilar concept to the Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, there's shades of Harry Potter, the Belgariad, The Tarot Sequence, the Hidden Legacy, and basically any book/film where someone is plucked from obscurity and, despite their lack of training, turns out to be better than anyone else. But that is too simplistic, with all these it is the storytelling that is key and Benedict Jacka is a master storyteller. I loved the juxtaposition between the idea of magical dynasties and twenty-first century capitalism. The way in which the magical elite have commoditised magic so that no-one makes their own sigils anymore, they just buy them, and cheaper sigils only last about two to three years.

Overall, I loved this, I can't believe I missed its release, and I'm gutted that I am going to have to wait until October for the second book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Possibly like many readers I was drawn to this book by my love of Alex Verus and was intrigued to see what the author would bring to this new series. I was hooked from the start and it is definitely a series that will be on my watch list.
Our main character is Stephen Oakwood, a young man in his early twenties living in south London, whose mother left him as a baby and whose father disappeared when he was 18. Since that time he has been moving from dead end job to dead end job, just earning enough money to keep him and his cat Hobbes housed and fed. However there is another side to Stephen which he keeps hidden from his closest friends and that is his practice of Drucraft, which his father taught him the first principles of but has no way to learn the finer details of.
This all changes when his mothers family seek him out with thoughts to use him as part of their power games. Stephen finds that his mothers family is rich, powerful and steeped in Drucraft, which leads him to wonder why his mother abandoned him and what this family wants from him. Initially the overtures are friendly, offers access to learning and other benefits that belonging to a powerful House provide. Naivety leads Stephen to show more than he should of his Drucraft and tips him from potential ally to competition to be disposed of - Stephen escapes, barely, and he becomes less trusting of his new found family and their world.
This is a coming to power story, however rather than the more common storyline where novice meets master, the author goes down the route of self-discovery, research and working things out for yourself which I found to be a refreshing change.
The biggest catalyst for Stephen to step up his power levels is the life threatening attack on Hobbes, this leads him to new discoveries, but all with the aim of healing and helping Hobbes live. We are left at a cliff hanger at the end of the book and I cannot wait until the second instalment lands.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for access to this ARC - all views are my own.

This was one of those books that started out passably well and then went on to lose points with every new plot twist - of which there were not that many, as the main character, Stephen, spends much of this installment trying to figure out the magic system on his own and coming to repetitive and frankly obvious conclusions about his situation or how the world works.

Don’t get me wrong, I think a thought-through, detailed magic system is essential if you want to have a solid novel, but I wish the author had gone about it differently, because the middle parts of the book dragged - and I say this as someone who’s read and mostly enjoyed Brandon Sanderson’s meticulous world-building explanations. And as a reader, while I think it’s great that Stephen finds ways to utilize his potential to maximum benefit and I also appreciate the fact that he repeatedly fails as he’s learning, I simply don’t find the way it’s done to be engaging.

Then there is the idea that the super rich families are magic and that magic families are super rich, which comes into contrast with Stephen's own situation - trying to make ends meet while feeling (very believably) like his life is an endless hamster-in-the-wheel cycle that will amount to nothing much. This is all well and good, but we learn very little about any of the scheming or intrigue that's hinted at, barring several cases of info dumping from side characters about huge business deals and inheritance wars. The House Ashford members we meet come off very 2D, and the philosophizing about the perfect world order with the ultimate boss at the end is juvenile at best. In general, dialogues in this book didn’t strike me as well-done, and from that perspective I guess being constantly exposed to Stephen’s internal monologue might be the preferable option.

Haven’t read this author before, but judging by this book - not my cup of tea sadly. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

What a book, initially I thought it wasn't going to be my kind of book - how wrong I was! I loved it and wanted it to go on forever, however it does seem to be the first in a series, as is the trend these days, and I can't wait for the next one! The story centres around Stephen who, like many young adults, seems somewhat lost and rudderless. He picks himself up and decides on a course of action and commits to it. The intrigue of his family connections and how this might play out is fascinating, as is the creation and use of the sigls. All in all a great gripping read with a whole new and fresh approach to "magic". When is the next book due?

This book was insane, the complex magical system had me hooked!!!!

