Mage's Blood (Moontide Quartet)

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After stumbling across an old man who has lost his memory, Alaron and his two friends attempt to unravel the man’s mysterious past, only to find that they have set in motion events that cannot be stopped. I probably should have given up after the first hundred pages or so, when the shallowness of the worldbuilding and the thinness of characterization became apparent, but it’s been several years since I left a book unfinished, and I didn’t want the first one to be one of my fantasy trips. I know I sound bitter, and I would like to apologize to the many true fans of these books, but they truly missed the mark in my case.

Mr Hair is a historian by education therefore it is not surprising that the world is roughly modelled after the late Antiquity. I have a mixed feeling—mostly negative—towards the first half of the book; I won’t lie, if it weren’t because I own the entire quartet already, I think I would’ve DNFed this book.

This multilayered beginning to the Moontide Quartet plunges readers into a taut network of intrigue and mystery that tightens with each chapter. His story is in large part the typical coming-of-age one from fantasy, but in a nice twist, Alaron is still a quarter blood mage so not quite the usually powerful "boy of destiny", but he compensates with his agile mind and intense curiosity. Fans of Malazan and The Stormlight Archive will feel right at home in Mage’s Blood and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next! So: 150 pages of set-up; 400 pages of unfolding intrigue, traveling, mysteries, the occasional action scene; then with about 150 left to go BAM, Hair punches out a quick succession of events that completely twist everything that came before. Elena, Ramita, and Alaron are the three central characters, and Hair draws them well, the main story revolving around them and what they do; I really appreciated his consistency switching between them, which shows Hair’s excellent control of unfolding story and characterization.

An ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances showing her integrity and steadfastness does not sound like a very compelling MC but trust Ramita to win you over. Another issue I had was the unnecessary changes to modern words for no apparent reason other than this being a fantasy novel. The two continents of Yuros and Antiopia are divided by a huge body of water, unable to be crossed by sea or air due to the high tides and gusting winds.The West clash with the East after a magical bridge is constructed that connects two separate continents of Yuros (west) and Antiopia (east). I can only see 2 good reasons for him doing this 1) He truly does not have an imagination or 2) he does not trust the reader to understand what he's trying to get across.

There's a little something for everyone here - conspiracies, political backstabbing, high magic, swordplay, a smattering of romance, and more .The original Ascendants split into factions - a militant one that forms a mighty empire in Yuros that rules to the present day and a peaceful one led by Antonin Meiros that retreats to the ends of Yuros in Pontus and sets up Ordo Costruo dedicated to improving the lives of people by magic; among other things, gnosis allows magical flying machines to work, so Anthiopia is discovered by air some 300 years ago and limited trade and visitations occur. It's got some great descriptions, and the various political hierarchies are explained well which means that even though there's a big emphasis on manipulation of politics it's fairly easy to follow and keep everyone straight in your head.

Antonin Meiros, a mage of great renown (in fact, it was he who was the intellect behind the Leviathan Bridge) seeks a new wife, and travels to Lahk to wed Ramita. I still consider myself a speculative fiction fan, with most of my reading list each year filled with good books in the genre. INTRODUCTION: "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. And here I am, mere days after starting it, having been yanked through the rest of the book in a frenzy of magic, love, lies, blood, and politics.The reader might be definitely be bamboozled by the various POV characters, side character cast as well the different plot threads being introduced. This is also the first Epic Fantasy I have read, where there are huge influences from both eastern and western cultures from our world.