Surprising, interesting, fun. Think of all the good words you know and they would fit to describe this story. It was amazing. Compelling, riveting, unpredictable. I had no idea what to expect when I began reading The Tainted Cup, couldn’t quite fit it into any category. But it’s a good solid mystery. I was kept in suspense right up until the very satisfying end. Every reveal along the way traces back to a solid clue and facts that are uncovered bit by bit.

I love a good mystery, and the idea of a classic crime investigation set in a fantasy world was outrageous and intriguing. Watson and Holmes is a good description Din and Ana, although Din is pretty sharp on his own most of the time. Ana’s brilliant but eccentric and quirky. Irritating yet irresistible. Din is an enigma: on the surface it seems like he landed this job as a last resort, hasn’t been quite enough, hasn’t put in quite enough effort. But there’s a bit of brilliance there, too, and he is quite good at going step by step and putting piece after piece together. And he has some pretty big secrets. I got so caught up in the mystery that at times I almost – note I say almost – forgot about the fantasy. But the fantasy is fantastic. A man wasn’t killed with a knife and left in an alley; he was killed when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. It doesn’t ever become routine, but instead author Robert Jackson Bennett makes it a normal, necessary part of the story. Of course a tree broke through his body; there’s a clue there and Din will find it.

The Tainted Cup is well-written, expertly plotted, smoothly executed. Multi-layered, deep, fascinating. Unforgettable phrasing, subtle and not-so-subtle humor and twists and turns that keep you guessing. Best of all, the oddities and the everyday are so perfectly blended together that you are absorbed in the people and the events and the anticipation, in an environment described in such detail it’s almost like a movie. You can see it and you can feel it. You can see that tree.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group, Penguin Random House for providing an advance copy of The Tainted Cup, Book 1 in the Shadow of the Leviathan series. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for the next book in the series. I have a feeling this may prove to be my favorite book of the year. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

The Tainted Cup is the first book in Robert Jackson Bennett's new series "The Shadow of the Leviathan". I have read the author's Divine Cities Trilogy before and absolutely loved it, so I was excited to get approved for an eArc of this book and after finishing it I just want the next one, even after some initial worries.

Starting off, I have a very hard time with first-person narratives. I often need a very present narrator, where after just a sentence or two can say "Oh, so this narrator is (insert adjective)". This wasn’t the case here and it took me some time to understand who our narrator was and after I understood that I absolutely loved Din. I really loved seeing the interactions with his mentor Ana and the other side characters (especially one who I won't spoil, iykyk). The way he grew into his own was really fun to see.
The prose style was also easily understandable for me as a non-native english speaker and i didn't encounter any difficult words. Still if you have worries, i would recommend to brush up on some basic vocabulary concerning nature, medicine and technology.

The mystery itself was really engaging and I liked guessing what could have happened. I saw a few things coming, but even when I guessed correctly it didn’t take away from the mystery, as it had some very high stakes that kept me on the edge of my seat.
The worldbuilding itself was also masterful. The way plants, fungus and parasites were integrated into the technology and "magic" was intriguing. Like fernpaper for building houses, so that when the Leviathans come they crumple instead of crash. How vines can be used as gates, which open if you have the right reagent key. All of those details truly transported me into the alien tropical jungle world. A lot of this intricate worldbuilding is also really important to the plot and the case surrounding it. Honestly I am surprised by how interconnected the murder case and the worldbuilding was. Just wow.

All in all a fantastic first entry to a new series that is definitely going on my auto buy list.

Well, this was simply marvelous! Droll, witty, clever, creative, and entertaining, The Tainted Cup is a traditional detective mystery set in a fantastical world that’s constantly under threat from leviathans from the sea and where the people are augmented and suffused to enhance their bodies, senses, and/or minds.

