Scarlet Tides

The second volume in Hair’s Moontide Quartet (after Mage’s Blood) is mostly dizzying movement, plunging headfirst into a convoluted series of plots, unraveling alliances, and tightening nooses. The great Leviathan Bridge, which was built by mage Antonin Meiros and connects the continents of Yuros and Antiopia, only rises from the roiling tides every dozen years. Now that it has appeared again, Yuros launches a savage crusade against Antiopia, using evil Inquisitors as the vanguard of its attack. Young mage Ramon Sensini is thrown into the middle of the war while executing a dangerous plan to save his family. Meiros’s widow, Ramita, pregnant with twins, is rescued by his daughter, Justina, who trains her in magic that develops in sync with her pregnancy. Ramita’s former flame Kazim is thrust into a plot to destroy Meiros’s mage order, forced to use the soul-drinking magic that he despises. Some parts of the plot that feel slower or less tense are only the eye of the storm, and will keep Hair’s fans satisfied while the storm builds. Agent: HMA Literary. (Oct.)