Summery
Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law is wrong? Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack. Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three years of watching your son wither away can break down even the strongest convictions. Then a dead girl washed up on the bank of the Brightwash, tattooed and mutilated. Where had she come from? Who would tattoo a child? Was it the same person who killed her? Why was he the only one who cared? Will Tashué be able to stand against everything he thought he believed in to get the answers he’s looking for?
Review
Krystle Matar’s Legacy of the Brightwash is a fantasy noir detective tale full of complex political intrigue, emotional character development, well-written romantic elements, and much more.
Lofty expectations and whispers of a dark and emotional tale were not enough to help me understand how polished and intricate The Legacy of the Brightwash was to read. The book was a slow burn through a unique semi-modern fantasy world unfolding as a noir detective tale. The story is poignant and spins through all facets of the city of Yaelsmuir, where it takes place. Many of my friends and peers recommended this book when I asked about their favorite indie fantasy book, so I went in with ideas, and when I finished, it left me with a massive book hang-over.
The setting is a place called the Dominion, which feels like the late 19th century. Most of the book’s events occur in Yaelsmuir, which feels on the verge of an industrial revolution. Men wear bowler hats, and women in high society dress in early twentieth-century fashion. Those in charge have guns but are not entirely accurate and prone to not working based on their make and model. Lamps are lit by people with talent (internal power often from people called tainted), and the economy is fueled by those with talents. The plot’s mysteries are slowly rolled out throughout the six-hundred-plus page book, and every page garners additional details into how the Dominion runs.
“It didn’t matter how much I promised or demanded or begged, he refused. Wouldn’t register as ‘bad meat.’ That’s what the word ‘tainted’ reminds him of. Bad Meat.”
The tainted are part of the lower caste of a society blessed (cursed) with powers like healing, stealing pain away, lighting lamps, and providing extra energy to industrial tools, like the steam or gas for an engine. Those born with talent have it developed around adolescence, but it can remain hidden until later in life. Those whose talents blossom must register with a group called the Authority, which monitors those people and, when necessary, is given or forced into jobs using that talent. Those who are tainted, caught, and refused to be registered are thrown into a jail called The Rift. Mrs. Matar plays with different historical points and pulls them into her noir detective story. The Authority definitely has an early KGB/Stasi/Gestapo feeling. The government shows signs of a failed puppet democracy.
“Better to be lonely and feel the sharp edges of it, she thought, than to be empty and filled with nothing.”
The story starts as Tashué Blackwood, an ex-soldier now working as a member of the Authority, starts an investigation into a dead child washed up on the shores of a river, the Brightwash. Nobody seems to care about the death except for him and a local reporter. As he starts his investigation, friends pull him into local politics, where he may become the leader of his local bureau and potentially run for Mayor. Fun point about Tashué, he’s a grizzled war veteran, and for me, I thought he looked like Joh Hamm with a beard, and both the ladies and the gentleman love this man. I could be wrong about the Jon Hamm look, but at least that is what I got out of him; maybe it was a mix between Jon Hamm and Hugh Jackman.
The majority of the story follows Tashué as he learns more about the extent of a dead child and the key players in the city, whether it’s the underground criminal society, a revolutionary anti-government group, or the government themselves and all of the malevolence they perform to each other and those below them. At the same time, the tainted suffer at the hands of the very people they work for.
“I keep coming back here, drawn here by the history of my family, hoping one day to feel as if I belong. But every time I come, I am reminded that I’m not wanted.”
Mrs. Matar’s writing is emotional and textured, setting a tone that feels present and personal on every page. Each character has their own life, passions, and secrets, and Mrs. Martar takes the time to explore them. The conversations between each character have weight and history, whether it’s daily affairs or deep discussions about sex, death, and the governing laws of the Authority.
The cover and illustration by Brad Bergman show the back of a head with a tattoo on the neck, which is an essential piece of the novel’s plot. It’s set as if it’s a wanted poster or one of Tashué’s sketches he made while investigating a case or in the form of a tattoo styling. The book cover isn’t my style, and I may have passed it over if I had been walking around a bookstore. After finishing the novel, I realized that it fits perfectly into the plot, so I understand its importance and usage. I was sold on this book by recommendations from friends and the generous reviews it received.
Legacy of The Brightwash has been called steampunk, urban fantasy, grimdark, mystery, romance, science fiction, and dark fantasy, and I would call it, noir fantasy as it sits by itself in its scope, structure, and writing. Legacy of the Brightwash was a finalist in Mark Lawerance’s SPFBO contest and Mrs. Matar participates on the Swords and Corsets podcast. As of this review, she has written over five books, several based on lands of the Dominion. Mrs. Matar wrote an extraordinary book; the praise it receives is just, and its shadow continues to linger after finishing reading it. Don’t add it to your TBR; make it your next read.
Legacy of the Brightwash Tainted Dominion #1
646 Pages
Genres: Fantasy, Grimdark, Romance, Noir Fantasy, Dark Fantasy