Synopsis:
‘We Men of Ash and Shadow’ is the first book in the Vanguard Series and follows the journey of protagonist, John Vanguard, through the dark and corrupt city of D’Orsee. A Grimdark gas lamp novel, ‘We Men of Ash and Shadow’ explores themes of redemption, loyalty, and betrayal against the backdrop of a world where survival often means compromising your values. Amidst the gas lamp shadows former soldier-turned-mercenary John Vanguard hunts criminals at the behest of his corrupt employer, Captain Felix Sanquain. Shamed by his deserter past and seeking to make amends for his many misdeeds, a chance encounter with Tarryn Leersac – a skilled young would-be-assassin fallen from the graces of high society – leads Vanguard to become an unlikely mentor. Charged with hunting down the killer of two guards left washed up on the banks of the canal, the further Vanguard delves into the underbelly of the city the more he finds himself entangled in a web of secrets and lies. A prominent aristocrat is missing. Crime lords, con men and harlots run amok and the city teeters on the brink of another revolution. With his already precarious reputation hanging by a thread, Vanguard must piece together how and why the last war came to pass, find a way to earn redemption for his mistakes and come to terms with the past in a city where few survive, and even fewer can be trusted.
Review:
Okay, to break with tradition, I’m going to review two books at once because I read them one after the other (there’s a big hint as to whether I liked them). The Vanguard Chronicles are grimdark gaslamp low fantasy. Grime-laden, blood-soaked storytelling that had me hooked from the first page of We Men of Ash and Shadow to the last smooth tones of RJ Bayley’s narration of The Hand That Cats The Bones. Wow.
I could leave the review there.
What we have is the story of John Vanguard, but in reality is a wade through the pain and filth of D’Orsee. A city mired in crime for those without money, who lead a back-breaking life in the hovels and warrens of a walled city kept separate from the monied by the Red Badges and their commander Captain Sanquain whom ‒ as it turns out ‒ has transferred his strategic skills in battle to a game of politics and manipulation of the masses. Amidst this Vanguard stalks the streets, dispatching those Sanquain demands dead until he refuses and turns vigilante. Vanguard’s tale is interwoven with the machinations of Sanquain and the rise of another killer, while drawing in the lowlife of the street ‒ both the scum and those with heart ‒ into the mix. Another layer of intrigue lies with talk of revolution. So many strings, all woven into a story that had me hooked from beginning to end.
Be warned, Tinsley does not shy away from the grimmest of deaths, the most bitter of characters, and when glimmers of light lure you, she delights in slamming the shutters closed at the last moment. There is one death scene towards the end of The Hand That Casts the Bones that I knew was coming, but so wanted the author just to say ‘not that one’. It hurt. But then, therein lies the author’s skill, as I still hanker for more. I wholeheartedly recommend these books and await the next with bated breath.
A final word for the narrator RJ Bayley. Take a bow, sir. Superb.
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