Synopsis:
For generations the Inquisition has stood between humanity and the forces of darkness. It has failed.
Thanquil Darkheart is a witch hunter for the Inquisition, on a holy crusade to rid the world of heresy. He’s also something else… expendable. When the God Emperor gives Thanquil an impossible task, he knows he has no choice but to venture deep into the Wilds to hunt down a fallen Inquisitor.
Even the best swordswoman is one bad day away from a corpse. It’s a lesson Blademaster Jezzet Vel’urn isn’t keen to learn. Chased into the Wilds by a vengeful warlord, Jezzet makes it to the free city of Chade. But instead of sanctuary all she finds are more enemies from her past.
The Black Thorn is a cheat, a thief, a murderer and worse. He’s best known for the killing of several Inquisitors and every town in the Wilds has a WANTED poster with his name on it. Thorn knows it’s often best to lie low and let the dust settle, but some jobs pay too well to pass up.
As their fates converge, Jezzet, Thanquil, and the Black Thorn will need to forge an uneasy alliance in order to face the truth the Inquisition has been hiding from them all.
Review:
Compelling, grim, and real characters that turn the page for you, sniffing out the world with natural ease. This book is enjoyable, right from the start, but at 30% many introductory threads converge wonderfully. Genuine delight bursts from the clouds as characters are locked together and the story’s footings begin to fall away as plot is hammered into the world with a satisfactory swing of the grimdark hammer.
At 50% even more threads coalesce and the reader notices the deadly, high stakes and god damn enjoyable dance that Hayes has been leading us through. This book is a genuine blast, full of character, intrigue, plot threads that both do as they’re told but also give their teacher a violent wedgy and flee to the school bleachers to smoke at the same time.
There’s a hint of horror mixed into this hearty dark fantasy buffet, in fact there’s a plethora of both exotic and familiar things sitting in rune-carved bowls and each one gives a satisfactory kick when it finds its way from your plate to your taste buds. This is grimdark finger food at its finest.
One of the many enjoyable elements of this fantastic and quickly digestible book is its excellently crafted magic system. By excellently crafted I don’t mean it will take you three months in a library to fully grasp its concepts. It’s remarkably fathomable and by the time the story begins to unveil more of its structure you will be familiar enough to allow its dark corners to slide easily into your mind… as I said, this buffet is grand indeed but in no way pompous or esoteric.
This grim tale would suit those that enjoy Cameron Johnstone’s Age of Tyranny series as well as those that like their characters dark, mismatched and unhinged. Abercrombie, Lawrence, Fletcher, you get the filthy picture, now please fold it away and put it back in your sporran before the final assault.
This book, it might be obvious from the above analysis, is not wall to wall action. There are, however beautifully wrought set pieces that violently paint the world red and somehow continue to flesh out characters with artisan skill. Just enough to raise and maintain the reader’s blood pressure before becoming a genuine health risk. There is a (spoiler free) section during around the three-quarter mark where I felt like Alex Delarge hooked up to the iconic machine in A Clockwork Orange, entirely unable to slide my eyes away from Hayes’ text.
If you want a dark fantasy, twisted adventure with grimdark sensibilities, perfectly balanced action and evolving characters that won’t change their ways for the likes of a mere reader, this book is for you and I guarantee you will be left hungry for more! The Colour of Vengeance: The Ties that Bind, book 2. You’re welcome!
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