Book Review: Blood Over Bright Haven
- Author: M. L. Wang
- Series: Standalone
- Publisher: Del Rey
- First published July 25, 2023
- Number of Pages: 430

“The path to truly valuable things is never short.”
Dark as the endless night, harsh and bitter as winter. A book that will make you shiver as you savor every moment reading it.
Plot of “Blood Over Bright Haven”
In a world where magic is a science and its practitioners create “miracles” with the help of magical wizards, women have little place in academic circles. But once every decade, one is given the chance to take the exam to become a high magician.
Siona is determined to put on her pants and prove to the magical upper class that she is capable of making a contribution to her city and leaving her mark in the textbooks. What’s more, she’s willing to do whatever it takes. Little does she know that the test is just the beginning… and what she will discover behind the mages’ white robes is shocking.
Beliefs, faith, “truth” Everything will be turned upside down. Brutal, merciless and uncompromising.
Technological progress has never been so… bloody.
Do you want to see the truth? Will you turn away? Do you have the courage to make a change?
The events in this story are thought-provoking. There are still places in the world, like Tyran, where power lies in the hands of monstrous rulers clad in white robes, preaching convenient religions and bowing down to made-up gods. Cities that destroy the spirit and life of their people, suffocate women, sisters and daughters, humiliate them and consider themselves all-powerful. And why? “Because Tyran comes first.”
You might think that such places lack faith — after all, what god would allow such a thing? But ironically, faith is all that remains in such places.
“It’s much easier to tell yourself you’re a good person than to actually be one.”
Hidden Depths
Behind the cozy and familiar fantasy genre lies a work that contains much more magical realism than expected. It made me feel everything with heart and soul. By trusting the author, the story not only opened up for me, but also to me. I was not prepared for what I discovered.
“Is it better to be safe but broken than to be dead?”
My thoughts on “Blood Over Bright Haven”
A phenomenal book. A book that sends shivers down your spine, makes you think and makes you rethink.
Without shyness or censorship, M. L. Wang has brought the genre and many household names to their knees. And the silent reader becomes a loyal admirer.
What can I say? That I want more of these exquisite bitter pills? I do, absolutely. I strongly recommend you read them. You can hate me later.
Magic has made the city of Tiran an industrial utopia, but magic has a cost—and the collectors have come calling.
An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant.
What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power.
Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance?
A standalone dark academia brimming with mystery, tragedy, and the damning echoes of the past. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Fullmetal Alchemist.
(Content warnings for gore, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation)