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The Sunsurge Quartet #4
Mother of Daemons
'A remarkable series' SFFANZ
She's the Empress of the Fall . . . and her empire is falling apart.
Lyra, Queen of Rondelmar, has fought enemies without and within, dealt with grief and loss, embraced forbidden magic, found her father and borne a child - and still it isn't enough. Her enemies are on the march and the Rondian Empire is collapsing.
But a more dangerous adversary is out there . . . and he is winning.
Ervyn Naxius, amoral genius, has unleashed war on two continents and is now laughing as the world of Urte tears itself apart. Kings and priests dance to his tune and his daemonic followers are spreading through the lands, but still he isn't satisfied. His ultimate goal - absolute control of all life - is finally within his reach . . .
Are these the Last Days, when the daemons rise up to claim the world?
From snowbound Mollachia to the beleaguered walls of Norostein, from the poisonous court of the new sultan to the deadly intrigues of Pallas, the omens are clear. Only Lyra and a handful of other heretical dwymancers have grasped the true danger - and they won't give up until every last hope is buried . . .
- GenresFantasyEpic Fantasy
688 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 5, 2020
About the author
David Hair
47 books536 followersDavid Hair is the author of The Bone Tiki, winner of Best First Novel (Young Adult Fiction section) at the 2010 NZ Post Children's Book Awards. The Bone Tiki and its sequel The Taniwha's Tear are fantasy novels set in New Zealand. David is a New Zealander, who has worked primarily in financial services. He has a degree in History and Classical Studies. He has lived from 2007 to 2010 in New Delhi, India, but usually resides in Wellington, New Zealand. Apart from writing, he is interested in folklore, history, and has a passion for football.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 24, 2020
Three stars as a final rating, but this was almost 2 as for most of the book I wasn't that interested. I think the final 20% brought it up again for me, bit it was a bit of a slog to get to that point.
Won't say too much except I'm happy some of the characters get their happy ending. It's definitely a book which felt a little too misogynistic on the majority of male characters for my liking, but I did like the female ones mostly. It suffers a bit from too many dislikeable people I think and although Ogre and Lyra are the two I found most interesting, I think their sections were a little far between....
3*, (just). Definitely the first quartet is stronger than this one...
Won't say too much except I'm happy some of the characters get their happy ending. It's definitely a book which felt a little too misogynistic on the majority of male characters for my liking, but I did like the female ones mostly. It suffers a bit from too many dislikeable people I think and although Ogre and Lyra are the two I found most interesting, I think their sections were a little far between....
3*, (just). Definitely the first quartet is stronger than this one...
March 7, 2020
So, now that the Sunsurge Quartet is complete, I've thought about the books a bit, and I have to say, I really wasn't impressed with this second Quartet, particularly compared to the first.
It's not really any one thing that bothers me, but lot's of little things, which add up to just a disappointing series.
1) 'The bridge is attacked, so we don't get to see the results of the last book.' This was a pretty major cop-out by Mr. Hair I believe. The fact that the Leviathan Bridge is damaged, meaning that Ramita and Aleron and most of the Merozains are busy (along with the Order Costruo) for this entire series, is deeply problematic from a plot perspective. It honestly seems like Mr. Hair developed the Merozain ending of the Moontide Quartet, and then realized he'd made the characters so powerful/competent that he couldn't write this series with them in it. It just seems soooooo contrived that our main heroes are 'busy.'
2) Dwymancy. This power is problematic in two main ways. First, it's apparently a known 'heretical' magic that was used in the past, but it was NEVER mentioned in the Moontide Quartet. Instead, we get a RetCon that the Sandstorm used to destroy the Vassal legions was an example of this, and this was totally a power that has always existed but that no one ever mentioned. This is just lazy writing.
Second, a much bigger problem is that Dwymancy is incredibly ill-defined, in terms of its abilities and limits, as compared to the Gnosis. We got ALOT of world-building in the Moontide Quartest on the rules of the Gnosis, utility Gnosis, and Gnostic combat, how there are counters for each ability and limits. This was great, because it allowed for their to be stakes and a consistent world. Dwymancy on the other hand is very ill-defined, which has none of these advantages.
3) Likeable characters (or lack thereof). One of the biggest problems I had with this second series is that there was a true dearth of really likeable or identifiable characters, for the most part, as compared to the first. The first series CERTAINLY had 'villains' that we got the PoV from, but the 'good guys' were also likeable. I found Lyra annoying, at best, as a character, and Waqar as incredibly flat/lacking in personality. I just didn't identify or empathize with these people. Why should I care if Lyra's reign ends in failure? What has she done to deserve success? She's done a lot to deserve failure, after all.