Our main characters are the earnest and endearingly dry Dionios “Din” Kol, an apprentice training to be an assistant detective who’s been suffused to become an “engraver” (think a superhuman kind of eidetic memory) and the foul-mouthed and easily-bored Ana Dolabra, a whip-smart head detective who hand-picked Din to be her assistant and has given him nothing but grief since. These two cracked me up: Between Ana’s color commentary and Din’s naivety they’re precious together. Comparison has been made to Holmes and Watson, but that’s not quite true. This is just experienced, eccentric detective and newbie detective, but the camaraderie the two show and how much their association with one another evolves and grows throughout this book is one of my favorite parts of the story.

The world building is fabulous. This takes place in a world where all building and clothing materials are organic. Houses are made from tough vines. Screens are made from paper. It’s the people and animals that have the unnatural augmentations. They can be made unnaturally large and strong, but it makes their age span shorter. They can be given very strong memories, senses of smell, touch sensitivity, and more. The more money you have and the more important you are the more grafts and suffusions you are likely to have access to and need.

The story is fantastic, full of adventure, action, political intrigue, espionage, and conspiracy. Robert Jackson Bennett left an ending that’s not a cliffhanger but leaves plenty of room for another book for sure. I’ll definitely want to read it!

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Book Series/Epic Fantasy/Fantasy/Fantasy Series/Mystery

For any mystery lovers looking to try fantasy, or fantasy fans who are looking to delve into mystery, The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett is the perfect cross-genre novel. I definitely fall into the mystery lover category, and have lately been stretching my preferences to fantasy, so the description of this book appealed to me, and the reading experience was quite the ride!

Like most fantasy authors, Mr. Bennett does a fantastic job of world building, and the Sherlock Holmes/Watson vibe of Din and Ana left me excited to see what the next book in the series brings. These characters are such a fun pair, and their witty conversation added that little bit of humor that is characteristic of a great detective/sidekick combination. As someone who does not read a lot of fantasy, I struggled a little with the vocabulary needed to understand what was happening at times, but rereading the passages helped, and I was able to comprehend most of the situations. I will definitely read the next book in the series when it is released.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House-Ballantine for the digital ARC ofT he Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. The opinions in this review are my own.

Characters: 5/5
The characters of Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol (Ana and Din) were an absolute treat to read. I love their dynamic, their banter, and subtle, quiet care for one another. They will get a lot of comparisons to Sherlock and Holmes, but I think this is a fresh new take on that dynamic and it worked masterfully. Each character has strengths and weaknesses and I feel like they compliment each other incredibly well.

The side characters were also well written but had less depth, which was fine as I was suspicious of all of them. I am beyond excited to see how all the characters develop in future books. Din’s romantic relationship was also very welcome and I am thankful that the romance never eclipsed the mystery elements.


Story/Plot: 5/5
On the mystery side of things, this was fantastic. It kept me enthralled, constantly guessing and surprised well into the ending. The bread crumbs and foreshadowing were all there and it would have been possible to put the pieces together as well, but I was too enthralled in the world to even formulate any theories. I loved the idea of the leviathans and how it added a complexity to the timeline of the mystery unlike any other thriller I have read.

On the Fantasy side of things this had a surprising depth to it, and handed you just enough to keep you in a state of awe without it becoming overly confusing and muddling up the mystery plot line. It trickled in the different elements of the world in an easily digestible pace so you never felt overwhelmed with strange terminology or concepts. The idea of augmentations and abilities such as Engraving felt very refreshing in this setting. I could not get enough of the bizarre world.



Writing:5/5
The writing was so easy to grasp and lose yourself in. I never found myself struggling to understand what was happening. The one thing that was somewhat ambiguous was the description of the leviathans, however this only added to the mystic and horror surrounding them. As even many characters had no idea what they looked like, I as the reader felt like I was really living a life parallel to them in this world.

