This book was a little bit of a slow burn for me. I had a difficult time understanding the alterations and the complex government system. In all honesty, I think there were parts I still didn't understand after I finished the book. However, I still found it to be a pretty enjoyable read, and by the end, I was flipping pages so fast to see the conclusion.

While other characters in the book have had alterations done that make it so they can see in the dark or smell contagions, Din has been altered to have perfect memory and recall. These alterations seem to be a combination of magic and technology. It wasn't ever really explicitly stated. I don't think that's a bad thing; it gives the world room to build across other books. There were several minor plot points that make the world seem magical, like how many worm species a person could get or the highest level of "government" personnel basically living forever while also being as large as a house. It's also made clear that the leviathans have earth-altering blood and are studied to help with grafts and other scientific advancements.

This book at its heart is a murder mystery, and it's done very well. While we have a suspect pretty early on, the book continues to draw the reader in by slowly revealing new deaths and new angles. The author does an excellent job of relaying the stakes and of making Din's anxiety pop off the page. Din has dyslexia, though in this world, there isn't really a word for it. Din worries that his difficulty reading and writing will cost him his apprenticeship or make him bad at his job. This constant fear ups the stakes several times while he's looking for clues. His boss Ana is too sensitive to the world and, as such, Din must be the eyes and ears.

One other thing I really didn't enjoy about this was that the author continually mentioned the size of Din. Almost every chapter had mention of Din's height. It was kind of annoying. No one's inner monologue refers to their own height that frequently. I'm tall, and I don't constantly compare myself to others. It was a weird character quirk.

Overall, I had fun reading this even though the beginning was a bit of a slog to get through. It felt like I was reading the second book in a series and that there was something I missed from the beginning.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to enjoy this book early!

While this had a slow start for me, it was such a good time.

It was an intricate new world to explore and had a lot of ins and outs that I definitely didn’t perfectly keep track of.

I love the Sherlock/Watson vibes and it was absolutely delightful to experience Din’s POV. The characters were enjoyable, the world was intricate and diverse, and honestly once I got into it I didn’t want to stop reading (I’m writing this past my bedtime).

This has definitely pushed me to go find and read this author’s other works.

If you like
- Sherlock Holmes inspired fantasy
- fungus and mushroom magic
- complex murder mystery plots
- a dyslexic main character

Then you simply absolutely must read The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett out in Feb 2024!

4.5 Rounded up

I was so excited for this book as Foundryside is one of my favorites series (no I haven’t read locklands yet I’ll get there) and it did not disappoint!!

I am fascinated by RJB’s magic development and world building. He creates worlds that rely on magic, use it as a commodity and in their technology. It was the same in foundryside, the magic is not inherently in the people but they have monopolized what their world has.

And Din, oh Din, I adore our honest and rule following main character. And the JOY I felt when his dyslexia was revealed. To see myself in such a well written character who does such important work was so incredible.

I love RJB’s writing style. It’s descriptive and witty. He writes in such an engaging way that was perfectly applied to the mystery genre. His characters are incredibly compelling. Din was complex and well developed. I would have liked a little more depth from Ana and the side characters though.

The plot was so engaging, I really had no clue what was going on but as things were revealed, they made perfect sense. There was a side plot/conflict/impending doom with the leviathans and I found I wanted more from that. I expect that will develop more in the rest of the series considering it is the series name.

This was a fantastic read overall and I hope it finds its way into so many readers homes.

Thank you Del Ray for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve always been a fan of murder mystery books, and something about this mystery unfolding in a fantastical world full of plant contagions and leviathans just made it so enjoyable. The world building was definitely the highlight for me. I was constantly wanting to know more, and I loved visualizing all the organic elements, as well as the different character designs. It was all very vivid, and I would love to see this in a graphic novel format as well.

The majority of the focus of this book was on the plot, and unraveling the mystery of a series of murders. Din was a great protagonist to be following on this journey. He is the assistant to the very intense and enigmatic Ana, who was one of my favorites. Din’s humor was another highlight of the book for me, and I love the way he seemingly flails his way to success. That’s my boy!! I was so hoping for him to have a romantic rendezvous with one of the other characters, but I foresee lots of pining in Din’s future.

Overall I really enjoyed the plot, but I was wanting the characters to be just a bit deeper. Many of the emotions felt more on the surface level, and I wanted things to go past that. The biggest challenge I had was the end of the book. The last few chapters felt like there was way too much dialogue and everything was just being told to us through that, which started to feel a bit monotonous.

I would give this a solid 4⭐️ and would definitely love to read more stories either with these characters or in this world.

