/lit/ - Literature

>>23277165
The Tainted Cup, Shadow of the Leviathan #1 - Robert Jackson Bennett (2024)

Dinios Kol is an engraver, an altered person who has perfect recall, working as an assistant to Anagosa Dolabra, a high ranking investigator. They're part of what functions as law enforcement in the empire. Ana prefers to only solve cases rather than having to be personally involved in any sort of fieldwork. So, she sends Kol out to record and retrieve all of the evidence and then present it to her. Few mysteries present any challenge to her. The story starts with Kol's first murder case, which is only an introductory part of a greater mystery. They soon find themselves entangled with the most powerful houses, a grand conspiracy, and the possible fate of the empire depending on the successful resolution of the case.

The Tainted Cup is a first person fantasy mystery with a single POV. Saying this is a Holmes & Watson mystery is an easy reference, though I don't believe it's that accurate. In the acknowledgements, Bennet says the inspiration for Ana was Nero Wolfe and then later Hannibal Lecter. I can't comment on the former, though there are similarities with the latter. To that mix I'd add Mycroft Holmes rather than Sherlock. By relation I'd say that Kol is more Will Graham than John Watson. Since smell is so important to him, he also reminds me a bit of the private investigator from the eponymous Ukrainian TV series, The Sniffer. There's also some similarity with The Justice of Kings, the first book of Richard Swan's Empire of the Wolf series.

The Empire of Khanum is the namesake of the Khanum people, who have long since died out, but their name and technology continues on with those humans who came after. This is a civilization that has mastered biotech and cannons. Their level of technology is unclear and uneven. There's a considerable amount that in other contexts would be considered science fiction. I found it rather interesting to see how much they could do with bioplastics and other repurposing of organic life. There's also a lot that seems to be from the Middle Ages at latest. As this book takes place entirely in the outskirts of the empire, the inner areas may be more advanced. The greatest threat to the empire is that with each wet season everything they are and have is put to the test as the leviathans, beings the size of mountains, come from the eastern sea to travel inland, destroying everything in their path.

I loved everything about this and it's a strong contender to be my favorite book published in 2024 and will surely be among the best I've read this year. It starts very strong and only gets better as it goes on. All the characters are great, the mystery is a lot of fun and fair, the worldbuilding is excellent, it's well-written, and it reminds me of much else that I've greatly enjoyed. On a personal level I don't have any complaints at all. This is definitely a series I'll be looking forward to for each book.

Rating: 5/5