Unbelievable story

I put myself in the “very picky” reader category, a story needs to draw me in early on to maintain my interest and wow this certainly doesn’t disappoint. At the time of writing this I am half way through book 3 in the series and it is without question one of the best fantasy series I have ever read (well listened too). David Hair has managed to create a true epic that uses real world visualisation, to which we can all relate, in an east versus west style battle with magic (or Nosis) at the fore and I have to congratulate him on an unbelievable job well done. Whoever chose Nick Podehl as the narrator needs an award as it was a stroke of genius. He is so good that I have found myself searching for other books with him as the voice behind the story. His ability to capture the scene coupled with a different voice for the MANY characters is truly special and if this was a film casting they definitely found their star. Can’t wait to finish book 3 and move on to Ascendants Rite and I will definitely be exploring his other books.

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Fantastic

This books has introduced a world with diverse and full characters. The story is well written and I look forward to the rest of the series.

So many great books have been ruined by audio, not this one. The narrator is wonderful, he brings the characters to life and the sound quality is perfect.

Well worth listening to.

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????

struggle to keep up with the story !!!! !! ! ! ! ! ! !

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1 person found this helpful

Awesome!!!!

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

Yes, there are so many amazing characters, a brilliant story with so many twists, I just couldn't drag myself away.

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

I think Mage's Blood is too original a story with its multi cultural characters to compare to any other book.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Every scene where Elena fights back and wins through despite the odds.
It is very difficult to name one scene in such an epic story.

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

The snake people's short lives.

Any additional comments?

Please hurry up with the final part of the trilogy! these are amongst the best books I have ever read/listened to.

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3 people found this helpful

A really enjoyable listen

I loved this book. A great storyline and I'm lookimg forward to the sequels.
Podehl is always a great narrator.

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Absolutely brilliant!

The story is absolutely fantastic, with so many twists and turns, the literature of the book itself is fantastic. Nothing is skipped, it's word for word and Nick Podehl is an absolutely fantastic voice actor, the many different voices feel real and imaginative and I was immersed in it, absolutely fascinated and always looking forward to the next time I'd get a chance to listen to the next part!

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1 person found this helpful

disappointing

It's unusual for a high fantasy author to be so devoid of original thought that he has to borrow heavily from reality. This could easily be an Alternative History book instead of fantasy. Would it be so difficult to create a unique world with its own cultures, instead of mingling Turkish with Italian? The only reason to draw so heavily on reality is that the reader (or listener) can draw from their own knowledge when the author misses out details.
Parts of the story are entertaining enough, but I never went out of my way to listen to more of the story than I usually do (my commute to work). I often read or listen to the first book of a series to see how it grips me. This was promised as some sort of Game of Thrones meets Lord of the Rings, but it's simply mundane.

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Not engaging

Would you try another book written by David Hair or narrated by Nick Podehl?

The Narration was not bad but the story was lacking even though I wanted to like it as the premise sounded so interesting.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Bordom

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1 person found this helpful

Terrible

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

I saw a few people compare this to George RR martins Game of Thrones series. This simply isnt true. It's not remotely on the same level. From the start i didnt feel any empathy with any of the characters. Again like in so many novels we have the young boy whose is downtrodden and treaten badly by his equals, his peers etc But wait, hes going to overcome his adversity! It felt like it was being written by a child. The story never got going for me and to be honest i think it was compounded by the awful reading. A different reader and maybe i would have finished the book and as it was i managed 6 hours and was thankful when my new credits arrived.

What didn’t you like about Nick Podehl’s performance?

His poor accents

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3 people found this helpful

racist and transphobic (at the very end)

it's hard to move past the dirty-eastern-savages-your-colonist-knows-best overtones and the visceral transphobia at the end. The names of the countries are changed but it's obvious where the writer was referring to.

Also, just because it's set in the alternative past doesn't mean it's ok to use an antiquated view of the world that was never true.

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2 people found this helpful