Right, this might be the best detective/fantasy series I have ever read.

A Drop of Corruption is even better than The Tainted Cup, both because the case solved is more complicated and because the story leans more into the personal background of Din and Ana. So, yes, we get some answers but only some and I’m really curious about the third book.

As for characters, bisexual disaster Din and insane(ly smart) Ana are the best. I mean, poor Din, it’s difficult to have sexual life when your boss can deduce everything about you in the most crude manner. And I like that Ana isn’t the stereotypical sexy clever Sherlock, she is disturbing and disgusting and so much fun.

I also loved Malo from the very first moment, that was a hell of an entry. I hope we will meet her again.

The case was really convoluted and kept me engaged throughout. The worldbuilding is still absolutely fascinating to me.

A++ author’s note.

This successful sequel to ‘The Tainted Cup’ maintains the first’s incredible world whilst expanding on it characters, taking the series to an interesting corner of the Empire. The core of this series is a compelling crime/fantasy hybrid and the Bennett does well to continue to combine his fungus-based magic system with a genuinely good mystery. I am endless fascinated by the world of mushrooms and mould that Bennett has created here, and this 2nd book is just as good as the first in its originality and uniqueness. I would have like to see more of a threat from living Leviathans, but the story does well with its (super)human characters.

I enjoyed the ongoing dynamic between Din and Ana, with its clear Sherlock-Holmes inspiration. There’s plenty of progression in their relationship, with Din being trusted more by his enigmatic mentor, showing his developing expertise in the role he’s being moulded for. One of my criticisms of the first book was that Ana wasn’t given a lot to do, and I was glad to see she she’d more involved in this book, especially as we are drip-fed information about her origins and the true scale of her abilities.

I’m a big fan of Bennett’s works, and there’s a clear existential thread running through most of his books and series, as characters encounter plots and events which could destroy the very fabric of the world (see: The Troupe, Divine Cities trilogy, and the Founders trilogy). It’s no different here, and I hope the mystery elements can stay grounded enough to keep the crime conventions of the series alive. This could easily be a long running series, and I’m keen for more!

I enjoyed this book a lot, but do think the tainted cup was better. I enjoyed the mystery and felt satosfied by the reveals and felt enough information was given out to follow along but still be surprised at other reveals.

My only criticisms are that I felt the characters were never in any serious danger or felt targeted by the killer.

maps, sci-fi-fantasy, suspense, sly-humor, adventure, mystery, magic, nonbinary, detective, botanist, investigations, investigators, fast-pace, mystery-thriller, abduction, murders, criminal-acts, apprentice, working-partners*****
Ana and Din are back and in another fascinating investigation in a world of fantasy that is so detailed that I almost expected to walk in through the door and find it there. It's a long volume but easily picked up again after life disturbances. Engrossing and fast paced!
I requested and received an uncorrected ebook file from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Del Rey via NetGalley. Pub Date Apr 01, 2025
#ADropofCorruption by @R.Jackson.Bennett #ShadowOfTheLeviathanBk2 #AnaAndDin @delreybooks @randomhouse #NetGalley #goodreads #bookbub #librarythingofficial #barnesandnoble ***** Review #booksamillion #bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk #kobo #Waterstones #sciFiFantasy #detective #magic #thriller #investigators #nonbinary #addictive

I enjoy this book although not as much as i enjoyed The Tainted Cup. There are many repetitive scene and that made it unnecessarily too long. The world-buildings are not as pleasant.

About the plot:
It has similar formula of the first book, yet what bothered me the most is when the villain revealed. The conclusion Ana gave is just… okay? Some part of the twist can be guessed (it doesn’t mean bad, but it’s just less satisfying).

Compared to The Tainted Cup, I agree that the idea of this book is far better, but it not written better.

I have been waiting for this book ever since I finished The Tainted Cup. I am a huge fan of genre fiction. When two genres combine, and manage to do it well, it is a great treat. Bennett manages to balance the mystery and fantasy elements masterfully. I love how the mystery is a solid mystery. There’s no sort of fantasy deus ex machina that ends up solving things. The motivations are very familiar and, like all great sci-fi and fantasy, hold a mirror to our own world.

This books dives right into the mystery, but what seems to start off as a classic locked room mystery gets more and more bizarre. It’s like a reverse matryoshka of mysteries, each layer uncovers something bigger. As an avid mystery reader, I was delightfully surprised at every new turn.