I cannot even tell you all how much I loved, loved, loved this book. After I started I was like this is genius can the intensity and world building continue and it did. Every pages was a sumptuous treat. I loved the characters so much and want more. The story is fast paced and keeps you flipping through this book. So much to enjoy so much to love. I read a NetGalley copy of this and will definitely be buying the book when it comes out. Do yourself a favor and get it.

The writing was a little hard for me to catch on to at first but after a bit I caught on. This was a very engaging story to read about. I’m very excited for the rest of the series. I really loved the characters here.

This was such a light fantasy, great for people who are interested in getting into the fantasy genre, as it is very reminiscent of the movie knives out (unfortunately not a favorite of mine). So while this isn’t a glowing review, don’t let that deter you. I recommend this to anyone looking for a humorous novel with great writing and bisexuals that will steal your heart, my favorites.

The Tainted Cup was so good! This is my first book by Robert Bennett and it will not be the last! I very much hope this will be a long running series! It was absolutely fantastic. The world-building and characters where fantastic an I was completely hooked from page one. Ana a Din Mike a perfect crime solving duo and the magic system which is based more on human augmentation than actual powers was intriguing and fresh in a genre that is very hard to be original in. This was a bit
sci-fi an old old technology with sea monsters in tainted blood that could create endless possibilities for future augmentation as well as spell doom for any city in their wake requiring fortified sea walls armed with bombardments to kill the creatures if possible.

Ana comes to a small canton in which she is assigned after an investigation goes wrongly. Only whisperings a rumors are known of what happened but it is said her investor was murdered so when Ana arrives she is in need of a replacement investigator o b her eyes. Due to her augmentations being in public unless absolutely necessary can be over stimulating to her mind as she has been created to link everything she knows or learns into a nearly perfect crime solving process that seems almost entirely impossible to understand to others yet she is able to understand and connect event the smallest of details.

For this she needs what is called an engraver a person augmented to literally be a walking encyclopedia of information which he collects by recording every detail of an investigation scene and links the memories by scent and can recall to the smallest detail with perfect recollection anything an engraver sees, hears, is told, smells or deduces thru training while investigating the scenes. Ana must end her engraver to be her ears and eyes taking all knowledge the engraver collects and thru the retelling process solves the crimes.

This brings us to Din who is way past the age of apprenticeship he has what he considers a defect in his augmentation and struggles to conceal he can barely read or write and took so long to pass exams he was on the brink of being considered a failure in the augmentation process. When he applies to be Ana’s assistant apprentice it is his last chance to pass the required testing and after failing all other exams scores perfectly. The shock is so great he is tested again multiple times with the same results and is selected by Ana.

Together they prove to be an uncannily strong team and quickly solve a convoluted puzzle of o inconsistencies surrounding a strange and terrifying murder scene. Although they did not have complete closure it was enough for the largest city in the District to notice and quickly summon them to solve what prove to be a larger and calculated scheme that threatens to topple the entire city putting it and surrounding areas deeply at risk of falling to ruin by titan attacks on the walls as those that keep the wall in place an fortified are targeted in gruesome murders.

Absolutely fantastic plot characters and world. I truly hope to see more in the future it is a must read!

I'm a big fan of Robert Jackson Bennett's Sci-fi and horror novels, but I read one of his previous fantasy novels and didn't like it as much. But as this book is being described as Sherlock Holmes-ish, I figured I'd give it a try. It took a while to get into, as there's a lot of world building, strangeness and odd jargon that takes getting used to. But after the character introductions are over and the mystery really gets going, the story picks up pace and gets better and better the farther it goes. The world is a unique one, where those who protect it have numerous augmentations befitting of their roles, and much of their materials come from various plant life. Elements of the plot bring to mind Attack on Titan, as civilization resides within various walled rings, with the aristocracy located towards the center while the Outer Rim houses the most important wall of all, as it protects the inhabitants from kaiju-like monsters known as leviathans that come to attack every wet season. Kol is a recent academy graduate who is now assistant to the enigmatic Ana, a highly intelligent woman who is called in to solve the worst crimes, mostly staying in her rooms, blindfolded to avoid over-stimulation while Kol, who can imprint all he sees an hears into his own mind, serves as her eyes and ears. The plot is intricately layered and plays out in an engrossing fashion, as the pair try to solve bizarre murders while under the imminent threat of a leviathan attack. I ended up liking this a lot more than I expected, and would definitely read further adventures in this series.