The one aspect to the writing that I struggled with was how the ending reveal was all essentially a monologue by Ana. While this made absolute sense to have her do, I prefer when novels allow you to have the “ah ha!” ,moments alongside the characters. This had me saying “ OH duh” instead. However throughout the novel as Din uncovers more things, you do get little “Ah ha!” moments, so I don’t feel like the monologue detracted that much from the overall ending. I will say that having it all laid out in one go did help with understanding the complex motivations and actions of the guilty characters. This is a common troupe in Sherlock or Hercule Poirot type novels, it just isn’t my cup of tea.


Other:
I have already read Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett, and know that I love this author, however I feel like he has grown as a writer with this book. I cannot wait to read the sequels!


Final Verdict:
So far this is my favorite read of 2024, and I am already wishing I was back in this world solving more mysteries with Ana and Din!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5

Sherlock Holmes meets Attack on Titan. The story starts right off the bat with Din starting the investigation to someone who has been recently murdered. Din is the assistant to the head investigator Ana, and together they solve crimes. This is suppose to be a simple murder, but as clues come together to solve this murder, it seems more involved than previously thought. I loved the main characters, their banter is pretty great. Din is a straightforward no nonsense kind of guy, and Ana is a bit eccentric and loves to rile Din and everyone around her up. The world is a bit confusing and takes a bit of time to actually get a grasp on how things work. Its similar to Attack on Titan in the fact the Empire's geography is based on rings (walls) and there are 'titans" or leviathans that come every wet season to try and break down the outer ring and destroy everything in their path. The first book is mainly focused on the murder mystery element and the doom of the empire is a little more on the back burner. If you're looking for an intriguing murder mystery with political influence I highly recommend this book. It was fun having the pieces fall together.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc from Random House Publishing Group!

DNF at 30%

I thought this would be a hit for me since it combines a murder mystery with fantasy, but I'm so sorry to say I ended up just not being able to finish it. I could not get into it no matter how hard I tried even though it started out promising enough. I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes fan so this gets two stars for Ana and Din's dynamic, as well as a star for at least a very imaginative and botanical world. I felt mislead though. The blurb makes it seem like it's this manor house murder mystery, but the manor is done with very early on.

I also felt lost, I needed much more clarity on the world building. What are the stakes? If the Leviathan breach the walls completely and get in, what will they do? They're this nebulous threat that I didn't care about by 30%, so I lost interest in them. What, if any, are the limitations on the augmentations people in the empire can get? I need to know these things if I am going to be able to participate in the murder mystery. It felt like I was thrown in off the deep end and not able to swim. Even though the dynamic between Din and Ana was enjoyable, by 30% I did not care about them. Ana is so secretive we know nothing about her. Din is the dry, capable one to her eccentric genius and we are always in his point of view. I felt like I knew nothing about him either though. I did not care about these people.

So, if I don't care about the stakes, or the characters, by 30%, and I feel lost, I'm out. Life's too short. I can see why this worked for a lot of people, but it just sadly didn't work for me. Many thanks to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn’t at all what I was expecting. I wasn’t expecting a mystery with a bit of fantasy thrown in.
For me it felt a little stiff and I just wasn’t that interested in the story.

Essentially a police procedural featuring a Holmesish principal investigator and narrated by her Watsonish assistant, this in a fantasy setting: a world under threat from "titans," immense monsters that emerge from the sea during the world's rainy season. Many of the world's people (and apparently all who hold official posts of any kind, as well as the rich) are augmented in various ways -- to be stronger, faster, or sexier, to be able to perform complex mathematical calculations, or, as in the case of the protagonist, Dinios Kol, to remember in perfect detail everything he ever sees.

For me, it was Dinios who made the The Tainted Cup worth reading. He's clever, lonely, and sharp-tongued; most people, including his boss, see him as cold (spoiler: he's not); and, of course, he has a secret. I enjoyed the mystery here well enough -- I'm not a connoisseur and I'm not good at figuring out whodunit, so YMMV -- but found Ana, the investigator who's Din's boss, mostly just irritating. We're meant to see her idiosyncrasies as necessary to her functioning, and late in the book we're told in so many words that they are, but in the reading they seem affected: hence the irritation.

