Benedict Jacka

Benedict Jacka (born 25 September 1980) is a British author, best known for his Alex Verus series.

Jacka was born in England and attended the City of London School. He later attended Cambridge University, where he graduated with a Bachelors in philosophy and met his editor Sophie Hicks from Ed Victor Ltd. His first novels were three children's fantasy novels which weren't published. That honour went to a children's non-fantasy novel, a book called To Be A Ninja (Later: Ninja: The Beginning). From 2000 on, he developed a fantasy setting for which he wrote four books, whose main characters were teenage elementals. None of the four were published. In 2009, he decided to try again with an adult character and a more information-based ability. Three years later, in 2012, he published the first book of the Alex Verus series, two more followed the same year. In December 2013, tantor released an audio version of Fated in the US, the next three books followed.

Critical reception for Jacka's work has been mostly positive. Of the Alex Verus series, the SF Site has cited the series' characters and chapter cliffhangers as highlights. SF Crowsnest gave an overall positive review for Cursed, while stating it was "an enjoyable, if unchallenging, read".