"The Tainted Cup" is (I hope!) the first in a series of a profoundly unique science fiction take on the Sherlock Holmes mythos; think mystery solving with a dash of Pacific Rim. I'm not sure what I was charmed by the most: the characters or the worldbuilding! The world was so utterly foreign but it made a cohesive, detailed sense that I thoroughly enjoyed as its horrific murders began to be revealed. Ana, our Sherlock, and Din, our Watson, are charmingly rendered. I was particularly pleased that Ana was as endearing as she was infuriating; so many Sherlocks forget the former in their bid to be the smartest in the room. All in all, I highly recommend this one - truly a unique undertaking, and I enjoyed every minute of the mystery unfolding (and it's exciting conclusion). Did I mention there were massive town-destroying monsters coming from the sea, too? Because there are massive town-destroying monsters coming from the sea, too,.

I recieved a free e-arc through NetGalley. This is my own opinion about the book. And I liked to thank the publisher for a chance to review.

I would give this a 3.5/5 stars. I am not normally a murder-mystery reader but was given a chance to read this book and it seemed interesting. The plot is well thought out, the world is very well built, the magic is more a "science" and part of everyday living and is not an extra element to the world. The author does a very good job or repetition to help readers remember what is what. What lost my interest is how the dialogue to me is very monotoned to me. I couldn't tell the difference between characters by their speech and the urgency of the world was never really developed. The main character and his interaction with his master is very good but the other characters to me feel flat. There is no real action it's just a detective reading and plotting through evidence of a book and it was enjoyable to a point where to me it started to feel repetitive. Overall decent story to me probably won't continue the series.

DNF- I keep trying to read fantasy-type books and I just can't get into them. This book currently has a lot of good reviews on Goodreads so I love that it works for others, but it just wasn't for me.

If you enjoy fantasy and mystery, this provides nice mix of the two. Characters are well-developed, but a bit more could've been done with the world-building earlier on in the story. There was more humor than I was expecting. There were ample twists, but there was also an overabundance of cursing that really wasn't even needed. the large number of characters was a bit confusing on occasion. I did have the final reveal figured out in advance, but it was fun trying to figure it out.

Robert Jackson Bennett is easily one of my favorite authors currently writing in the sf/f field. His world-building is strong, detailed, and comes across so very real. His stories are complex and while not always described, there is clearly history and future to the current events. And his characters are unique and admirable for their honesty and directness.

In The Tainted Cup, Bennett departs just a little from his The Divine Cities trilogy and The Founders trilogy. The previous trilogies are definitely fantasies - high, dark, intricate. This, while still in a very Robert Jackson Bennett world, is first a murder mystery, and second a fantasy.

Dinios Kol is the new assistant (an engraver who has been magically altered via Leviathan blood, to have a perfect memory) to investigator Ana Dolabra. Ana's abilities are rivaled only by her eccentricities and few people want to be around her, much less act as her assistant. But the relationship between Dinios and Ana seems to be working well, though Dinios worries that if his boss ever discovered his secret being fired would be the least of his worries.

A number of deaths have occurred on the same day, but they all seem connected to the very unusual death of a High Imperial Officer, found dead in a well-fortified mansion/home of the district's wealthier citizens. His being there wasn't unusual - he would often stay there when in the area. But the nature of his death is unusual (even in an area rife with plagues and magic) ... a tree has sprouted from his body, inside the home.

Dinios will study and record his impressions from the scene (no easy task, given the cold reception he gets from the home's owner) and deliver his impressions to Ana. Ana, who doesn't leave the confines of her home and often wears one or more blindfolds in order to keep her other sense more vibrant, will sort Dinios' information to determine the killer.

The mystery here is solid, but really it's the characters, specifically Dinios and Ana, who really make this worthwhile (which is often true with a mystery series). It's not just their unique personalities, but the 'gifts' or abilities they've acquired, that make them fun to read. In this way, the world this is set in is so very integral to who the characters are, and again ... Bennett excels at world-building.

I hope that this is a long-running series and not just a trilogy. Dinios and Ana are a great pair and the revelation at the end (and the response to it) just makes me that much more eager to get in to the next 'The Shadow of the Leviathan' book.

Looking for a good book? Robert Jackson Bennett pens a top-notch mystery in a fantasy world that only he could create in The Tainted Cup giving us a tremendous reading experience.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Fantasy murder mystery is such an underrated subgenre, and The Tainted Cup is a great example of why publishers should publish more books in this subgenre.

The fantasy worldbuilding elements were really cool. It was fascinating how the “technology” in the world was accomplished by magic. And I loved the idea of the Empire struggling against the leviathans, which reminded me of the kaiju in Pacific Rim. The mystery was well done: The investigation was compelling and moved at a brisk pace, and all the clues fell satisfyingly in place at the end. I’ve been having a difficult reading year, yet I devoured this book in just a few days.

