Now, the third Moontide is almost here, and this time the people of the East are ready for a fight. The Magi are hell-bent on ruling this new world, and for the last two Moontides they have led armies across the bridge on "crusades of conquest". Most of the time the Moontide Bridge lies deep below the sea, but every 12 years the tides sink and the bridge is revealed, its gates open for trade. This strong debut should draw in fantasy readers of all stripes." Hair portrays a stark and beautiful world breaking apart, with both good and evil characters desperate to reshape it through magic, war, and treachery. In a starred review of Mage’s Blood, Publisher’s Weekly said, "This multilayered beginning to the Moontide Quartet plunges listeners into a taut network of intrigue and mystery that tightens with each chapter.
Mage’s Blood, the first volume of a series called The Moontide Quartet, is Hair’s first work of adult fantasy. I can not conceivably find any logical explanation for this but to each there own and it will make you feel that much better when you dig into this hidden gem.David Hair is the award-winning writer of two young adult fiction series, The Aotearo and The Return of Ravana (based on the Vedic epic The Ramayana). This series I can safely put in my top five most under rated fantasy series available for purchase today. Whether you are a reader who loves: worldbuilding, characters, or magic systems the Moontide Quartet is the series for you! Being in the mild of a Malazan Book of the Fallen reread, Steven Erikson fans will find plenty to enjoy in this world. The magic in this world continues to build upon the already deeply thought and well constructed system brought to us in Mage’s Blood. You will not be able to guess half the shocking moments that David Hair has up his sleeve in this triumph of a doorstopper. The pacing was excellent and it just kept me coming back to the story time and time again into the late hours of the morning. To say that Scarlet Tides was a nonstop page turn would be the understatement of the century. All the while, Ramita is pregnant with twins and she seems to have the whole world on her shoulders. Kazim along with her sister have discover that they are souldrinkers and they can become powerful by killing mages and drinking in their lifeforces once they die. Ramita, having witnessed the death of her husband by the underground militia of Antiopia, has found herself kidnapped by her childhood friend Kazim. Betrayed by the very people she has sworn to protect she must be cunning and swift to escape these tragic events. Elena Mercer is now a prisoner in her own body as everything is being controlled by a magical scarab. He eventually comes across wild creatures with magical abilities who were secretly created by the empire in times of war. We follow the same cast of character from Mage’s Blood with a couple of fun new ones as well.Īlaron, a failed mage has found the Scytale of Corineus and he is being viscously hunted by the empire.
The Emperors greatest treasure, the Scytale of Corineus, has gone missing and with it the source of the greatest magical power in all of Urte and the inquisition will stop at nothing to recover the artefact. The Emperor has declared a holy war against the continent on Antiopia led by the Inquistion’s windships flying the banner of the Sacred Heart, the bright banner of the Church’s darkest sons.
This will be a spoiler free review, but I will be touching on certain events in book 1. The epic scope and world-building of this series I consider to be in the top echelon of fantasy authors writing today.
David Hair sure knows how to right a sequel that builds in everyway on the success of Mage’s Blood. The Rondian legions are crossing into Antiopia with reckless abandonment hunting for goods, riches, and blood. The Moontide has begun and the Leviathan Bridge has been raised from the depths of the sea.