- Publisher: BANTAM DOUBLEDAY DELL
- Publication date: 02/06/2024
- Pages: 432
- ISBN: 9781984820709
- Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett is a typical Sherlock Holmes / John Watson type mystery. Typical that is if Sherlock was an older agoraphobic woman and Watson was a young dyslexic man with alterations to give him an eidetic memory. Oh, and if they both lived in a fantastical world with humongous kaiju-type creatures that try to come ashore every wet season to ravage the empire.
Ana Dolab is a detective who is so overwhelmed by external stimulation that she wears a blindfold at all times. Because of this she rarely leaves her home and instead sends her relatively new assistant, Dinios Kol, out to perform the actual investigation. With his perfect memory, he can the relate all the details of any situation to Ana, which allows her to deduce the answers to the mysteries.
They are asked to solve the mystery of a man killed by a plant that burst from within him to grow into a tree in a matter of minutes. This murder leads them to a series of similar killings, and they have to travel to the city of Talagray near the Sea Wall which was recently breached by the first Leviathan of the season.
From the kaiju-like Leviathans to enhanced persons with varying abilities, to the political machinations, to the physical structure of the empire, Bennett creates a rich and satisfying universe for the book. Still, even though it has monsters and near-magical abilities and sword-play, this is not your typical fantasy novel. This is a mystery set in a fantastic world, and it is the mystery that is the heart of the story.
I am not a huge fan of most fantasy novels. Too often fantasy writers just use a magical deus ex machina to solve all their problems. The Tainted Cup does not stoop to that. There are near magical abilities, but those are given a rational explanation in the universe created. I am also not a huge fan of mysteries. Too often mystery writers either write stupid characters or bring hidden information out at the last second to solve the mystery. Robert Jackson Bennett writes intelligent, imperfect characters who use their abilities to track down clues to solve the mysteries. You get the feeling in the end that, had you just paid enough attention, you could have solved the crimes yourself. The fantastical elements are not used as a shortcut, they are there to create a richer world for the mystery to operate within.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Tainted Cup.
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For a little mystery built into the overall story line, try Anthrophobia, by Matt Truxaw
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