Synopsis
Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law is wrong?
SPFBO Finalist
Indie Ink Award Finalist
BBNYA Finalist
Stabby Nominee—Best Debut 2021
Stabby Nominee—Best Indie Book 2021
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?
“Legacy of the Brightwash is a grounded, realistic, and surprisingly dark book, but it’s a book with a fundamentally moral lead that keeps the darkness from feeling gratuitous.”
–Grimdark Magazine
Legacy of the Brightwash is many things. It is a murder mystery. It is a political fantasy. It is also sprinkled with magic. And romance covers many pages of the book. But more importantly, whether you consider this a grimdark novel or not, Legacy of the Brightwash is a heavily character-driven novel that depicts love, found family, passion, justice, and hope in an unforgiving world and system that is terrible and bleak.
-Petrik Leo
“Everything about Legacy of the Brightwash is perfect. Tashue is one of the most complicated, compelling main characters of any book, fantasy or otherwise.”
-Before We Go Blog
“…this book destroyed me in all of the best ways. It broke my heart, moved me to moments of intense anger but also hopefulness, and ultimately delivered one of the best stories I’ve ever read. If you skip this book you are really doing yourself a considerable disservice. Remarkable doesn’t even begin to describe the depth and quality of Krystle Matar’s Legacy of the Brightwash.”
-Nick Borrelli, Out Of This World SFF Reviews
“Is the Brightwash a good book? It is an absolute yes from me. I liked the writing, the characters and the plot lines and even that damned cliffhanger.”
–FanFiAddict
Review
Grabbed this one on Audible in my continued quest to read something by all my fellow authors in The Book of Spores anthology. This one was on my radar for a while, but I won’t lie, its length made it a tad daunting! Thanks to the audio, with great narration by Felicity Munroe and Paul Woodson, I was finally able to tackle it.
Tashué has always been a man of the law, even when those very same laws cost him family. Tainted members of society must register or face imprisonment in the Rift. Even Tashué’s son, Jason, is not immune to the sting of resisting. His father visits him, sneaking in food and sweets, the fresh figs a desperate extension of love, grief, and guilt. But as he watches his son deteriorate, Tashué has to come to the dark realization that not all things are just, not all laws can be abided. As a caseworker, he was never meant to investigate the death of a child, a mutilated one at that. But he’s haunted by the death and what it could mean for his world. Will a new case, a costly mistake, and stumbling into love finally break down the cone of ignorance he’s built around himself for so long?
This author is one hell of a tale weaver. For a novel whose blurb starts with “follow the law, and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law is wrong?” I felt that the author really engaged readers in a deft manor. Readers, through Tashué, are not beaten over the head with this. Rather, they watch this seed of doubt grow into realization as he continues to lose and suffer at the hands of those who created his “just” laws. The plot isn’t forced, often even leading readers away from the point as he lives his life and experiences each new hurdle. The layering of him getting to experience rich people doing whatever the hell they want, the way his son is beaten and starved, how his new lover is in constant danger, and how horrifically the death of his son’s mother is handled are just a few examples of how the author melds this change in him into his psyche. Tashué is complex and engaging, with all the natural drivers of a man and character, but he’s also allowed to come into this heroic, take-no-shit role by the end.
The world of the Dominion is really intriguing, giving readers this sort of gaslamp-grimdark feeling. It reminded me in a way of Sarah Chorn’s world in Of Honey and Wildfires, and the unidentified tattooed-child opener felt similar to Mushroom Blues’ (which I happened to read first). Tashué is a war veteran, cigarillo smoker, kind of Victorian-era-dressing lead that also felt reminiscent of a cowboy. Then there’s the tainted, or rather “gifted,” which layer in a subtle magic system. We know that these folks can do different things with this magic, and although it is the reason for many of their imprisonment, the powers themselves are not the forefront of the story. That worked well for me and made it feel equally unique as well.
I will say this does leave you on quite a cliffhanger ending, which I was not expecting…and yet after a 23.5hr audiobook, I really just wanted to start right up into the second one! Beautiful prose, incredible storytelling, and a uniquely crafted world make this a must-read for all fans of fantasy and even mystery!
A book with a character who easily smokes more than Senior Detective Reyes does in mine…
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