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A review by liisp_cvr2cvr
Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar
4.0
And so this story starts – a rather grim scene of a mutilated, dead child washing up on the riverbanks. No time is wasted in getting the mystery going. And I immediately like how it’s done- you get to know the characters through their actions throughout the story as opposed to a paragraph of detailed descriptions to how they are meant to be. You also get an immediate vibe of the world you’re stepping into. So much ominous!!!
So, what does one sign up for? A lot. The 600 something page count is enough to make a busy bookworm want to reconsider… it’s a lot of commitment and time… and time is what we book lovers never have, although, it’s a paradox, we spend the time reading, so technically page count shouldn’t count… aaaanyway! The book! You get everything. There’s political intrigue – a great hefty dose of it and it’s intriguing! There is, of course, the mystery of the dead child and pretty quickly the reader will discover the joys of bureaucracy and even more story to the story! Yes, because a search for a murderer in a country where no crime is ever committed, nuh-uh, is like banging one’s head against the wall. And, this is pretty much what our main character Tashue finds himself doing- in front of politically locked doors.
His son is within the god awful system that he himself works for, the dead child weighs heavy on his mind, and Tashue just wants to do right. By his son, by the dead child, by himself. And this is the key here- he finally stops and starts to see that what and who he has been working for is maybe as rotten as Stockholm herring and perhaps he just needs to start finding a way out of all this shit. But there’s a lot of maneuvers that he has to pull, being a rather popular figure and all… so, yeah, the book is thick with problems to solve and issues to iron out. We have a man who is on a mission – a good character to follow, in that sense.
But… eh-eh-heee… there’s a woman, too! And where there is a woman, there is a bit of love… Look, I’ve just come to thinking that you can’t turn up your nose at a bit of romance in a book. Romance is what makes the world go around. Legacy of the Brightwash has a couple of hot and heavy sex scenes but it’s far, I mean FAR, from the Mills&Boon shelf category.
Love makes the world go around. It makes people want to save other people, it makes people want to help other people. Love starts and ends wars. All those big feelings are Tashue’s drivers. His love for his son, love for his country, for a woman… a woman that he should not want to copulate with. At all. It’s against the rules, isn’t it? Yeah. That’s the world they live in. To love the wrong person is just no.
The wrong person? Oh dear… So. Some call the people Tainted. Others call them Talented. Depends what side you’re on, right? The Talents vary but for example, healing others. For some reason, the Authority, the one Tashue works for, does not give Talented, or Tainted in their language, any rights, or many rights. Apparently, they’re dangerous. I know – *shrugs*. They’re seen as a threat by Authority, they need to be Regulated. And of course, that’s not all, not by a long shot because as you can expect the one that has the power to regulate has the power to do many, many other unspeakable things, too. Ugh.
It’s simply impossible to put everything into this review – Legacy of the Brightwash will give you a complex world to discover, that is for sure. It has its own sooty vibe. There’s tragedy and pain to go around plenty, but there are also the bright, light moments. Yes, the pace was a bit slow for me. There’s some serious pining by way of forbidden love, the few fight scenes were quite detailed and went on for longer than I, personally, would have liked but my criticism aside, Matar knows how to create a moment. She sets the scene and firmly holds you in place to witness. And of course, as far as first books in a series go, this one sets the sequels up pretty nicely! You’ll just want to know what happens next!
As far as fantasy goes, this title is truly quite delicious for a bookworm that loves the plot on the grim side, with a murder mystery, heavy political intrigue and a healthy scoop of love.
So, what does one sign up for? A lot. The 600 something page count is enough to make a busy bookworm want to reconsider… it’s a lot of commitment and time… and time is what we book lovers never have, although, it’s a paradox, we spend the time reading, so technically page count shouldn’t count… aaaanyway! The book! You get everything. There’s political intrigue – a great hefty dose of it and it’s intriguing! There is, of course, the mystery of the dead child and pretty quickly the reader will discover the joys of bureaucracy and even more story to the story! Yes, because a search for a murderer in a country where no crime is ever committed, nuh-uh, is like banging one’s head against the wall. And, this is pretty much what our main character Tashue finds himself doing- in front of politically locked doors.
His son is within the god awful system that he himself works for, the dead child weighs heavy on his mind, and Tashue just wants to do right. By his son, by the dead child, by himself. And this is the key here- he finally stops and starts to see that what and who he has been working for is maybe as rotten as Stockholm herring and perhaps he just needs to start finding a way out of all this shit. But there’s a lot of maneuvers that he has to pull, being a rather popular figure and all… so, yeah, the book is thick with problems to solve and issues to iron out. We have a man who is on a mission – a good character to follow, in that sense.
But… eh-eh-heee… there’s a woman, too! And where there is a woman, there is a bit of love… Look, I’ve just come to thinking that you can’t turn up your nose at a bit of romance in a book. Romance is what makes the world go around. Legacy of the Brightwash has a couple of hot and heavy sex scenes but it’s far, I mean FAR, from the Mills&Boon shelf category.
Love makes the world go around. It makes people want to save other people, it makes people want to help other people. Love starts and ends wars. All those big feelings are Tashue’s drivers. His love for his son, love for his country, for a woman… a woman that he should not want to copulate with. At all. It’s against the rules, isn’t it? Yeah. That’s the world they live in. To love the wrong person is just no.
The wrong person? Oh dear… So. Some call the people Tainted. Others call them Talented. Depends what side you’re on, right? The Talents vary but for example, healing others. For some reason, the Authority, the one Tashue works for, does not give Talented, or Tainted in their language, any rights, or many rights. Apparently, they’re dangerous. I know – *shrugs*. They’re seen as a threat by Authority, they need to be Regulated. And of course, that’s not all, not by a long shot because as you can expect the one that has the power to regulate has the power to do many, many other unspeakable things, too. Ugh.
It’s simply impossible to put everything into this review – Legacy of the Brightwash will give you a complex world to discover, that is for sure. It has its own sooty vibe. There’s tragedy and pain to go around plenty, but there are also the bright, light moments. Yes, the pace was a bit slow for me. There’s some serious pining by way of forbidden love, the few fight scenes were quite detailed and went on for longer than I, personally, would have liked but my criticism aside, Matar knows how to create a moment. She sets the scene and firmly holds you in place to witness. And of course, as far as first books in a series go, this one sets the sequels up pretty nicely! You’ll just want to know what happens next!
As far as fantasy goes, this title is truly quite delicious for a bookworm that loves the plot on the grim side, with a murder mystery, heavy political intrigue and a healthy scoop of love.