Tainted is the first book in Adam Christopher’s trilogy, which takes place between the first and second parts of Dishonored . The writer himself is a comics writer and award-winning editor. His comics include: Seven Wonders, The Age Atomic and Hang Wire. His novel Empire State was SciFiNow and Financial Times Book of the Year 2012.
I thought for a long time about how best to write this material and came to the conclusion that I would highlight the points that interested me and try to interest you 🙂 I can’t call this a full review, I just want to share my thoughts after reading. WITHspoilers will be minor, because most of the information is found in the first 3-4 chapters and a little from the middle of the book, the information in which practically does not reveal the plot. This is my first material, so don’t swear too much)
What is the book about??
The Whalers were a gang that was the terror of the Dunwall underworld, assassins with Daoud power of the Abyss, disappeared after the first part of Dishonored for obvious reasons, and its members, deprived of their leader, were forced to look for work to match their past.
One of these unfortunate people was Galia Fleet, which a series of failures chained to a bottle of whiskey and the Golden Cat brothel. She worked there with her partner – Rinaldo, also served under Daoud. Their task was to throw out the raging brothel visitors. But one fine day a tall man in a dark overcoat crossed the threshold, his name was Zhukov, antagonist of the novel.
The visitors were unhappy with the presence of this strange man in the brothel, so Galia and her friend had to get to work. But Zhukov was not so simple. During the scuffle, Galia realized that this stranger was using transference, but not the same as Daud used, but through reflections. After the skirmish, our antagonist explained to Galia that he wants to save her. Zhukov wanted to revive the Whalers, and put her in charge. It was vital for Galia to regain the strength that Daud had given her, since she understood that her life was heading into the abyss.
At this time Emily Kaldwin, empress of the islands, ran away from the tower at night, because she found state affairs unusually boring. Her ardent disposition did not allow her to simply sit on the throne and give orders, she wanted to get to know the city, its inhabitants and their problems.
One night, during another foray, she https://hellofortunecasino.co.uk/bonus/ noticed that marauders were operating in the cemetery, among whom she noticed one whaler who was in charge of everything – Galia Fleet. Even though Emily was well trained Corvo for more than 10 years of training, she understood that she could not cope with this gang. Corvo, who secretly followed her during every foray, admired his daughter’s abilities.
After Emily left the area, Corvo decided to observe what was happening. Imagine his surprise when the whaler disappeared from the cemetery and suddenly appeared behind him. Galia and Corvo came face to face, but did not inflict a single successful blow on each other, yet they were professional killers and it was not difficult for them to dodge the enemy’s blow.
Galia and her subordinates were engaged in extracting bones for Zhukov, who used them to create something that helps him have an advantage in battle, as well as for the main reflections in his plans.
At this point you can stop your story about the plot. Galia Fleet meets a new leader, with whom they revive the Whalers. Emily and Corvo now know about this, but cannot tell each other because they both go out secretly. Zhukov makes grandiose plans, which the reader and the characters of the novel learn about only at the end of the book.
A few words about Zhukov
He was imprisoned in one of the cold Tivian prisons, where he gained his powers. What’s most interesting is that he was not marked by the Alien, like Corvo and Daud, but understood how to use the force thanks to what he found in the Alien sanctuary while working in the Tyvian prison.
Why is it damaged??
This is all the ice of the Tivian glaciers. They are famous throughout the empire and are considered a real wonder of the world. But their depths are anything but ideal. And the reflections in them are crushed. The further I walked, the more I fragmented myself. The more corrupt I became.
That’s why he always wears his overcoat and scarf.
He was sent to Tivia, granted freedom, since it is impossible to escape from the prisons of Tivia.
I was given the main benefit of the people of Tivia – freedom! Freedom from responsibility. Freedom from service. Freedom from rights. Freedom from freedom! I was sent to Yutaka to the salt mines.
Is it worth it?
Costs. The book is quite interesting, throughout the novel you will meet old acquaintances and new ones, you will walk with the characters through locations, both new and familiar to us from the game. For me, the downside was the lack of development of some characters. For example, Rinaldo was not fully developed, it seems to me. But perhaps I am exaggerating, since interesting moments in the evolution of his views are found in the work.
Overall, the novel is definitely worth your time. An interesting story, a non-trivial antagonist and the atmosphere of the Dishonored world make this work an excellent option for a deeper immersion into the world of the Island Empire. I don’t like to give ratings and I don’t know how, but this is not a review, as I said earlier.
I want to say that I have already ordered the second part of the trilogy and will read “The Return of Daoud” with pleasure. And when I have time, I’ll write material on it, taking into account your feedback 🙂