A review by tessa_talks_books
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

5.0

 

One-word review: Perfection

Emojis: 🌳🤯🫣

Rating: 5 🌟s

My thoughts:

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett is the most effective mashup of fantasy and mystery I have ever read. The fantasy is high fantasy with a complex and detailed world that I had to spend the first 5-10% just trying to get acclimated to. And then comes the murder mystery, which is strange but perfect for this strange world. The two genres are blended so seamlessly and artfully that, looking back, I'm still in awe.

Dinios Kol is the eyes and ears of an eccentric Holmesian-type detective, Ana Dolabra. This arrangement works perfectly for the pair since Kol has received an enhancement that allows him complete recall. Ana can take the details Kol recalls for her and deduce the who and why of most situations. When a puzzling case falls in their lap - a man is killed by a tree erupting from his body, and he is visiting one of the homes of this world's most influential families - their dangerous and compelling journey begins and took me on such a wild ride that I don't even know how to begin to describe it.

Amazingly, the story has extraordinary character development and is equally character-driven and plot-driven. I loved that these characters, Ana and Kol, in particular, are as complex as the world they live in. Although their world is alien, these characters' layers, struggles, and scars are decidedly relatable and establish their connection with the reader. So, while I only sometimes understood the world, I always understood the characters and their motivations.

If you are looking for a reading experience beyond compare, you must read The Tainted Cup and then come back and tell me your thoughts.