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Am 6. Februar 2024 von Random House Worlds veröffentlicht.
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, …
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. By an “endlessly inventive” (Vulture) author with a “wicked sense of humor” (NPR), The Tainted Cup mixes the charms of detective fiction with brilliant world-building to deliver a fiendishly clever mystery that’s at once instantly recognizable and thrillingly new.
Had a great time with this. I haven’t had this much fun in a fantasy setting since the Shades of Magic books by V.E. Schwab and the Witch King by Martha Wells.
The mystery aspects were well done - all of the pieces were available and figuring out broad strokes was even within my own grasp. It was great fun to see the internal logic spelled out and add to the world building.
The Tainted Cup is an amazing fantasy mystery novel (first in a new series) from Robert Jackson Bennett. For what it's worth, I love love loved The Founders trilogy and quite enjoyed The Divine Cities trilogy so I'm coming into this with some bias.
I've seen this pitched as "Sherlock with kaiju", but I think the Sherlock moniker sells it short for me. The Sherlock / Watson dynamic to me is defined by one where Sherlock is the expert observer, deducer, and dilettante and Watson is the bumbling stand-in for the reader (or at best a medical expert). In The Tainted Cup, I think the sleuthing expertise is split between Kol (the assistant investigator) and Ana (the investigator in charge) and this changes the dynamic entirely in a way that makes the mystery more satisfying structurally. Also, I think personality-wise, they are also quite distinct.
Kol, the point of view …
The Tainted Cup is an amazing fantasy mystery novel (first in a new series) from Robert Jackson Bennett. For what it's worth, I love love loved The Founders trilogy and quite enjoyed The Divine Cities trilogy so I'm coming into this with some bias.
I've seen this pitched as "Sherlock with kaiju", but I think the Sherlock moniker sells it short for me. The Sherlock / Watson dynamic to me is defined by one where Sherlock is the expert observer, deducer, and dilettante and Watson is the bumbling stand-in for the reader (or at best a medical expert). In The Tainted Cup, I think the sleuthing expertise is split between Kol (the assistant investigator) and Ana (the investigator in charge) and this changes the dynamic entirely in a way that makes the mystery more satisfying structurally. Also, I think personality-wise, they are also quite distinct.
Kol, the point of view assistant investigator, has been biologically modified to have eidectic memory. As he can remember anything he sees, it's his job to be the eyes of the investigator (and also the reader)--viewing crime scenes, talking to witnesses, and poking around to try to dig up as much as he can. Ana, the investigator boss has Sherlockian deductive skill, but whose senses are overwhelmed by the world itself and so stays in her office, relying on Kol to see what's important and bring it back for her to synthesize. There's definitely a power and authority hierarchy here, but what works for me is that Kol's observational competence is strong, and it gives a perfect excuse for the reader to see all of the clues.
I felt like I had put together about half of the mystery myself by the end, but there were still quite a few surprises for me. The closure of the mystery is excellent, and is quite satisfying in the way it brings together every small detail that's been slowly spooled out over time (even, of course, the title). All of this places the book solidly in the mystery genre, rather than just "a fantasy with a murder mystery". It's even complete with a couple of "let me gather everybody to lay out my accusations" style scenes.
But it's the worldbuilding that adds color on top of the solid mystery. The fantasy here is that there this world has experts in biological augmentation, where people are changed to further their station in service of the Empire, often in ways that have negative consequences for them personally. Technologically, things feel like an industrial age that has pursued biological advances rather than gas, such as mushrooms for cooling or worms for lighting. The Empire itself comprises a series of ring walls, where every wet season gigantic titans attack from the sea and must be repelled.
I would have happily read either just a great mystery or a fantasy novel with such an interesting world, but having both together was a delight.
Definitely magic and crime. Positively a great whodunit. Looking forward to the next one.
Robert Jackson Bennett takes the classic pairing of irritable genius detective and neophyte assistant and transplants it to a wild fantasy setting in The Tainted Cup. Sometimes when I read a book, I get the feeling that the author knocked their own socks off while writing it. The world Bennett has created here is a feat of worldbuilding. The scenes exude a sense of history and the descriptions bring everything to vibrant life in my mind’s eye. This book is a fun ride, even if some characters aren’t as fully realized as the settings...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
