The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher: Del Rey Books 2024
Jacket/ Marketing Synopsis:
In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.
Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.
At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.
Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.
As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of 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.
Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.
Spoiler Free Review
This book is beautiful, scientifically surreal, and wondrously spell binding. Robert Jackson Bennet has created a world both familiar and strange, relatable and yet alien. The themes are familiar, but are used to turn you on your ear. And the most polite people in the book are the ones you can't trust.
Fall into a steam punk London on a distant planet. Meet the recently exiled Sherlock Holmes style detective Ana Dolabra, who despite being voluntarily blind for most of the book, can still detect the clues of murder better than anyone else in a room full of altered minds and heightened senses.
Meet her Watson “Din” Kole, whom has the ability to engrave memories permanently, but is terrible at reading, writing, and lying.
Together they tackle this impossible case. A contagion is spreading across the region. Trees are bursting out of people’s bodies. The victims are unrelated. Rich, poor, loner, friends.
What looks like accidental contagion to the local authorities sings of murder to Ana Dolabra. But she needs proof. She needs evidence. She needs an assistant who is honest, trusted, and by the book. Instead she chooses Din Kole - a boy who got the lowest grades in his rank, and can’t read or write.
And they’d better hurry. Because while they are hunting down a killer, a real monster is banging at the walls of their canton. If it breaks through nothing they do will matter.
About the Author
Robert Jackson Bennett
He’s won two Shirley Jackson Awards for Best Novel, an Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, a Sydney J Bounds Award for Best Newcomer, and a Philip K Dick Award Citation of Excellence!
City of Stairs was shortlisted for the Locus Award and the World Fantasy Award. City of Blades was a finalist for the 2015 World Fantasy, Locus, and British Fantasy Awards.
Besides that, he’s a family man with a wife and two sons living in Austin. He seems like a nice guy with a good since of humor.
Spoiler Review
What I Liked
The complexity of the mystery is as twisted and provocative as a healthy tangle of vines bursting out of a man's chest! Despite this complex puzzle of unfamiliar names, places and events the clues were easy to follow once Ana explains them. Ana’s explanation seem obvious and common sense, but only after you understand the world they live in. Much like Sherlock, Ana comes to the table with a unique combination of experiences, observations, and knowledge that others have either over looked, ignored, or didn't connect to the situation at hand.
Like a Sherlock novel, the reader is following the Watson character in close third POV. We know what he knows, and we learn what he learns. However, unlike Dr. Watson, Din is very observant. As an engraver, it's his job to see, observe, and remember what he has seen and observed. Usually, in a book like this with such detailed setting descriptions I become frustrated and bored. But the ceremony of Din going through his engraver's processes makes these detailed descriptions feel like action. It's enjoyable to have him describe a greasily murder scene in beautiful opulent rooms, or dreary neglected basements. I found myself repeating the descriptions, getting lost in clever word play, then having to start a paragraph over. To follow what he'd said.
Of course you don't understand the brilliance of these set ups until Din replays the scenes for Ana and she puts them together. Seemingly unimportant details that hung Din up, become vital clues, or obvious tell-tails that once pointed out make perfect since. The result is making the reader feel almost as clever and informed as we go on to the next piece of the puzzle and we too start to pick up on things. Because Din gets better at following his instincts we gain trust in him as a parter just as Ana does. The result is feeling reassured in this chaotic and reliable world. Escapist fantasy at it's best!
What I Loved
The world building in The Tainted Cup is masterful. Every space has character. Even now typing this I could smell the sea of the Daretana, or walk the halls of the manors Din explored as he sought clues. As I've said Din's observant. His descriptions are like poetry, making you feel as though you are right there with him feeling what he feels - like a odd little fish in this dark alien steam punk world.
I also loved the voice actor!
Andrew Fallaize is magnificent in the audio verson of this book. His performance really sells the world building, plays on the poetry of Din's descriptions, and brings life to each and every character.
I've listened to many audio books by now. I'm not exaggerating by saying that all of Fallaize's characters sound different. Along with Benniett's descriptions, Fallaize's ability to give each character a unique voice really helps when telling people apart - especially later in the book when the action starts to get heavy and everyone comes into contact with Din in a rush. Fallaize's women sounded like women, the men like men. Each of the main repeat characters has a distinct way of talking that is so clear that you can see their gestured movements before they are described in words.
And yes, I keep saying performance because Andrew Fallaize is performing this story, not simply reading. It sounds as though he's having fun doing it. There are other books which I needed to purchase because I didn't agree with the way the reader chose to intone words, or chose not to express emotions at all in any characters. Not so with Tainted Cup. I may purchase this book because I enjoyed it, but not because I need to reread it with my own voice in my head.
Dislikes:
Literally the only difficulty I had with this book was how much it inspired me to keep working on my own passion project. It triggered my ADHD so much that I struggled to complete reading, because every single time I picked it up I felt like I should be working on my own story. But that's compliment.
This is the kind of well written novel that makes doubt my own ability to get my story done and out there. But at the same time it gave me ideas, and passes on things such using familiar descriptors on alien worlds.
I may have to buy this book just to keep inspired.
Conclusion:
The Tainted Cup is beautiful, brilliant, scary, and surreal . Robert Jackson Bennet has created a steam punk London on a distant planet. Any mystery, fantasy, speculative or horror fans will love living in this space - especially if they enjoyed Sir Author Conan Doyal's star character or anything by Philip K. Dick.
The audiobook is worth it for this one. The performance by Andrew Fallaize is master class and really enhances the story.
Check out these other books by Robert Jackson Bennett:
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