Synopsis
In Daretana’s greatest mansion, a high imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree erupted from his body. Even here at the Empire’s borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death both terrifying and impossible.
Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home.
At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana’s brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior—but as the case unfolds and he watches Ana’s mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.
As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.
Quick Thoughts
Hybridizing genres is always an interesting experiment. In the modern landscape which is often flooded with an over abundance of options, blending genres can often develop something that feels like a breath of fresh air. But this certainly comes with it’s own set of challenges and risks. Trying to meld tropes and genre conventions is tricky and it can easily result in an unfocused mess that leaves readers feeling unsatisfied and frustrated. Luckily, Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Tainted Cup treads that line with an impressive degree of precision.
In the first installment in his Shadow of the Leviathan series, Bennett blends in just the right mix of familiar mystery and fantasy elements to satisfy readers of both genres while still creating something that feels unique and immersive. The fantasy worldbuilding is intriguing and plays into the plot well, supporting the central story without overshadowing the mystery and the characters are complex and layered. Similarly, the mystery at the plots core feels genuine to the story and leaves plenty of breadcrumbs for avid readers to follow while still avoiding easy answers. Ultimately, all these elements combine to deliver a strong offering which is sure to appeal to readers of both genres and promises great things to come as the series continues.
Full Review
Before reading this novel, I had The Tainted Cup on my TBR for years. I had seen the many glowing reviews and had many people recommend this series, but I wasn’t sure if it would work for me. I am a big worldbuilding fan as well as a huge proponent of character driven stories. So while I liked the idea of a mystery fantasy hybrid, I worried the story would either be a mystery with an underdeveloped fantasy set dressing or use the fantasy elements as an easy out to answer the questions at the heart of its plot. Either would have left me feeling unsatisfied. But I have to give it to Bennett, he truly exceeded my expectations across the board.
The book focuses on assistant investigator Dinios Kol as he begins his career by being paired with a senior investigator who is both eccentric and highly effective, Anagosa Dolabra. When the central murder plot leads into a complex web of corruption, politics, and power, the reader is plunged headfirst into the world Bennett has built. The protagonists follow a logical path of clues to meaningful revelations and drawing them deeper and deeper into the world throughout the story. This gives the reader the sense that they are organically discovering a whole host of interesting concepts and compelling characters through the mystery rather than having it explained to them info-dump style.
While this formula is nothing new to readers of the mystery genre, it works extremely well in this hybrid tale. The worldbuilding here is something that stands out as both thoughtfully intricate while still being streamlined enough not to bog down the story. The fantasy elements of the world are set up as a sort of magically directed biological tampering, with enhanced humans and plant and fungi being common place and central to the story. Bennett allows the details of these elements to remain mysterious and reveals their intricacies only when needed, a decision which keeps the reader invested and rewards them as they make discoveries alongside our investigator duo.
Perhaps the most impressive thing Bennett does aside from worldbuilding is his utilization of tropes to create a shorthand that helps bridge the gap between the fantasy and mystery genres. Mysteries are known for their duos and their eccentric, often unstable, genius detectives. The Tainted Cup plays into this by presenting an odd couple in Din and Anna who play off each other in ways that highlight their strengths and weaknesses. Their well balanced dynamic becomes a highlight of the story and quickly invests the reader in their struggle. Another example of Bennett’s strong grasp of tropes is employed in the Leviathans for which the series gains it’s namesake. The fantasy trope of an inexplicable, terrifying evil looming over the story and gives it an edge that makes the reader curious as to what is playing out at the more grand scale one might expect of an epic fantasy story.
While some readers who want to delve into the complexities of a magic system and an epic world or who crave epic, multi-POV style conflicts might find this story less satisfying, The Tainted Cup certainly delivers everything it sets out too. Bennett establishes a compelling and fun duo in his two investigators, an interesting mystery with a satisfying conclusion, and a strong start to a series that promises more great stories in the future. When paired with Bennett’s excellent use of tropes and worldbuilding, The Tainted Cup delivers something that feels unique yet familiar enough to forget any apprehensions they had and leave one wondering, why more authors aren’t writing hybrid series like this?
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