Every cast member has facets instead of being a static caricature of a magic user or warrior or noble. With so many characters Hair does an exemplary job of avoiding flat stereotypes. I expect that the final book in the quartet will have the entire major cast together for a stunning climax! As the story continues, relationships and ties clarify however, and while it still maintains several diverse storylines, the last chapters begin bringing the players closer together. The first chunk of the novel doesn’t repeat a single character, which had me debating whether or not I needed to start creating a character map to keep track of everyone. At points I felt like I needed a chart, a map, and a database to keep track of everyone! As I got further into the book, relationships became clearer, but readers should keep in mind that it takes about one hundred pages for everyone to be introduced.
Scarlet Tides is an engaging, well-developed book, but like the novels in the Game of Thrones universe, it’s very dense with the multitude of characters, cultures, and settings. Nothing is as simple as it seems, though, and people are moved like chess pieces by many strong players however, these pieces aren’t without defenses, and they may attack the players and take control of the board before anyone suspects a thing. Simultaneously, the Emperor instigates another Crusade under the guise of establishing greater control of the lands south of the Leviathan Bridge. Emperor Constant, the artifact’s previous owner, desperately wants to regain control of the Scytale and dispatches his holy Inquisitors to reclaim it at any cost.
The crux is that young Cymbellea di Regia has obtained the Scytale of Corineus, the source of all magical power in this universe. Hair has created so many warring factions and intense players that explaining the moves will spoil a large portion of the plot. but it is three seemingly ordinary people that will decide the fate of the world.Trying to condense everything in Scarlet Tides into a bite-sized review synopsis is nearly impossible due to the density and complexity of the material. Now, the third Moontide is almost here, and this time the people of the East are ready for a fight. 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". 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. This strong debut should draw in fantasy readers of all stripes." Hair portrays a stark and beautiful world breaking apart, with both good and evil characters desperate to reshape it through magic, war, and treachery.
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.
#Moontide quartet book 1 summary series
Mage’s Blood, the first volume of a series called The Moontide Quartet, is Hair’s first work of adult fantasy. 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).