The Tainted Cup ARC Review

 The Tainted Cup

by Robert Jackson Bennett

                         Release Date: July 3, 2018

Genre: Fantasy

Age Range: Adult

Series: Shadow of the Leviathan

Goodreads Avg. Rating: 4.33 stars

Hmm, should I have read Sherlock Holmes before this? Or maybe one of the author's other works. Is this his normal writing style?

This story takes place in the Khanum Empire. It is a land that lives with a level of fear of the wet seasons. For in the wet seasons, the chance of having the sea walls breached by a leviathan and contagions spread is much higher. That's right this land is filled with monstrous sea creatures, however you only get one disturbing glance at them. I feel from how it was described that it might come back to be an important fact. The empire is set up in a series of rings of land called Kantons. The outermost kanton is against the sea. The legion there is responsible for the defense of the whole empire. It is only briefly mentioned but there was another species before the human empire. These were the ones that built the sea wall and Titan Road. The people seem to speak of them with fondness and awe, at this, I believe it might be believed that we lived peacefully until they died out naturally. However, that does sound odd for a human civilization.

There is not exactly a magic system here. More like a version of fantasy science. In this realm, the apothecaries use parts of leviathans to change people. Some people are altered to be able to be better soldiers, others to improve memory. The wealthy use these changes to look more appealing and live longer. There are also infusions to protect against contagions. There are several types of awful ways to die that could be spread by spores or plants.

From the description, I had expected two main characters. However, we will see the book only through Dinios Kol. He was appointed to be the assistant investigator to Ana Dolabra only four months ago. Anna is an eccentric genius to be sure. Din has to be her eyes and ears around the kanton as they go about the investigation. Din is also hiding something. He is fearful of anyone finding out and it costing his job. You will find out what it is pretty early on. However, as the story keeps going there will be another layer added to this.

The Tainted Cup follows Din and Ana as they investigate the death of Captain Blas at a very prominent estate. In the Khanum Empire deaths by contagion are mostly contained but not uncommon. The dead captain was a high-ranking Engineer for the Legion and was found in most a disturbing state. As the facts lead our investigators to high stakes it quickly becomes clear this was only part of a larger puzzle. This type of enigma is exactly what Ana wants to crack.

This who did it was masterfully done. We had our suspects to chase all while the threat of the leviathans growing closer loomed. It gave a very different feel to the mystery with this other threat. Then the larger scope of why Ana was placed in that kanton was revealed and it was just the perfect touch to be able to continue the series.

I really enjoyed the book overall. There were times when I wanted the story to move forward at a better speed. We will spend a good bit of time looking at the details, but this is an investigation so those were important facts. This is a series that takes a different spin on mystery and fantasy. I will be keeping an eye out to see how it continues.

You can find this book from the below retailers:

Amazon     Barnes & Noble