While the mystery drove me to keep reading, the actual reading was as entertaining and enjoyable as the first book. The world continues to be built beautifully. You’re able to picture this incredible world without paragraph long manifestos or having to wade through an excess of made up nonsense words. The dialogue flows very well. I especially enjoyed the humor, which blends nicely, lightening the tone without being cheesy.

The Tainted Cup set some very high expectations for me, I was thrilled to have A Drop of Corruption exceed them. I can’t wait for the next one.

Ever since the first book of Divine Cities trilogy, Robert Jackson Bennett's work consistently gets better and better in each consecutive novel, and if we look at his trilogies as a whole, he dramatically improves as a writer when you compare Divine Cities with the Founders and especially now with the Shadow of the Leviathan. He was very good writer to start with, but he really deserves reader's respect for his self-improvement and now he really stands amongst the best authors in the genre, whatever "the genre" may be. Bennett writes "fantasy", but his fantasy isn't the usual melange of swords, swear words and grunts that grimdark has degenerated into, or massive "epic" clash of larger than life characters that are ridiculously overpowered and unrelatable except as a infantile power trip, or wise-cracking either bumbling or oversexed protagonists of urban fantasy, neither is he a slave to "magic system" trope that has spread through the fantasy literature almost as some kind of obligatory element that started as something new and fresh - like when McDonald's first opened in socialist countries during the last years of Cold War - but has since then (also like McDonald's) degenerated into sugar-infused bland cardboard-food that relies on the unhealthy sauces and spices to give it any taste at all.

All of this is not to say that Bennett doesn't use or rely on omnipresent tropes and cliches or trends in modern fantasy. He does, but he is not slave to them. All of his books are just enough epic, just enough grimdark, with just enough scope and sex and violence to be masterful in their execution - and that is best seen in A Drop of Corruption.

As his previous trilogies, Shadow of the Leviathan heavily relies on "magic system" to set up the world-building, but the setting is mostly urban and the plot(s) of this trilogy is mostly a noir whodunit. Bennett's novels are always -punk, whether "divinepunk" or "magic as a computer code punk" or "biopunk" as this latest, but his characters are punk as hell as well. They are always those who are bucking the trends, who go against the established norms and are outcasts - but with a strong sense of duty and idea that the system should work for the good of the many and respect the individual as well. This dichotomy between individual liberties and obligations to the greater good on one side and realization that the society as a whole is flawed but the alternative is ultimately worse for the little guy is central to the Shadow of the Leviathan and is in fact a main driving force of the protagonist's character development. Bennett sharply critiques societal elites and massive corruption that stems from the social and economic stratification and places his characters in a position to make an almost impossible choice - to leave the society behind, to find their purpose in a cause that is devoid of moral dilemmas, to let it all crumble or to work from the inside for the betterment of all. In fact, this cynical altruism is main characteristic of all of his protagonists in all of his novels.

Although the main part of this novel is a thrilling read and I simply devoured it in two days or so, the biggest impact was in fact created by the introduction and author's last words. The introduction was written almost like it was intended for an episode of the Law & Order - which is highly appropriate - and the author's last words were obviously inspired by the latest political developments in the US and all over the world, and those words echo strongly and completely independently from the novel and I'd urge the reader to buy and read this book (and the whole trilogy) on the strength of those words alone.

A Drop of Corruption - at least in my view - is a strong contended for the fantasy novel of the year and judged solely on the quality of the writing this one's worthy of Hugo (if there's any worth remaining to that award), Nebula and World Fantasy Award and any other award you can think of.

5* and Nightflier's Seal of Recommendation

hanks to NetGalley for the arc!

4.5/5

I actually loved this. I enjoyed this mystery much more than in the last one and the think there were great expansions on Din’s and Ana’s characters. I also really loved Malo, a new character in this one. The only reason I couldn’t give this five stars was because I found myself really missing some of the characters from the last book and I wanted more of the small amount of romance we got in the last book.

Maybe next time!

Anyways, I love Din, my bisexual king. He was really going through it this book and I gotta say that I love that for him.

I’m really loving the mystery fantasy genre thing going on here. I definitely recommend this series.

Fantastic read - equally as good as the first book in the series. It's clearly a continuation and will not read well without knowledge of the previous book.

The book reads like a well written thriller, with an amazing botanical-inspired fantasy setting. The mystery is easy to follow and rewards careful readying - you can come to the same deductions just a tiny bit earlier than the main characters and feel very proud of yourself.
The characters are very likeable, both those we already know and the newly introduced ones. Getting more hints about Ana, and answeing questions started in the previous book tightens the intrigue and weaves it into the world building promising a great conclusion to the story in the next book.

