Mage's Blood (Moontide Quartet)

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A small band of transplanted Yuros citizens who emigrated to Antiopia for peaceful purposes during one of the crusades may be the only hope in turning away the third crusade. Sometimes I read a book that everyone else seems to love and for some reason it just doesn’t resonate with me. Over the years I have heard fantasy fans saying they are looking for a new series with X from this author and Y from that author. People of color are discriminated against, homophobia is rampant (the word "cocksucker" was used with the subtlety of a toxic gamer), and the one intersex person that appears is treated as a vile, pitiable thing.

Everything about every concept and character is pretty much explained at the moment of introduction. 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. Info-dump aside in the first half of the novel aside, I think readers will do themselves good knowing that the world of Urte doesn’t feel like a completely new world; it felt like reading historical fantasy to me.So I felt like I wasn’t really taking a very big chance when I picked up the first volume, Mage’s Blood based primarily on all of the good publicity. When was the last time I read a starting entry of a series that strives so far for that true ‘epic’ feel, let alone one that succeeds?

At first the continents of Yuros and Antiopia started trading, but eventually -as humans are- the nations of Yuros under the yoke of the Rondalian empire started crusades against the people of Antiopia. 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. Nevertheless, it makes for a slower start, when an author has to cycle through the perspectives while introducing all the main players, and the first couple hundred pages were dedicated to this task.It really picks up after the first book and somehow the later books made the first book more enjoyable. It certainly tested my patience for a while, but the immersive capability of the engaging writing and the superbly written characterizations in Mage’s Blood impressively pulled me into Urte. After reading the summary it looked like Hair was attempting to construct a fantasy retelling of the whole Middle Eastern culture vs the western conflict that has evolved in our past and present “real life” history. I still consider myself a speculative fiction fan, with most of my reading list each year filled with good books in the genre.

Sounded like it was right up my alley and for the most part I enjoyed the first book in the Moontide Quartet, but unfortunately these dark themes demand mature characters, and the worst thing about Mage’s Blood is the undeniable young adult vibe found within. Now deliver all this predictable, unimaginative drivel in writing so flat it would give Stephanie Meyer a run for her money, and you've got Mages Blood in a nutshell. 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.A half-blood will have a little less, a quarter-blood a little less again and so on, right down to a sixteenth. 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. 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. At the start of MAGE’S BLOOD, the next moontide is mere months away, with the expectation that the horrors will happen all over again.