Sonder is the focus of this story and it is set in about the middle of the series but as a glimpse into the series without committing to a lot of books it does prove to be a good read. The story covers the moment when Sonder picks a side in the battle between the Light and Dark mages. For fans of the series, it is a bit of an aha moment where you see the inner workings of a friend of Alex’s. ( )

One of the strengths of the Verus series is that he is the only narrator - we know what he knows and we are never in a position to know more than he does. Which can be annoying sometimes but makes a much more coherent storytelling than trying to juggle (and drop occasionally) the facts and which narrator knows what and when. So it was not much of a surprise that when Jacka wrote the first novella in his series, he went for a different narrator.

Set a month after the end of the 6th book ("Veiled") and 8 months before the start of "Burned", the series finds Alex as an auxiliary of the Light Council, the Council in a bit of disarray after a dark mage (Morden) had secured a place in its Junior side for the first time in the history of the Council and everyone pushing around for position and space in the aftermath of the White Rose collapse. But Alex does not even appear in this novella - he is mentioned but he is never seen. Instead we get to hang out with Sonder.

Just back from his Washington assignment, Sonder is awaken one morning and asked to assist with his timesight. Of course that means working with Caldera who still holds a grudge from the last time he decided not to share the information he had. And yet, they need to work together to find out what happened in a supposed burglary that is anything but. The novella ties to the previous novel in an almost expected way but at the end, it is not the crime that matters but the choices made by Sonder and Caldera. They are true to their selves here - Caldera is by the book, letter of the law no matter what; Sonder is opportunistic as usual and he finally learns what people really think about him (being able to see in the past sounds good on paper until you get to hear things you really wish you had not). By the end of the novella Sonder is even more jaded than he was when it started and it will be interesting to see where that leads.

The novella is set between the 6th and the 7th novel of the series but was published between the 11th and 12th. I read it after the 7th and there is some foreshadowing for that 7th novel and I suspect there is more for the future books. That can occasionally backfire in series when the author uses a novella to explain something in the past that does not make sense in the main series but the novella here is what you would expect from Sonder (and Caldera) so I don't expect that it will end up being that kind of an annoying clutch.

Overall a nice addition to the series, despite Sonder becoming even less likeable after it :) Not mandatory to read if one reads the novels but it adds a bit of flavor and a different viewpoint to the series. ( )

4.5/5 stars!
Fantastic short story following Sonder as an auxiliary on a case. Very enlightening to his character, mage society, and some other popular Alex Verus characters. Hope to see more short stories in the future. ( )

This is a short story told from Sonder’s perspective, primarily featuring him and Caldera. Alex is only mentioned in passing.
Nevertheless, this short story definitely makes you feel right at home back in the Verus universe.

I never really liked either Sonder or Caldera and both their behaviours here just firmly cement this antipathy. Sonder is opportunistic and primarily worries about his future, whereas Caldera takes out her frustration on both Sonder and Anne whom the former pressures into service.

Knowing the events in ”Risen” I was able to mentally lean back and enjoy the show.

Four out of five stars for a surprisingly good story.

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