I really liked Din as a protagonist; the mysteries about his background formed another thread of tension in parallel with the main mystery that worked well. Also, how cool is it to see a gay male protagonist in an Adult fantasy novel like this? I enjoyed his relationship with Ana, the Sherlock Holmes-esque detective of the novel, as well. Though, personally, I wish her dialogue were written just a tad differently. I don’t have anything against swearing, but the combination of Victorian-like genteel speech with profanities didn’t completely work for me.

I’d definitely recommend this to anyone else who has a craving for a murder mystery in a fantasy world, and I’d love to see what further mysteries Din and Ana solve in future books!

4.5 stars

Wow, this book, I am not sure where to begin. This is the first book in a new adult fantasy series, following the perspective of Din. It has so many great elements to it, great foreshadowing, some of them I did not even realize and had to go back and double check. I thought that it had great world building, the society, magic and structure pulled you in.
I found their use of magic fascinating especially how it was so unique with many pros and advantages but also a lot of consequences it seemed, the character Din, who in an engraver is a great example of this. There was a lot of information in this book to retain, the writing was spot on, it pulled you in and never felt like I was getting overwhelmed with all the info coming at me. I did have a little bit of a hard time keeping names straight of people, places and objects, I had to flip back and forth a bit to double check at times.
There were so many twists, turns, suspects, and motives happening. Din and Ana both were captivating, flawed, brilliant and very observant. They both really made this story. Not to mention the murder mystery that was happening, steeped in political landmines. It was great and I can’t wait for the next one. This book really stands out, highly recommend it.
I received an advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

The Tainted Cup is a detective mystery wrapped up in a fantasy world. I am not sure that I would have picked this one up without the recommendation from the publisher, but I sure enjoyed it.

In Daretana, an imperial officer is killed. The investigator and her assistant are tasked to figure out the mystery. As they investigate, the mystery grows larger and larger. Is there a conspiracy in the Empire with one of the long-standing gentrypeople families? Pick this one up to find out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the review copy of this book.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺, 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴.”

WOW talk about a murder mystery. With the absolute most wild cause of death, investigators with a perfect clarity for details a truckload of chuckles, and a whole slew of suspects, The Tainted Cup was an absolutely fascinating read from start to finish. It’s no mystery that I Love Bennett’s work—Foundryside is one of my all time favorites books. The Tainted Cup is just another extremely unique story with a more scientific “magic system” and one hell of a mystery. Can I also just say how glad I am that this is going to be a series and not a standalone?

Dinios Kol is an apprentice investigator to a very eccentric, unique and intelligent Head Investigator with an abundance of quirks. He is also an engraver; capable of remembering every single thing he sees or hears. This world is full of different alterations people can get, including becoming an engraver, or beauty enhancements, fighting prowess, a whole assortment of different effects. This in effect with the looming threat of their walls being breached by massive Titan like beasts called Leviathans leads to a subtle tension throughout the whole novel that kept me so engaged.

The representation, as in Bennett’s other books, is here proudly. Din has a form of dyslexia, he can read words but it’s very difficult for him and he can’t use his ability unless read them aloud, which tampers with his work sometimes. It’s also a queernormative world which is the only kind of world you should have in a world of your own creation—by have prejudice when you could just not? Din is such a special character; respectful, nervous, determined as all get out, smart and capable—I found myself instantly rooting for him.

If you’re looking for a well done murder mystery but in a fantastical new world, look no further than this series and indeed anything else Bennett has written. A true gem of a read.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘋𝘪𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘥. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦.”

Thanks to Netgalley and RHPG Ballantine Del Rey for gifting me an advanced copy. Below is my honest review.

Robert Jackson Bennett is an expert at creating interesting new worlds, and The Tainted Cup is no exception. I loved that Bennett stepped into a new genre - murder mystery - with his own unique spin on it.

I was going through a bit of a reading slump when I started this one, so it took me a bit to get into it, but as my reading mojo slowly returned, it got harder and harder to put this one down, and I tore through the pages like dappleglass bursting out of the victim's torsos in this one!

Definitely will be picking up book two when it releases. This one really left me wanting a sequel and to see more of Din and Ana.

Did I mention the alphabet representation? Yep. I loved it!

I really enjoyed this book. There were a few times that I felt like things were moving a little slow for me, but overall, it was an enjoyable read. I loved Din and Ana were fabulous, and liked the way that they almost worked as foils for one another. I appreciated the representation of disability and how that played out in the story.

The mystery was well developed, and while I was able to guess several things, I never felt like I had figured everything out. There were a few plot ends that I felt weren't completely tied up, but overall, it's a cohesive mystery story in a really fantastic world. The world that Bennett has built here is really interesting - I have never read a fantasy world quite like it.

Definitely an enjoyable read. Highly recommend to fantasy fans who want a little mystery in their lives.