Mage's Blood (Moontide Quartet)

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Also the 2nd book is out and amazingly enough it is just as good as the first. So many times an authors 2nd book just isn't as good. But David Hair knows how to keep it going.

Mages generally aren't combat monsters at first. They can be, but generally not. Akashic Brothers and Euthanatos sort of break that mold a little bit, but they also both hate Vampires and require some intense training. Vampires will absolutely be much more powerful than Mages straight out of the book, but Mages have the versatility and sheer breadth of options Vampires never will and in time will wholly eclipse their power (and then die of old age while the Vampire gets more powerful).

Mage’s Blood is unquestionably at its most affecting in the company of Meiros, Ramita and Kazim, but these others are yet purposeful perspectives. Gurvon gives us a glimpse of the Emperor’s affairs, whilst Elena allows similar insight into the upper echelons on the other side of the great divide, as well as starring in the book’s most thrilling set-piece. Last but not least, Alaron’s chapters outline The Moontide Quartet’s many-faceted magic system, in addition to illustrating another aspect of the fanaticism the living saint Lucia alludes to at the outset: the purity of one’s blood. Disappointingly, this boils down to conspiracy and discrimination against “half-bloods” and “mudskins.”

And the most infuriating thing of all is that it seems like they never get revenge, either! Isn’t fiction supposed to be away to fulfill those revenge fantasies that everyone has had!? icon": "https://web.poecdn.com/gen/image/WzI1LDE0LHsiZiI6IjJESXRlbXMvQmVsdHMvSW5qZWN0b3JCZWx0IiwidyI6MiwiaCI6MSwic2NhbGUiOjEsInJlbGljIjo2fV0/19d4a45eb1/InjectorBelt.png", Elena is a bodyguard on the court of Javon, which is also a nation on Antiopia (think persian culture), which has a special standing, cause their royal family are traditionally half-bloods, half Jhafi from Antiopia, half Rimoni (think italian culture) from Yuros. The books have moments where they're great - those moments are just interrupted by long sections of narrative that drives one insane because of the crazy inconsistencies or stupid behavior of the characters. The first perspective is Alaron Mercer. He is a typical mage in training at a mage academy on Yuros, preparing for the exams. Of course he's bullied by pure-blood mage student, so his life isn't all rosy. His story is a more typical coming of age story.

When something terrible happens to disrupt Alaron's chances at passing his exams and becoming a Mage he doesn't quite know how to react. He's surrounded by people who laugh at him and look down on him and he's in a rut. He soon decides on a new course of action and from that point on his story takes some very exciting turns. The Moontide quartet is perhaps the most understated fantasy series currently being written. It features a wide, diverse cast of characters spread out over dual continents. Focusing on a clash of civilisations storyline, David Hair offers a tale that encapsulates epic fantasy to its entirety— Fantasy Book Critic, The Year’s Top Ten

The story and performance were top notch. I often listen to books during my commutes and more than once I found myself in my driveway just sitting in the car because the book was too good to turn off.

I'm in two minds about it, there is lots to like, it's an interesting world, complex magic system and some good characters but I just find something slightly off with the writing. I thought maybe this was the author's first novel and he is still finding his voice but after a bit of research that turned out not to be the case. Fixed a bug where Mageblood could sometimes fail to apply flask effects to you, for example, when swapping out an equipped flask for another. I could have been OK with this construct if every single encounter between opposing groups didn't follow the same pattern - the good guys are consistently and repeatedly inept regardless of where they sit in the magic structure and the bad guys are nearly omnipotent in nearly every encounter. This is a world where apparently 90% of the population on both sides of the water are somewhat to completely evil (for no apparent reason) - there are few sympathetic characters. The story begins roughly one year before 'Moontide' and we're introduced to characters from both sides of the divide. As stated before, David Hair has eschewed the trap of making each place monolithic; there's a lot of different countries and races all with different stakes and loyalties and this is in flux throughout. Across the ocean, in Javon, Elena Anborn, a ruthless assassin whose world of targets and weaknesses, and strategies of killing enemies and sacrificing friends undergoes a transformation from “head and coin” to “heart and body” and finds herself to be the last (and only!) bulwark against the schemes of her former lover. Elena is one tough lady: a formidable mage, cunning strategist, fierce warrior and a loyal ally. All in one. Her tale is never dull and full of action.