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A review by briggamooz
Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar
4.0
Actual: 4.5/5
I read this in 2021 and neglected to leave a review. As I've received an ARC of Tainted Dominion #2, I did a re-read to remedy the situation and make amends.
If you are a fan of grimdark, gaslamp, political machinations, governmental conspiracy and upheaval, gritty worlds, and complicated, multi-faceted relationships, I highly recommend this novel. It's a chunk of a book that utterly absorbs the reader in a whirlwind of backroom dealings, murders, spies, and the sort of wealthy-who-run-the-nation leadership that has one waiting when some of these characters are going to start asking who, exactly, is John Galt.
At the center of it all, working through a crisis of self and career, is Tashué; a modern-era take on a Jean Valjean-type who wants earnestly to believe in the law and those who uphold it.
Disillusionment is the theme of the novel, a topical, sometimes painful examination of a society so numb to the status quo and blind to obvious prejudices and atrocities, that it takes the murders of children to push one of the Dominion's own Tainted into action.
Yet, for the darkness and grittiness of the world, it is populated with deeply developed characters, each pursuing their own aims with a sometimes gleeful madness as they dance circles around, and weave themselves tighter, to one another, all while walking along a common thread of hope - that a better politician can clear the air, that the laws can be amended, that the Dominion can evolve.
4.5/5, and I wavered on this one. In the end, Legacy of the Brightwash isn't for everyone (which would be a 5-star), but for those of us down for a chonker of a book that will punch us in the heart and make us want to wave giant flags and build barricades against a corrupt government, then buckle up because this is a hell of a ride.
Legacy of the Brightwash was the 2nd place finisher in the 7th Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, a well earned and deserved placement.
Tainted Dominion #2: Legacy of Brick & Bone releases on APRIL 25
I read this in 2021 and neglected to leave a review. As I've received an ARC of Tainted Dominion #2, I did a re-read to remedy the situation and make amends.
If you are a fan of grimdark, gaslamp, political machinations, governmental conspiracy and upheaval, gritty worlds, and complicated, multi-faceted relationships, I highly recommend this novel. It's a chunk of a book that utterly absorbs the reader in a whirlwind of backroom dealings, murders, spies, and the sort of wealthy-who-run-the-nation leadership that has one waiting when some of these characters are going to start asking who, exactly, is John Galt.
At the center of it all, working through a crisis of self and career, is Tashué; a modern-era take on a Jean Valjean-type who wants earnestly to believe in the law and those who uphold it.
Disillusionment is the theme of the novel, a topical, sometimes painful examination of a society so numb to the status quo and blind to obvious prejudices and atrocities, that it takes the murders of children to push one of the Dominion's own Tainted into action.
Yet, for the darkness and grittiness of the world, it is populated with deeply developed characters, each pursuing their own aims with a sometimes gleeful madness as they dance circles around, and weave themselves tighter, to one another, all while walking along a common thread of hope - that a better politician can clear the air, that the laws can be amended, that the Dominion can evolve.
4.5/5, and I wavered on this one. In the end, Legacy of the Brightwash isn't for everyone (which would be a 5-star), but for those of us down for a chonker of a book that will punch us in the heart and make us want to wave giant flags and build barricades against a corrupt government, then buckle up because this is a hell of a ride.
Legacy of the Brightwash was the 2nd place finisher in the 7th Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, a well earned and deserved placement.
Tainted Dominion #2: Legacy of Brick & Bone releases on APRIL 25