4) The Villain's motivation. The motivations of the villains in the Moontide Quartet made sense. They were after secular power, and were engaging in political manuerving, and horrifying experiments, to achieve said power. While their methods were evil, they had understandable goals. Comparatively, Naxus in this series is basically bent in the head, particularly towards the end of this last book. He's basically a deranged fanatic by the end, for all that his view of reality is relatable, and that just makes for a poor 'mastermind' villain. It honestly made more sense in the early books, when Abraxas was a tool to provide more power to generate more gnostic and therefore direct power, but then it went off the rails.
Honestly, I could keep going on, but listing these out just makes me sad. I gave this book 3 stars, and I'll likely give whatever series Mr. Hair comes up with next a try, just because the Moontide Quartet was good. But this is pretty inarguably a decline from that first series.
It's not really any one thing that bothers me, but lot's of little things, which add up to just a disappointing series.
1) 'The bridge is attacked, so we don't get to see the results of the last book.' This was a pretty major cop-out by Mr. Hair I believe. The fact that the Leviathan Bridge is damaged, meaning that Ramita and Aleron and most of the Merozains are busy (along with the Order Costruo) for this entire series, is deeply problematic from a plot perspective. It honestly seems like Mr. Hair developed the Merozain ending of the Moontide Quartet, and then realized he'd made the characters so powerful/competent that he couldn't write this series with them in it. It just seems soooooo contrived that our main heroes are 'busy.'
2) Dwymancy. This power is problematic in two main ways. First, it's apparently a known 'heretical' magic that was used in the past, but it was NEVER mentioned in the Moontide Quartet. Instead, we get a RetCon that the Sandstorm used to destroy the Vassal legions was an example of this, and this was totally a power that has always existed but that no one ever mentioned. This is just lazy writing.
Second, a much bigger problem is that Dwymancy is incredibly ill-defined, in terms of its abilities and limits, as compared to the Gnosis. We got ALOT of world-building in the Moontide Quartest on the rules of the Gnosis, utility Gnosis, and Gnostic combat, how there are counters for each ability and limits. This was great, because it allowed for their to be stakes and a consistent world. Dwymancy on the other hand is very ill-defined, which has none of these advantages.
3) Likeable characters (or lack thereof). One of the biggest problems I had with this second series is that there was a true dearth of really likeable or identifiable characters, for the most part, as compared to the first. The first series CERTAINLY had 'villains' that we got the PoV from, but the 'good guys' were also likeable. I found Lyra annoying, at best, as a character, and Waqar as incredibly flat/lacking in personality. I just didn't identify or empathize with these people. Why should I care if Lyra's reign ends in failure? What has she done to deserve success? She's done a lot to deserve failure, after all.
4) The Villain's motivation. The motivations of the villains in the Moontide Quartet made sense. They were after secular power, and were engaging in political manuerving, and horrifying experiments, to achieve said power. While their methods were evil, they had understandable goals. Comparatively, Naxus in this series is basically bent in the head, particularly towards the end of this last book. He's basically a deranged fanatic by the end, for all that his view of reality is relatable, and that just makes for a poor 'mastermind' villain. It honestly made more sense in the early books, when Abraxas was a tool to provide more power to generate more gnostic and therefore direct power, but then it went off the rails.
Honestly, I could keep going on, but listing these out just makes me sad. I gave this book 3 stars, and I'll likely give whatever series Mr. Hair comes up with next a try, just because the Moontide Quartet was good. But this is pretty inarguably a decline from that first series.
May 10, 2020
Best Read During My Coronavirus Home Bound Days
I do not wish to spoil the read or ruin the review of this perfect page turner. Simply, the series is a must read for adult fantasy lovers and Mother of Daemons was the icing on the cake! Bravo David Hair!
I do not wish to spoil the read or ruin the review of this perfect page turner. Simply, the series is a must read for adult fantasy lovers and Mother of Daemons was the icing on the cake! Bravo David Hair!
March 24, 2020
Absolutely loved it. David Hair has gripped me massively from the minute I started reading Mages Blood. I’ve been absolutely gripped and the wait for about 8 months for MoD was horrendous!!! But so worth it. A very satisfying end for me personally. I just hope the author decides to revisit Urte for the foreseeable future.
May 20, 2020
A great finish to the Sunsurge Quartet series. The story was addressed well for all the separate characters we were following and the separate plot lines did finally merge together. Some suspension of disbelief was required to accept some of the resolutions the author was offering. It seemed there was a sudden change halfway through the Mother of Daemons, almost as if the author had written the ending first and suddenly switched into his prepared denouement without adequately preparing the reader. This was especially true for Lyra, the Queen, who changed in character from cautious politician to action adventure hero very suddenly and with no significant forewarning.
