Mage’s Blood by David Hair
3.5 out of 5
The world of Mage’s blood is very rich, with clearly defined differences between the various cultures but it is not subtle. The overarching plot of the Moontide is obviously heavily influenced by the 11th and 12th century Crusades and the cultures can be very easily divided into Eastern and Western as it would be done in reality.
The Moontide is an event which happens every twelve years. Two continents, Yuros and Antiopia, are separated by water but connected by a bridge which is only passable during Moontide. The western continent uses this time to invade the eastern continent.
The Moontide plot is very much a background event in the first novel, it does not come about until the epilogue, so the characters are very much just living their lives and preparing for the Moontide. As such, there are times when the novel moves very slowly as the plot takes almost all of its 671 pages to become apparent which might be frustrating for people who enjoy books with a lot of action and a very fast pace but, on the other hand, the slow pace of the novel means there is a lot of time spent with the main characters.
There are three main characters: Elena Anborn, a mage protecting the Royal family in Javon, Alaron Mercer, Elena’s nephew, who is a student (and later failed) mage, and Ramita Ankesharan, a daughter’s merchant in Lakh; who is chosen by the mage who united the two continents with the bridge, Antonin Meiros to be his wife as her lineage is almost guaranteed to produce multiple births and he needs children. The chapters alternate between them and a few others, Gurvon Gyle and Kazim; for example.
The characters are what make the book so interesting. They are all fascinating people and well developed throughout the book; whether good, bad or of dubious morality and the slow pace of the plot means that Hair takes the time to introduce all of the primary characters and their stories develop heavily throughout the novel. You get to know them all very well, the characters are rich and deep, their motivations are clear and by the end of the book you can tell which side the characters lie. This slow pace might be frustrating for anyone who wants a novel which hits the ground running but, for people like me, the slow pace and character development is welcome.
On the whole I did enjoy Mage’s Blood. I enjoyed the main characters, whom I found sympathetic and likeable and the plot, although slow, was enjoyable but there were times when I felt it could have picked up the pace a little. The novel is 671 pages and whilst there is a lot of plotting, intrigue and setting for the following books, there were times when I felt a little bit bored by what was happening. There was a bit too much filler and it could have been trimmed a little to be leaner. By the end, however, it was fantastic and the end of Mage’s Blood left me wanting to read more. If I’d had Scarlet Tides to hand, I’d probably have started reading it straight away.
The next review will be on Nevernight by Jay Kristoff.
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