Fantastic world building and characters that felt authentic and as real as myself, love this series so much its the epitome of fantasy

So I made a massive mistake in selecting this title, because I didn’t read that it was a second book so I almost dismissed it but I started reading and just fell in love with it.
The world building is incredible, definitely a world I would not want to visit nor be a part of, this sci-fi fantasy world. I loved the main characters and now have to go back and read the first book.

⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟 (4.5/5)

While A Drop of Corruption was an excellent read, it didn’t quite capture me like the first book did. With the first few sentences of book one, I knew it was a 5-star story, but this one didn’t quite hit the same high.

The characters were enjoyable, and the plot was fun—predictable at times but still solid, leaving little to fault. The world-building, though, was something else entirely. It was both disgusting and utterly fascinating—crafted in a way that made me squirm and marvel all at once. It pulled me in despite its grotesque nature, and I couldn’t help but enjoy how richly detailed and immersive it was.

The dynamic between the main characters was where the book fell slightly short. It lacked the humour and spark that made their interactions so vibrant in the first instalment. While their arcs and development were still compelling, I missed the sharper, more engaging connection that had brought so much energy and enjoyment.

It’s a fantastic sequel with Robert Jackson Bennett’s trademark mix of brilliance and grit. Despite falling a little behind its predecessor, the story and world-building more than make up for it, leaving me eager for more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are, as always, my own.

What made The Tainted Cup so exceptional was the incredible world-building which felt entirely new. Here, that same world feels less shiny simply because we’ve seen it before. And while the locked-room mystery is clever, the formula begins to wear thin: so many close calls and false starts.

The Tainted Cup was a breakout for me, despite not being a fan of murder mysteries. A Drop of Corruption doesn’t quite recapture the spark of discovery that made the first book so exceptional. That said, it’s still worth the read!

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey!

4.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I was really hyped for this one, I started immediately after finishing The Tainted Cup and it did not disappoint!

The magic system continues to be intriguing and we definitely see a lot more of it this time. It feels really creative and has interesting applications.

Din and Ana continue to make a great team in solving murders and mystery; though there is character development poor Din still seems a bit lost in life. I hope to see him become more confident in his direction. Ana remains to be the standout and I love to see her outsmarting everyone.

I did guess correctly at some of the reveals, but not completely and not in the ways that I expected. It's nice to pick up on some of the clues but still be surprised at the full reveal.

I do still have some theories going forward in the series, but these remain to be seen!

I can't wait to read more of this series and dive into existing works from RJB.

With thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC!

This was a highly anticipated read for me as I adored the first book in the series, and this did not disappoint! It’s an excellent continuation from the first book, and it’s just as exciting.

The plot and character development in this is weaved together very well, and Ana and Din are once again on the path to a brilliant new mystery. This one kept me guessing and I thought I’d maybe figured it out but I didn’t see that twist coming!

It was great to learn more about our characters and I’m so eager to see where they go next!

Highly recommend picking this one up!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Much like the first book—which I absolutely loved—this was a fantastic read. The way Robert Jackson Bennett weaves stories and layers plot twists never fails to amaze me. I adored the first installment, and I adore this one just as much.

Ana and Din are such polar opposites, yet they work so perfectly together as a team.

I’ll admit, I thought I had the prince figured out, but not in the way I expected. That twist really got me!

Getting to see Ana outside her element in this book was fascinating and added so much depth to her character.

If RJB writes 100 more of these, I’ll happily read every single one.

Truly I believe this is 3.5 as stars. I enjoyed getting back in this world but I didn't feel the magic I felt reading the first book. The world was established in the first one and I didn't really feel there were any enhancements to it. I really do enjoy the world and how alterations or enhancements are presented and used in the world. I still love the Attack on Titan vibes with the Leviathans and the Shroud.

I feel this book may suffer from some middle book syndrome if this is indeed a trilogy(which I hope not) as it really was just another case. The case itself was meh to me, I just wanted to spend more time with Din and Ana. Speaking of Din and Ana, I was hoping for some more backstory with them to add some layers to the characters and I felt we did not get any of that, so I am pretty disappointed with that although we do get some teasers.

I do look forward to book 3 and the answers that come from the questions of book 1 and 2.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this

Investigator Ana Dolabra and her assistant, Dinios Kol, are called to Yarrowdale, a community at the far edge of the Empire, to investigate what appears to be an impossible crime. A Treasury officer disappeared, abducted from his quarters where the doors and windows were stilled locked from the inside and the entire building is under constant guard.
It doesn't take long before Ana and Dinios discover that they are investigating a murder when the officer's body is discovered. The murderer, it appears, has the ability to walk through walls and manages to stay at least one step ahead of Ana while targeting a high-security compound known as The Shroud. This facility houses some of the most brilliant minds in the Empire who work fastidiously to dissect fallen Titans in an attempt to harness the magic in their blood.

