• Mage's Blood

  • The Moontide Quartet, Book 1
  • By: David Hair
  • Narrated by: Nick Podehl
  • Length: 26 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (3,023 ratings)

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Mage's Blood  By  cover art

Mage's Blood

By: David Hair
Narrated by: Nick Podehl
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Publisher's summary

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).

What listeners say about Mage's Blood

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    1,569
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  • 2 Stars
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Performance
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    34
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    1,354
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    337
  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Nick Podehl

What other book might you compare Mage's Blood to and why?

Vaguely like the Game of Thrones novels in that it is an epic story across multiple continents with separate story lines that are all on a collision course together.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The story and performance were top notch. I often listen to books during my commutes and more than once I found myself in my driveway just sitting in the car because the book was too good to turn off.

Any additional comments?

I'll be honest: I had never heard of this book or this author. I purchased this book solely on the criteria that it was a fantasy novel that was read by Nick Podehl; and I was not disappointed in the least. These days, I consume almost all of my literature through audio books so I have experienced my fair share of audio book narrators (both good and terrible) and without hesitation I put Nick Podehl at the top with the best of them. His range of voices is without compare - I instantly know which characters are speaking and it really allows the reader to fully immerse into the story.

One of the best audio books I've had the pleasure of listening to since the King Killer Chronicles.

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119 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Nick Podehl is great as usual, but only read this if you've read everything else in the genre...

If you are looking for something along the lines of ASoIaF, WoT, Malazan Book of the Fallen, anything Sanderson has touched, or King Killer you are looking at the wrong book. This is woefully sub-par compared to series and authors of that caliber.

The main characters in this series are boring and honestly don't have many redeeming qualities. Plenty of awkward situations in the book as well as unbearably pointless and slow parts. This could have been shortened by 5 hours and still been enough to get the actual story across.

All of that being said, I'm probably going to try to slog through this series because I don't have anything else to read right now until someone good releases a new book. If it gets better I'll take this post down.

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50 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Irritating Storytelling

As a whole, the series is based on a pretty unique and complex kitchen-sink type magic system set in a not too creative landscape that roughly mirrors a stereotype of Earth cultures... basically, Europeans vs near east split by a 300 mile body of water. The stereotypes are not particularly subtle.

I could have been OK with this construct if every single encounter between opposing groups didn't follow the same pattern - the good guys are consistently and repeatedly inept regardless of where they sit in the magic structure and the bad guys are nearly omnipotent in nearly every encounter. This is a world where apparently 90% of the population on both sides of the water are somewhat to completely evil (for no apparent reason) - there are few sympathetic characters.

The books have moments where they're great - those moments are just interrupted by long sections of narrative that drives one insane because of the crazy inconsistencies or stupid behavior of the characters.

Finally, based on the numerous loose ends in Book 4, I assume this "Quartet" is not the end of the story. Book 4 ends in a rushed fashion that certainly leaves a lot of plot lines unfinished.

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47 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

All over the place.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Main character's switched out with secondary characters. Why do writer's make the main the main characters so dumb and their friend's brave with the best lines. Honestly I don't think even that would help. Why the stereotypes straight from real life. I'm reading fantasy hoping you will make them up. At least mix them up.

Has Mage's Blood turned you off from other books in this genre?

yes

What about Nick Podehl’s performance did you like?

Everything. I wish Nick Podehl would do every book. He's the only reason I got through this book.

What character would you cut from Mage's Blood?

All the main characters. maybe with the exception of Aleron's aunt. still though

Any additional comments?

I wouldn't recommend this book unless you just want something fantasy to listen to and have listened to everything else. It's definitely not the worst book but they're just so much that annoys me with it.

The magic system seems to do whatever is convenient for the story. Feels cartoony.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very intriguing idea.

What made the experience of listening to Mage's Blood the most enjoyable?

It isn't your typical European magic tale.

It is a cross between Arabian night meets The Iron Throne.

Very entertaining and loosely related to real world places, mythology, and religious beliefs.

The narrator rocked. NP does an awesome job bringing the different characters to life.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Narrator too bad - couldn't continue

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A better narrator might have made it doable. This is one of the first books I've had to stop because I just couldn't listen to the reader any more.

Has Mage's Blood turned you off from other books in this genre?

No.

How could the performance have been better?

Every word was exaggerated - everything can't be super-dramatic.

Any additional comments?

Re-record with a different narrator.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Don't do it!

Well after about 21 hours I finally gave up... I tried, I really did, but very little about this book pleased me. The characters are not simply flawed, they are unlikable, halfway through the book I was just hoping to see them leave the story. The story and writing is worse than the characters so...

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Hard to get into but then good

Not sure if it was just too jumpy in the beginning, or because I got interrupted so many times before I could get started, and had to listen to the first several chapters multiple times, but once I identified all the players the story flowed. Even though it heads towards a predictable destination all the twists and turns are unexpected and imaginative. I look forward to having time to listen to the sequel.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best Fantasy Series of the Year

If you could sum up Mage's Blood in three words, what would they be?

Engaging, Engaging, Engaging

What was one of the most memorable moments of Mage's Blood?

I don't want to make any spoilers, this book has a ton of memorable moments.

I really emphasized with the characters and the situations they were put into.

Which character – as performed by Nick Podehl – was your favorite?

Aleron is my favorite. At the very beginning I was put off by the different Character Story lines. Then they were all brought together and it just gelled. The book starts a little slow but just keeps getting better and better.
Also the 2nd book is out and amazingly enough it is just as good as the first. So many times an authors 2nd book just isn't as good. But David Hair knows how to keep it going.

My pet peeve is Game of Thrones Series. 3 good books and then the guy decided to keep the series going forever and write 1000s of pages and nothing happens!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A complex story like this just won't make it to the theaters.

Any additional comments?

Great Narration, Great Story. Takes a little while to get into it but then you'll be hooked.!
This is less simple then many of the Epic Fantasy Series and I enjoyed the change.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Pretty good, I'll continue the series

It seemed like a lot of time was wasted in the first half of the book going into useless details. Half way in though, it really picked up.

I love the narrator! The magic system is strange and seems like anything goes, but it was still a great part of the story.
I'm planning on purchasing the next book in the series with hopeful expectations.

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14 people found this helpful