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vo1dn3ss 's review for:
A Drop of Corruption
by Robert Jackson Bennett
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
At the 80% I was prepared to give this book 2 stars. By 90% and just about an hour left of reading, I considered just dropping it and not reading book 3. I decided to push through and finish anyway and while I found my opinion a bit redeemed by the last 10% and the wonderful authors note discussing the theme, I cant discount my disappointments with the weaknesses of the book.
Im a longtime fan of RJB and Ive been reading him since Foundryside. His books have been consistently good, though nothing has blown my hair back. But, to this point, A Drop of Corruption is his weakest book.
There are two main reasons I didnt enjoy this.
I got the impression from book one that the Titans would play more of an epic role in the trilogy. There was a murmuring among reviewers that Shadows of the Leviathan is a really cool mix of Attack on Titan and Sherlock Holmes, and after reading the first book, I wanted that blend of epic Kaiju moments with the Holmsian dynamic between Din and Anna. I felt that book one teased these Titan attacks as a more prominent role in the story. Book Two gave me no epic kaiju moments. Just a dull detective procedural which both RBJ and his character Ana describe as “Disappointing and petty.” 85% of this book feels like a nothingburger. All the new characters are written at a distance to maintain reader suspicion on the mystery, meanwhile, the reader is given no cause to care about this new city and its inhabitants. I felt myself losing all suspicion by the end of the book because I just didnt care. Din nor Ana never felt in danger and I never got emotionally drawn to anything that happened.
Among those two things, I also felt that the detective procedural was unbelievable. It didnt need to feel realistic, but this plot was absolutely ridiculous. Too many reveals, too many uturns, and towards the end of the book, following one of the worst battle scenes Ive ever seen in print, we get an ultimate anti-climactic reveal followed by another u-turn. And thats all she wrote.
Also, I just want to say that I thought the humor in book 2 doesnt come close to book 1.
The two saving graces of the book are the Ana and Din relationship, as well as the themes which RBJ brilliantly spoke upon in the authors note. You may also love this if you are an absolute worldbuilding nut. Lots of history and fantasy science in this one.
For those reasons, I like it enough to carry on in the series and I will read the conclusion next year. Mostly because I really love Ana and Din. The themes weren’t deep enough for me to forgive a disappointing and petty detective procedural. Hopefully Bennet can bring back the epic with the finale.
Im a longtime fan of RJB and Ive been reading him since Foundryside. His books have been consistently good, though nothing has blown my hair back. But, to this point, A Drop of Corruption is his weakest book.
There are two main reasons I didnt enjoy this.
I got the impression from book one that the Titans would play more of an epic role in the trilogy. There was a murmuring among reviewers that Shadows of the Leviathan is a really cool mix of Attack on Titan and Sherlock Holmes, and after reading the first book, I wanted that blend of epic Kaiju moments with the Holmsian dynamic between Din and Anna. I felt that book one teased these Titan attacks as a more prominent role in the story. Book Two gave me no epic kaiju moments. Just a dull detective procedural which both RBJ and his character Ana describe as “Disappointing and petty.” 85% of this book feels like a nothingburger. All the new characters are written at a distance to maintain reader suspicion on the mystery, meanwhile, the reader is given no cause to care about this new city and its inhabitants. I felt myself losing all suspicion by the end of the book because I just didnt care. Din nor Ana never felt in danger and I never got emotionally drawn to anything that happened.
Among those two things, I also felt that the detective procedural was unbelievable. It didnt need to feel realistic, but this plot was absolutely ridiculous. Too many reveals, too many uturns, and towards the end of the book, following one of the worst battle scenes Ive ever seen in print, we get an ultimate anti-climactic reveal followed by another u-turn. And thats all she wrote.
Also, I just want to say that I thought the humor in book 2 doesnt come close to book 1.
The two saving graces of the book are the Ana and Din relationship, as well as the themes which RBJ brilliantly spoke upon in the authors note. You may also love this if you are an absolute worldbuilding nut. Lots of history and fantasy science in this one.
For those reasons, I like it enough to carry on in the series and I will read the conclusion next year. Mostly because I really love Ana and Din. The themes weren’t deep enough for me to forgive a disappointing and petty detective procedural. Hopefully Bennet can bring back the epic with the finale.