The book sped up noticeably at that point, with a slowly grinding plot switching into thriller mode. Romances hinted at previously also all sprang to sudden fulfillment in the second half of the book. If at least one had been resolved earlier it might not have been such a déluge d'amour.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and the series and I recommend it to readers looking for an epic fantasy.
The book sped up noticeably at that point, with a slowly grinding plot switching into thriller mode. Romances hinted at previously also all sprang to sudden fulfillment in the second half of the book. If at least one had been resolved earlier it might not have been such a déluge d'amour.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and the series and I recommend it to readers looking for an epic fantasy.
April 6, 2026
Bit bummed to be finishing this series which I definitely binged and I will miss the world. I REALLY enjoyed it, the things missing for me were numerous though- the writing was meh, it was very predictable and too happy end. Don't get me wrong I don't like when characters die left and right for no reason but the number of near deaths with next to impossible survival in this book is high. Is the world a lot like ours yes, but it also felt unique. Alaron and Ramita being missing throughout is annoying though and it's pretty obvious the author didn't know how to fit them cohesively into the story. Needless to say I have mixed feelings about the books but overall rate them highly as enjoyable easy reading.
December 18, 2022
Brilliant Quartet
I thoroughly enjoyed this quartet. I didn't want it to end. Just as I will re-read The Moontide Quartet and the Tethered Citadel Trilogy, I will definitely do the same with this one.
The only reason I gave all four books only 4 stars is that these seriously need a professional proofreader or two to go back through them. The missing words and misspelled names served to slightly tarnish this jewel of a series.
David Hair writes compelling characters, beautiful and mysterious worlds, and fantastic plots. I recommend his novels to as many people as I can. These stories are definitely worth the investment of time.
I thoroughly enjoyed this quartet. I didn't want it to end. Just as I will re-read The Moontide Quartet and the Tethered Citadel Trilogy, I will definitely do the same with this one.
The only reason I gave all four books only 4 stars is that these seriously need a professional proofreader or two to go back through them. The missing words and misspelled names served to slightly tarnish this jewel of a series.
David Hair writes compelling characters, beautiful and mysterious worlds, and fantastic plots. I recommend his novels to as many people as I can. These stories are definitely worth the investment of time.
September 15, 2020
Was a very good ending for the second quartet but overall it lacked the power of earlier books (and of the first quartet); there is a point where characters, magic etc become too powerful, too "out of this world" and events become more like "the author decided that" than anything else and here we kind of got close - I still enjoyed the book a lot both for the sense of completion and for the author's inventiveness and energy that had the book flowing despite having to really increase my suspension of disbelief to high levels to continue
November 6, 2020
One of my favourite fictional world's , a must experience!
The pain and loss i felt when realising i had finished this series is a testament to how wonderful these books are . The wonderful writing brings these characters to life and makes me wish I could be apart of the world they live in.the only reason I didn't give this 5/5 was its preceding series the monoxide quarter set such a high bar. Together the 8 books are a must read and possibly my favourite series ever.
The pain and loss i felt when realising i had finished this series is a testament to how wonderful these books are . The wonderful writing brings these characters to life and makes me wish I could be apart of the world they live in.the only reason I didn't give this 5/5 was its preceding series the monoxide quarter set such a high bar. Together the 8 books are a must read and possibly my favourite series ever.
July 22, 2022
The first book in the series I had to wait for, but the long wait was so worth it! Excellent, explosive end to the series, and the world. Ties up most ends, and only has you wondering about some. But that only leaves space for future stories!
March 16, 2023
This quartet started out strong, the first book showed potential for this quartet to be good. However, as the books went on, the quartet got less interesting and I thought it ended up dragging on a bit, could have done with being a trilogy really. Not as good as moontide but still not bad either.
June 24, 2023
I have absolutely loved this series - I've been hooked! Such a wonderful combination of fantasy and history in one series. It was riveting to follow and see how all the characters developed. Highly recommended!
August 21, 2020
The Moontide and Sunsurge (8 books) comprise a truly EPIC fantasy series.
A long-term reading commitment - but, worth it.
A long-term reading commitment - but, worth it.
April 28, 2024
A good finish to the series. I think it's the strongest book in this latter quartet.
It was the first time in the series where I enjoyed reading every single character.
Wish we could've seen Alaron and Ramita though. I'm still wondering if they ever found their other child.
It was the first time in the series where I enjoyed reading every single character.
Wish we could've seen Alaron and Ramita though. I'm still wondering if they ever found their other child.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews