Bookworm Speaks!- Mage's Blood Review by David Hair

Bookworm Speaks!

Mage’s Blood 

by David Hair

****

Acquired: Amazon.com

Series: The Moontide Quartet Book One

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books, 2012

Paperback: 721 pages

Language: English

****

The Story: Far below the impassable oceans of Urte lies the Leviathan Bridge. Every twelve years, during the Moontide, the enchanted structure used from the depths, connecting the advanced magical society of Yuros with the resource-rich lands of Antiopia. Built to facilitate trade between the two continents, the Leviathan Bridge brought wealth and prosperity to both. But two Moontides ago, the Rondian Emperor launched a Crusade of conquest to the East, sending his armies of Magi across the Bridge to plunder Antiopia. A Second Crusade twelve years later cemented a new cycle of war. 

Now the Third Crusade approaches, during which the Emperor plans to subjugate Antiopia once and for all. But this time the people of the East are ready for a fight. With vast forces mobilizing on both sides of the Bridge, the greatest armed conflict of the age is about to begin. 

The Review: This book has a prologue. Many say prologues are hindrance on a story but this one works. Why? Without spoiling it, it is an exceedingly dark opening and upon reading it, the reader will know that this world is not a gentle one. Almost immediately, Bookworm wanted to turn the page and find out more about this setting which would cause such an event to come to fruition. 

The world is what immediately strikes the reader. Right away, the author creates a living, breathing world on both sides of the fictional ocean. 

Both main settings have familiar threads. Antiopia is obviously based on the Arabic world and Yuros is Europe. Although to Bookworm, Yuros vis a vis, Rondia, always felt like medieval Italy. Some reviewers have drawn parallels between this story and the real life Crusades of the Middle Ages and it is easy to see why. 

Yuros is where one of the main problems with this story comes to light. No spoilers but one of the myriad point-of-view characters is the victim of relentless bullying at the hands of his classmates and the school staff is of no help whatsoever. When Bookworm read these passages, he rolled his eyes. 

Do not get Bookworm wrong…

(Bookworm stands on Soapbox)

Bullying in schools and online is a very serious problem and we, as writers and readers, need to do everything in our power to raise awareness and combat this issue that severely harms our children.

(Bookworm gets off Soapbox)

In the world of fiction though, it is becoming painfully cliche for one or the other main protagonist to be be the victim of bullying. It is almost as bad as rape in regards to female characters. In a lot webcomics Bookworm has read it has almost become a standard characteristic for the main character to suffer from bullying and there is a plenty of evidence to suggest that it is based off of personal experience by the creator. 

Bookworm feels almost in the minority for being a creator who wasn’t bullied growing up. 

And the most infuriating thing of all is that it seems like they never get revenge, either! Isn’t fiction supposed to be away to fulfill those revenge fantasies that everyone has had!?

As one can tell, this issue with the book is a pretty serious one and one that Bookworm finds quite irksome. 

From a formatting perspective, the story takes a while to get started as well. For seasoned fantasy readers, this is no big deal, but it would mostly likely take some effort at the hands of a beginner. Thankfully, the setting is so rich in detail and there is plenty of mystery and character that the reader will want to keep reading just to see more of this world and the characters that live in it. By the time the reader is a good way through the book, though, it is hard to put down. 

The slow burn definitely starts to pay off and the characters help. Cliched one of them may be, the author does make him relatable along with the other characters. This author has skill when writing women, especially women in oppressive cultures such the Antiopia. One of the female leads enters into an arranged marriage, and the resulting emotional roller coaster she embarks is very believable and very authentic. 

The convergent and divergent paths the myriad of characters is what holds this book together and when it clearly shows the paths overlapping and finally starting to come together there is a real sense of excitement. 

Final Verdict: In a world that seems saturated with series of Epic Fantasy, Mage’s Blood is a refreshing read, that simultaneously holds true to the genre while boldly carving its own path. 

In a lot ways, this serves as a prime example of how the first book in a series should be written. We see the board, we are introduced to every piece, first strategies are formulated and when Bookworm finished the book, he came to one conclusion: Now…the game begins. 

Four Suspension Pylons out of Five