What chiefly annoyed me, though -- what, let's be real, drove me bananacrackers -- was the language. Between the misused words (no, a pair of attendants who accompany a member of the gentry are not a "coterie") and the strange-and/or-ungrammatical locutions ("being as" 18 times where "given that" or "because" belonged; "as such" for "consequently" or "as a result"; the godawful "off of"; "above suspicion" where "suspect" is clearly meant; I could go on), I spent way too much time grinding my teeth as I read. Decent copyediting could have made this a 4-star book, but decent copyediting was nowhere in evidence.

One other eyebrow raiser. In his afterword, Bennett says, "Regulations have their uses, but we cannot allow them to form the jar that will eventually be used to trap us and pickle us in our own brine." What a weird takeaway for a mystery that ultimately hinges not on the autonomous failure of regulations but on the corruption of regulatory bodies by oligarchs.

And yet I liked Dinios Kol so much, I'll probably read the next in this series whenever it appears.

Thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC.

Personal rating: 4.5
Imagine Sherlock Holmes in the world of a more fantastical Attack on Titan. YUP! I absolutely loved this. It was weird, complex and I was so invested in the mystery. Sure, I had some minor cons but it was almost perfect.
Full review to come on YouTube

This book is a delight. I am a great fan of speculative mysteries, and I've read many Sherlock Holmes pastiches, but this is one is something special. I was intrigued by the world where almost everyone is altered in some way to enhance unusual qualities (our narrator Din is an engraver, which means his experiences are permanently written on his memory), all of which come with tradeoffs, and where the environment is constantly under threat from change too (both the monstrous Leviathons which can crush city walls and the more subtle taint of contagion frequently proves fatal). I enjoyed the characters, especially Din and his boss Ana. I did figure out some of the details of the mystery before Din did, but I enjoyed its complexity as well. I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

Thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my free earc. My opinions are all my own.

Everything about this book worked for me! The two genres (fantasy and murder mystery) are balanced really well: The Sherlock Holmes and Watson vibes are immaculate, and the world-building of this bioengineered world is very interesting.

The character work is probably my favorite part. It is so refreshing to read a quirky, whimsical, nuanced female lead investigator and be afforded the same societal accommodations usually reserved for male main characters (a personal pet peeve caused by some recent reads). The characters' neurodivergence and sexuality were not just diversity checkboxes -- they influenced the way the characters interpreted and interacted with the world.

Can't wait to read more of Ana and Din's sleuthing in the next book :)

Thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Din Kol wasn’t sure what his job would be as a new assistant investigator, but solving murders as the engraver and eyes for the eccentric Ana Dolabra is full of surprises!

While parts of the setting and story sounded like any regular Empire, they’re on constant watch for an attack of a leviathan from the surrounding waters. The threat from within the Empire is a poisoning that results in trees sprouting from the victim’s body! There isn’t much to be done other than being prepared for the next leviathan attack, but it makes a great distraction for whoever is doing the poisoning.

Din explained about some of the features of sublimes—characters with modifications that gave them special skills or altered their appearance. Din himself was in his position especially because he was an engraver. By associating memories with a carefully carried scent vial, he could recall everything down to the smallest detail. The memories then stayed with him forever. This helped him serve as a great assistant investigator to Ana, who preferred not to leave her home or remove her blindfold.

The story was unique and the characters were so interesting. The book is the first in a series about the Empire called Shadow of the Leviathan. It was an engaging and well-explained fantasy read which earned 4 out of 5 stars.

What an interesting idea pairing the fantasy and classic mystery genres! There is a lot of world building and a fascinating detective story. This book might be for you if you enjoy these genres.

