Synopsis:
Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law betrays you?
It all started with the girl from the river: mutilated, tattooed, murdered. Tashué couldn’t help but look for answers and in the process, he uncovered the ugly truths being hidden by the very law he used to believe in—the law of the Authority.
Now he’s fighting for his life. Mere survival isn’t enough; he desperately wants to save his son from the Authority, and he wants revolution. At any cost.
Davik Kaine has been gathering power under everyone’s noses. Ruthless, ambitious, with a rebel army backing him, he wants revolution, too. He’s probably the only person powerful enough to protect Tashué from the looming implosion of the political field. And he’s the only person with the connections to save Jason.
He may also be responsible for the death of the girl from the river.
Is making peace with Davik worth it, if it saves Tashué’s son from the Authority?
If Tashué plays along with what Davik wants, can Tashué get retribution for the girl from the river?
Review:
So we have part two in the grimdark gaslamp romantasy of the Tainted Dominion. Emotionally damaged by the first? Nerves rubbed raw by a world that regards tainted children as if they were just another resource to use and discard?
I hope you’ve healed, because Matar takes you on another ragged journey of heartbreak and pain as Tashué, Stella, and those close to them are put through the emotional sawmill Mara calls ‘storytelling’.
And breathe.
Legacy of Brick and Bone moves into the realms of political thriller and rebellion as Tashué transcends from enforcer to revolutionary, with Stella and Ceridwen the catalysts for change. The beginning of the book is slower, measured, and mired in politics but escalates alongside Tashué’s transformation to build towards the rebellion. He is now on the run from the authority and their brutal control of the tainted. His prime aims remain to rescue Jason, reunite with Stella and stop the authority and its creation of ‘power units’. This leads him into an uneasy alliance with Davik Kaine, whose revolutionary network, Red Dawn, as hinted at in Book 1, is the only one that seems capable of freeing Jason.
While Stella struggles to keep Ceridwen safe, Lorne takes on a more prominent role, deeper than in Legacy of the Brightwash, and epitomises the depth and character complexity within the book. Lorne comes across as a much simpler character arc than others, yet the richness there never lets go. Remember, this is a dark and weighty story, which highlights difficult themes like addiction, trauma and mental scarring, amid all the corruption, grief, and loss. Yet Matar balances the bleakness with honest love and courage, emphasising hope through loyalty and dare I say it, desire, amid the dark.
The overarching arc remains full of moral dilemmas, and despite the increase in scale, the reader maintains a bond ‒ an emotional connection ‒ with the main characters even when their story is in the background. And all those we meet are far from black and white – those we root for have flaws, while others, like Davik, who may exhibit darker intent, retain redeeming qualities.
The Tainted Dominion rolls on, book two exhibiting a story that dangles a thread of hope while beset by fraught, beautifully written allegories. Matar is an exceptional talent. She has a gift of immersing you in each moment, to make you believe…
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