The Tainted Cup

This was a great read. Like Bennett's "City of ..." series, this one mixes mystery with fantasy and again carries off Bennett's skill in creating a page-turner. Describing The Tainted Cup as crossover or hybrid though doesn't do justice to the variety of narrative and thematic elements appearing in the book. I really enjoyed the world-building of Daretana as a society heavily dependent on plant-based materials and biological sciences. The two primary characters, as detectives, were fascinating and in lesser hands I think would have been difficult to pull off. Bennett however makes them relatable and it is fascinating to watch the trajectories of their development through the book. There are also elements of a domestic spy thriller, as Bennett again visits infighting amongst the bureaucratic concerns of states. If that weren't enough, there are Kaiju elements as well.

I don't always feel surprised reading a Bennett book, but the pages fly by and I never feel as though something is unconvincing or poorly rendered. Very much looking forward to the next one.

This Holms and Watson duo really captured me. The fact that the setting isn't London, but a province near the seawall that protects a biotech empire from seasonal attack by giant leviathans makes it much more appealing.

The biotech isn't mimicking current or future technology, it mainly enhances natural abilities. The augmentations have repercussions and unwanted side effects.

The story is toled in first person by Dinios Kol, an engraver, augmented to have perfect recall. He is very competent but suffers from imposter syndrome as he tries to hide his dyslexia from his superiors.

Kol is assigned to assist the eccentric genius investigator Ana Dolabra, an over sensitive woman that has to blindfold herself in order to manage the amount of information assaulting her brain. Kol assits her by going out into the world and recalling what he's seen and heard.

As the plot thickens, we learn more about the empire and its ills.

As mysteries go, our attention is pointed towards many clues, the satisfaction is more in watching competent people do a good job in the face of adversity.

The Tainted Cup is a real page-turner and I found it hard to put down.