Thank you to Del Ray Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The opener to Robert Bennett Jackson’s new series caught my eye in more ways than one: That gorgeous cover, and intriguing, clever, unique concept. But I was wary too: I didn’t end up finishing the Divine Cities trilogy, running out of steam before book 2.

No need to fear. The Tainted Cup, the first of his new magical mystery trilogy, is a rollicking, if a bit gross, good time. Din is a young assistant to the oddball but undeniably brilliant detective Ana, charged with investigating crime in a far flung province of an empire under the existential threat of an ocean full of rampaging Leviathans. When an important officer turns up murdered in the most gruesome of ways, Din and Ana (who spends most of her time blindfolded and refuses to leave her house – get caught up in an investigation that may lead to the most powerful families and a plot to undermine the very walls keeping the empire safe from their greatest threat.

Din is a great character, presenting to most as a quiet, green, rule-follower, but reveals himself to be so much more. A magically altered Engraver – he remembers everything he ever sees – his secret shame could destroy his career and threaten his attempts to move his family away from the sea walls. He and Ana, white-haired, wily, and an utter delight in her Sherlockian tactics, could easily keep me occupied for many, many adventures (though it seems Jackson has a contained plot in mind for this trilogy). I can’t wait to learn more about the workings of the Empire, the threat of the Leviathans in the next two.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 4.5 stars rounded up

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House – Ballantine for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A gruesome murder, the threat of Leviathans at the gates, and a mystery has begun!

And what an mystery this is! I love that I never felt like there was a single info-dump in this book. The world is introduced completely organically, just as you read, you are exposed to all the ways this world is different than ours. The families, the power struggles, Leviathans, even the money system is all seamlessly introduced and explained and not overly detailed and doesn't slow down the plot at all!

And the story was amazing, I was hooked right from the beginning. The two main characters - I absolutely LOVE them! They are like two pieces of Sherlock Holmes. Ana is analytical and eccentric. Din is her new assistant, a trainee, that her engraver. Everything he sees, feels, smells or hears - he records every piece as a memory and can replay them back in full detail. He's been 'modified' and is there to assist in the investigation.

The story is well-plotted, I never felt like it got bogged down. The main characters were complex and realistic. I don't give out 5 stars easily, but this one definitely earned every one! I will be anxiously awaiting book 2!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

whew, what a ride! the tainted cup, i can say, is honestly one of the more original fantasies i’ve read in a long time, and that’s saying something. plus there is a murder mystery element — what more could a girl want??? forewarning: if you’re looking for romance, it plays a very, very minor part in the story, and honestly could have been taken out altogether. BUT it being included didn’t bother me at all because i was so captivated and drawn in by the characters, the twists and turns, and the incredibly interesting “magic” system… if that sounds like your cup of tea in any fashion then 10/10 would recommend! i absolutely cannot wait for the next one to come out!!

If you find yourself in a situation where you absolutely love high fantasy and want to scratch a mystery book itch, pick this book up stat.  The Tainted Cup took me by complete surprise.  I rarely—very rarely—read mysteries.  I find them very dull, as I can usually guess what’s going on, and the general setting and plot usually don’t cater to my taste because, well, I like fantasy books.  Bennett’s impeccable world and character building propelled me by force through this plot.  About halfway through, I didn’t care about the mystery—I just wanted to keep reading.  I’d say, for readers who hate fantasy but love mystery, or alternately hate mystery but love fantasy—this book is a great mesh of the two that proves a great crossover to whet the appetite for readers of both preferences.

To best understand the world building here, I’d have to frame the reference with some popular movies.  Pacific Rim (minus the mechs) and Moby Dick come to mind most, other than the obvious Sherlock Holmes.  Behemoth leviathans surge from the sea during wet seasons and plague the Empire.  Instead of moving farther inland, past the reach of the leviathans, the Empire stays right on the coast and builds walls to keep them out, chasing them to the sea and killing them to repel them each year.  It is in the midst of this chaos, on the brink of a wet season, that Dolabra and Kol begin their investigation into the murder of a well-connected officer.  

