Series ✦ Penny’s Take
Scarlet Tides
David Hair · 2013
78/100
👍 Worth It
David Hair delivers a dense, politically complex epic fantasy that earns the Game of Thrones comparisons — the historically grounded world-building is genuine, the multiple POV structure is handled with real skill, and Fantasy Book Critic's assessment that it improves on the first book is a meaningful signal. The dark, graphic content is the honest tradeoff for that ambition, and the large cast demands patience. For adult epic fantasy readers who can invest in a sprawling series, this is a rewarding second installment.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: Significant war violence, torture, captivity, and sexual politics consistent with grimdark epic fantasy — adults only, not appropriate for children or younger teens. We still scored it 78; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
📚 Buy the book ↗📱 Read on Kindle ↗🎧 Listen on Audible ↗ affiliate links · support the site, never the verdict
As an Amazon Associate and Audible affiliate, Penny earns from qualifying purchases. This never affects the verdict — see our affiliate disclosure.
Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety62
substance82
craft80
originality76
accuracy82
hype75
age-fit70
human-eye80
Penny’s verdict78
Cross-pollinate