If The Shroud should fall to the unknown 'ghost' the entire Empire would be at peril as the Titan blood is what keeps the Empire in power.

If someone were to ask me who the best fantasy author is today, I would say Robert Jackson Bennet (and indeed I did recommend him to someone looking for Christmas gifts). I haven't read everything he's published (but I will), but everything I've read to date has been stunning.

We first met Ana and Dinios in the first book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series, The Tainted Cup, and having them back for another mystery/adventure is thrilling. Lately Bennett has been publishing a number of trilogies, but I hope that the adventures of Ana and Dinios will continue far beyond three volumes.

Bennett's world-building is exemplary. I don't think there's anything in his worlds that we might realate to our present world, and yet somehow he makes his worlds real and comfortable (comfortable in that the reader is made to feel right at home - but his worlds are UNcomfortable in their tension and conflict (which of course makes for exciting storytelling).

Then Bennett gives us truly unique characters. The abilities that Ana and Dinios have are ... well, I could use a thesaurus, but 'unique' just fits the bill. I could easily encourage anyone to read this just for the CTPP quotient (that's "Cool Things Per Page"). What Ana discovers here and what Dinios has to go through, is riveting.

So, exemplary worlds and outstanding characters ... all that's left is a plot that can hold the readers attention, and Bennett excels here, too. "Locked room" mysteries present a real challenge for a writer, and when done well, a delightful challenge for the reader. Of course this locked room mystery takes a pretty quick turn, but the discovery of what's happening seem to be always just slightly out of reach. Of course this makes it exciting as well.

I don't think you need to have read The Tainted Cup to enjoy this book, but you'll have wanted to just because both books are so good.

Looking for a good book? Robert Jackson Bennett's A Drop of Corruption is the second book in his Shadow of the Leviathan series. Anyone who enjoys good, powerful fantasy and anyone who enjoys a locked room mystery, should give the book a read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Watching Din and Ana solve the mysteries within is a lot of fun, and trying to figure it out before them is nearly impossible. I enjoyed all the intrigue of the court and the very idea of the Shroud, and the way the other characters rounded out the story and made it whole. This book was wonderful, from the very beginning all the way through the acknowledgments. I so hope more Ana and Din stories are coming.


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

TThere should be a word for the melancholy that descends when reading an exceptionally good book and approaching the end. It’s a bit like approaching the conclusion of an incredible vacation, reveling in the wonder of it, while mourning that it’s going to be over soon. That’s how good A Drop of Corruption is, which splendidly extends the complex world building and character profiles of The Tainted Cup, the first book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series. In addition to a baffling locked room, or locked tower, murder this time, the emphasis is also on the mystery of the brilliant enigmatic blindfolded investigator Ana Dolabra, who is faced with the rare mystery that breaks through her boredom to confound and at times enrage her. It begins when a disliked Treasury Official impossibly disappears from a heavily guarded and secured tower room. And his body, or parts of it, is found far away in a body of water. His secure box has been breached, although instead of a theft, there is a grisly deposit, which seems like a taunt. And this is happening against the backdrop of high political intrigue in Yarrowland, which is vital for the secretive Empire industries that distill the leviathan’s body parts to use as strange powerful enhancements for select members of the Empire’s far-reaching bureaucracy. As an engraver, Din, Ana’s ever faithful assistant, has been subject to these augmentations, which make every image, word, and sensation imprinted on his memory. His unaffected and droll tone as the narrator of these events, recall the quiet power of Dr John Watson’s voice, and Ana can be every bit as taxing and brilliant at Sherlock ;she is also beset by disarming personal demons. The murder quest, which also turns into a classified secrets heist, will lead Ana and Din into the inner workings of secret and possible illegal Empire laboratories, into a near inaccessible slave-holding anti-augmentation high kingdom in Yarrow, and into the dangerous and overgrown swamp forests in the boundary lands, which hold their own horrors. As soon as one mystery appears to be solved, two others pop up all orchestrated by Ana’s near invisible rival. The plot is expertly steered, the dénouements are often thrilling hairpin turns, and the larger questions of AI ethics (just substitute leviathan-enhanced) can easily be applied to the questions we now face in our world. Bennett’s imagination must have been augmented to create such wonders. I needed to start rereading it for sheer giddy pleasure almost as soon as I was finished.