Kol possesses a magical alteration, as do most of the rest of the citizens and officers of the Empire.  This form of magic system, or I’d say genetic manipulation, spins the typical magic-grouping/ability-grouping systems I’ve seen in books before on its head a bit.  Though it’s reminiscent to me of the different factions in Divergent and the Grisha from Shadow and Bone, different MOS’s in the Empire form around what the members can do after they’ve been altered.  Bennett did a great job here making the magic system (or manipulation system) relevant to the story and not just a gimmicky, useless bit of fluff to bait readers.  

Within these parameters, the story in The Tainted Cup comes to life.  Bennett’s storytelling shines with brilliance.  I could not put the book down, especially past the halfway mark.  Kol and Dolabra made a perfect pair, and I absolutely cannot wait to read the future installments in this series.  

The drawbacks are few for me here, though the one or two there are resound significantly.  If a fantasy world goes so far as to create different place names, different names for months, different ways bodies work, and so on, it should stand to reason that the foul language in the new fantasy world should also be world-specific.  Dolabra and a few other characters use quite a lot of explicatives in the book, and they really do jar one out of the fantasy world.  Additionally, though the concept of leviathan creatures that come out every wet season to harass the land-dwellers is pretty fascinating, I didn’t really comprehend the reasoning for the folks living right on the coast and struggling to keep these beasts at bay every year with less and less effectiveness to continue to live where they live.  It would make sense to just not live right where there is constant, large-scale destruction.  The logic doesn’t really connect with me.  Perhaps the latter will be explained a bit better in future installments to the series.

My thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for the eARC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.

Another character with a three-letter name that I would die for. Perfect.

Just such a solid read. While I wasn’t expecting there to be such detailed world-building in something I had just assumed would be a mystery, I’m glad I got a chance to read. The characters were so compelling, the mystery had the perfect amount of twists to keep you engaged and the world was appropriately complex. I will admit, I had to take notes to keep some of the lingo straight, but the worldbuilding is not overwhelming.

Such a fun time, I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this world.

4.5 stars

I loved this! It was not at all what I was expecting, having read and loved his Founders Trilogy. Although the story is definitely fantasy, it's a wonderful blend of mystery and fantasy.

At the beginning we are introduced to Signum Dinios Kol, an assistant to an Iudex (imperial administration for justice) investigator, and, you quickly learn, her eyes and ears. He is called to the scene of a grisly death, that of a prominent engineering officer, which also takes place in a ridiculously fancy house of a prominent family (basically the family that controls a large portion of the wealth in the empire.

There are a LOT of characters, but I knew that going in, and the author does a really good job of rolling them out slowly so that you're not overwhelmed. Still, as each character was introduced, I jotted down their name and basic info, and how they were connected with the case, and it really helped.

Without going into detail about this world (it's so much better for things to be introduced organically), you quickly learn that there are lot of politics that govern how this world functions, one of the reason the cities are arranged the way they are is because of the regular encroachment of huge leviathan monsters, and much day-to-day living centers around this survival.

Ana (Anagrosa Dolabra), the Iudex investigator, is wonderfully eccentric, and Kol and Ana act as foils to each other. Each of the characters have something to hide, including Ana and Kol, and it's so much fun trying to figure out the mystery as Kol unravels each clue. Naturally, Ana seems to be a step ahead of everyone, but either way, I love this duo so much and I am so glad this is a trilogy! Of course, now I have to wait patiently while the author writes two more books!

Either way, I found this to be a strong start to a new series with really interesting characters. While the murder is serious and gruesome, there are moments of humor sprinkled throughout, as well as sweet moments. There was even a little bit of romance thrown in, although that was a VERY minor part of the book (okay, it really only happened at the end, but I was kind of hoping for it). I was able to follow the mystery and while I made some correct predictions, I was kept guessing until the end. It was very well done.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publishers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.