Stephen is quite the character and I loved his interactions with other drucrafters, well raiders, his family, his friends especially Colin. Lets also give a special shoutout to his cat, what a loyal pet.

I honestly could not put this down, I am so ready for the next book!!

3 political stars.

Why political? Because it has solid strengths, but it failed to interest me on an emotional level and I struggled so much that I decided to abandon it at 50% because I was not invested enough to keep reading.

The uniqueness of this book is that it is an urban fantasy, set in London, with a hard magic system with its own rules, limits and price (because only rich people can afford it). The problem that I had here with was the huge amount of explanation (a bit like a videogame tutorial) about the magic system. It was like a waterfall of information that by the half of the book annoyed me to death. I would have loved to take these information in with spoons.

Stephen is our main character and was actually a relatable character, but I was never able to empathize with him. He is always too cool to feel real. The narration felt very immature to me. Basically, the writing and the character didn't really tick for me, but besides my unsatisfactory opinion, I believe it's a valid book that people who like hard magic systems, noble wizards, litRPG and progression fantasy elements would definitely enjoy a lot.

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit for providing me with an eARC of this book.

3.5 stars. This was a pretty solid read. I enjoyed aspects of it and I'm intrigued by the direction that it's going to go in.

3.75 ⭐

“An Inheritance of Magic” is the first installment of “Inheritance of Magic” , an urban fantasy series written by Benedict Jacka and currently in progress. A novel with a rather introductory aspect, which intrigued me really a lot. A book characterized by simple prose, a fast pace, a rather fascinating magic system and a convincing and well drawn protagonist. The world building is decidedly extensive and elaborate, with several infodumps that threaten to slow down the narrative. Personally, I appreciated the numerous explanations, but I admit that at certain points I felt a bit of heaviness. On a story level, not much happens, with numerous repeated situations and dynamics that ultimately end in nothing. Basically, the novel lays the foundations for what will be the subsequent titles, which in my opinion fits. I enjoyed Stephen, the main character, as well as I loved Hobbes and their interactions. However, the rest of the characters did not convey much to me, but I hope that will change in future!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jack
Rating: 3/5
Release Date: 4 July 2024

In a world where the super rich control all magic, Stephen Oakwood inherits a natural magical talent. Following his father's disappearance, Stephen is thrust into a world of scheming dynasties, warring patriarchs, and ruthless heirs. He must navigate this treacherous magical high society, mastering his abilities and discerning allies from enemies to avoid meeting the same fate as his father.

What I really enjoyed about “An Inheritance of Magic”:
- Relatable main character with feelings of isolation and inadequacy.
- Enjoyable supporting characters, especially the cat and the priest.
- Unique world-building and magic system.
- Engaging start and conclusion.

What I disliked about “An Inheritance of Magic”:
- Overemphasis on world-building at the expense of character development, leading to underdeveloped characters.
- Repetitive explanations of the magic system.
- Slow middle section where little happens beyond repetitive tasks.

Overall, this story one big info dumping and incredibly slow. If this is your thing, then I would recommend you pick it up.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Little, BrownBook Group Uk | Orbit, and the author, Benedict Jack, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Very often I read books because I have read two or three books by the author before, and it’s been a while since the last book. As many other reviewers, I have read Benedicts book from his previous series, and they made me giggle a lot. Benedict has a way of building up his world in a unique way, and he even addresses it in the note from author. I really liked that, because I know I’m in it for years now.

Let me say this: This book was an arc-copy from NetGalley. I started reading YESTERDAY and managed to finish this while bussing my way to work this morning. I almost forgot my stop. I am hungry, I need to use the bathroom, I slept for 2 hours, but all of that was not important during my panic-reading. Because this book. THIS BOOK. The worldbuilding, Stephen and his cat, the story flows so naturally and promises so much of what is to come. This is magic done right, this is action and humor without too much silliness. This is how I like my fantasy. I love how this is written, clearly with a lot of heart and love – but most of all, it’s so evident to me that Benedict truly had a blast writing this. It shows! I absolutely loved it. I haven’t gotten much sleep these 24 hours and I don’t care. This is my honest opinion, and this book needs to become TikTok famous or something.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK | Orbit for giving me time to complain that I cannot read book two immediately (said with love).