A review by baldwig
We Men of Ash and Shadow by H.L. Tinsley

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Holly Tinsley's excellent We Men of Ash and Shadow. Wow, what a dedication, I've never been so emotional before even starting a book. I, too, was very fortunate to have been born to a loving and supportive father. Mine is sorely missed. The intriguing character names continue to bounce around my skull. Tarryn Leersac is my favorite, very evocative. Phonetically Tearin' (or split). People leer at his prettiness, but sometimes can't see him, like being mistaken for his dead father by his own mother, Lady Leersac, whom will get leered and ridiculed for being now an empty sack of a Lady, while she'll leer longingly for attention after losing her husband, money, friends, priviledge and mind. Henriette envisions a sophisticated parental madam, but the name is just a role she plays. Carmen, a libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, a depiction of proletarian life, immorality, and lawlessness where Carmen is a gypsy who seduces a soldier, interesting. Vanguard, hardly cutting edge, is shamed, stuck and burned by his past, just ash, or is he? The book title is apt, We Men of Ash and Shadow because we are just wee men of ash and shadow. Different pockets of D' Orsee are under the shadow of, occluded by, singular strongmen, a walled city and foundries belching ash. The book's name, as that of the characters, is nuanced, not anvilicious. The reader is not beat over the head, though characters in this grimdark gaslamp world are. Holly Tinsley wrItes effortlessly well, not showing off. The story builds nicely, is not forced with natural shifts. Characters are layered, through accretion, skillfully. Holly is generous, an impressive author. This is but the start, The Hand That Casts The Bone (Vanguard #2) will, I'm confident, be even better than this SPFBO finalist, continuing to flesh out the characters, literally and figuratively. Can't wait.