Mage's Blood (Moontide Quartet)

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I don't know if the author (the series is planned for 4 books) maybe makes a connection to our world and this is some future version of our own, where the sea has risen, but for now there are no imminent signs for this. The bankers extend credit to merchants whilst squeezing the nobility, the magi-protectors who made Rondelmar what it is. This series sets up a conflict that has been years in the making and will occur at a great cost to both sides but before it can begin, the political machinations have already been initiated. Now the third Moontide is almost here and, this time, the people of the East are ready for a fight . Many other people have complained about a slow start and while I can see where they are coming from, the first few hundred pages were the best for me.

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. That way you can still work in gnosis, Hair's magic system which is functional enough, but completely typical. 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! Nothing really stands out in this paint by numbers generic setting with its very poorly disguised nations of Western imperialism, Muslim religious intolerance and Hindu colourful poverty.

Similar to many starter installments to an epic fantasy series, Hair takes his time to introduce the world and many characters of the series first, and I usually love this; generally, slow-paced books always worked better for me.

I can only give Mage’s Blood average marks, but if you are into fantasies that are a classic good vs. I also found it rather misogynist that Huriya and Vedya, women who have a high sex drive, are cast as villains. It's a classic example of a book which has been compared to Game of Thrones (as so many are these days) but I would actually go so far as to say that this is worthy of a comparison to Game of Thrones in terms of the politics and the characters and the world building. Beginning with the ascension rites across various regions to the beatification of an empress, there is a lot that happens in the first 150-200 pages. 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.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. This is the first book in a Quartet which makes me so happy and excited because it means I still have three great, long books ahead of me.

I recommend this book to any Epic Fantasy lover or even for people looking to get into the genre, as it certainly got me back into reading Epic Fantasy. Yet, while no religion is safe from the wrath of the secular mind, the book is not devoid of quasi-religious preaching on many ideological issues deemed to be of importance by the author; the idea of the key magic artefact in the book which can effectively make something out of nothing defying the laws of logic (entirely unacceptable!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. Character development is pretty much non existent, everyone seems to act purely on the shallowest motives, which telegraphs all the "plot twists" from a mile away. Then again, I love the strange and unique settings in recent books like THE WAY OF KINGS ( EBR Review) or THE BLINDING KNIFE ( EBR Review). The Magi are hell-bent on ruling this world and have led armies across the bridge on crusades of conquest.