Mage's Blood

The Moontide Quartet, Book 1

By: David Hair

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

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). Mage’s Blood, the first volume of a series called The Moontide Quartet, is Hair’s first work of adult fantasy. 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. Hair portrays a stark and beautiful world breaking apart, with both good and evil characters desperate to reshape it through magic, war, and treachery. This strong debut should draw in fantasy readers of all stripes."

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. 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". Now, the third Moontide is almost here, and this time the people of the East are ready for a fight... but it is three seemingly ordinary people that will decide the fate of the world.

©2012 David Hair (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Published by arrangement with Quercus Editions Ltd (UK).

A Wonderfully Realized Story

This is truly a story worth the credit. It is written by someone who has obviously mastered his craft. The characters are complex, the east and west cultures are richly envisioned. (I really enjoyed imagining what these peoples lives are like, especially the eastern culture, because it is so different from my own. )
The jihad/crusade idea is thought provoking. The ebb and flow of the plot development is very engaging.
This author simply doesn't make a bad move in this story. I never felt disengaged from the story due to implausibility, not even once.
If you like epic fantasy you should read this marvelous story.
The narration is masterfully done by Nick Podell. His voices are just so well realized. Though I am no linguist, I felt that his accents were wonderful.

SeeBro

Very entertaining book. Great performance. Even though I was periodically frustrated by Alarond, most of the others were quite enjoyable. I will be starting book 2 in the next few minutes! Can't wait to see what happens next.

Great Fantasy story!

Would you listen to Mage's Blood again? Why?

Yes. Quite a few really likable characters that I would like to re-listen too with a educated ear. Great character build up!

What did you like best about this story?

I really enjoyed the build up and the character development, combined with the set-up of the parameters of this universe.

What about Nick Podehl’s performance did you like?

I found this book because I love Nick Podehl's performance in Patrick Rothfuss's Kingslayer chronicles. He doe not disappoint. Some of the other reviewers critiques of him are ridiculous his voices are great!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The storyline of Ramita and Mercer both have a great arch at the end of this book that i don't want to spoil.

Any additional comments?

Definitely worth the monthly credit!

not to shabby

It was slow at first but picked up towards the end. Nick Podehl is an amazing narrator and the reason I picked this book. I look forward to listening to more of his books.

Hello backstory!

This book had a complicated but interesting storyline with a lot of diverse places and characters. The magic system was well thought-out and intricate, and I enjoyed the author’s writing style but...

When I first began listening to it , I was frustrated because the first few chapters were almost entirely backstory. I had a hard time engaging with the characters enough to care about so much history. However, as I was driving for an extended period and had nothing else to do, I continued and finally got caught up in the story and characters, about the time we meet Alleron (sp?) and Raymond at college.

I ended up enjoying the rest of the book very much and look forward to the next part of the story :).