An Inheritance of Magic (Stephen Oakwood #1), by Benedict Jacka

An Inheritance of Magic is the first instalment on the urban fantasy series Stephen Oakwood, written by Benedict Jacka (also known by his Alex Verus series), and published by Orbit Books. We will be following Stephen Oakwood, a 22 years-olds young, which lives from paycheck to paycheck after the disappearance of his father, who promised to return, and asked him to continue practicing the rudiments of the magic he has informally taught to Stephen, drucraft.

As many in the working class, Stephen is just trying to improve his situation, constantly hustling, with the fear that a single accident/unexpected thing can wipe all the money he has saved; as part of his life, he continues working on his drucraft. His life changes after the visit of Lucella, another drucraft user that ends with him being kidnapped and almost killed; this reveals to Stephen the existence of a higher class, composed of rich families, and Stephen is no more than the dust they wipe easily from their shoes.
While not being the best way to have a first contact with this world, if we can say something about Stephen is that he's really stubborn; and despite putting himself and his cat companion Hobbes in danger (dear author, please, keep Hobbes safe), he continues working and learning about the drucraft, even getting some job in the world.

Stephen is the key piece on this role, and Jacka has made an excellent work at characterisation, making him a memorable person, and who at the same time, feels quite relatable, coming from the working class and living continuously looking for money that can allow him to enjoy his hobbies. Having a cat as companion and loving him, that's also a plus.

While the setting is mostly classic urban fantasy, Jacka's biggest hit is creating a magic world which is just a transposition of how capitalism and wealthiness works in the real world: starting close to the top is the easiest way to maintain yourself, while for the working class, those that struggle and get questionable jobs, ascending is almost impossible.

Personally, I think the pacing could have been faster, as we spend much time seeing how Stephen progresses on his powers, and while this is interesting to introduce us to the drucraft system, sometimes it drags to much, remembering more to a progression fantasy style.

Said all, An Inheritance of Magic is an excellent entry point to Benedict Jacka and to the Stephen Oakwood series. If you like urban fantasy, this book is absolutely great; and honestly, I can't wait to read the next instalments as we will have all the bases ready to create a great story.