I found Robert Jackson Bennett’s first book in his Shadow of the Leviathan series, The Tainted Cup (https://skiffyandfanty.com/blog/book-review-the-tainted-cup-by-robert-jackson-bennett/), to be entertaining and intriguing. In the sequel, Bennett expands on his worldbuilding, continues character development, introduces new antagonists, and explores a twisting plot. Anyone who enjoyed the first book should find A Drop of Corruption: An Ana and Din Mystery (Shadow of the Leviathan: Book 2) equally satisfying. I definitely advise against jumping into the series with the sequel, though; start with the first one.
This second book in the series shows more about how a lot of things work: the relationship between assistant Iudex(1) investigator Dinias Kol (Din) and his reclusive genius boss Anagosa Dolabra (Ana); the ways the Empire uses the corpses of the dreaded leviathan invaders from the sea in order to fuel its magic and its economy; imperial interservice rivalry and cooperation; and the complicated politics on the frontier. I wouldn’t exactly call the plot convoluted, since it tracks the investigation as it occurs, fairly directly, but events are revisited and rethought as fresh evidence requires reinterpretations, and many avenues of investigation are followed.
At the start, Ana and Din are sent to the eastern edge of the continent, to a kingdom that is still in the slow process of assimilation-by-treaty, but which by circumstances of geography contains the most important processing center for leviathan corpses, from which the empire extracts vital magical substances. Initially, they’re investigating a locked-room mystery in which an imperial Treasury agent has disappeared from a guarded tower, but Ana quickly realizes that it’s a case of murder. As the investigation proceeds, more people die, and tensions rise between the empire and the semi-subject kingdom, with kingdom-internal disputes between assimilationists and resisters providing further complications and possible motivations, as imperial Treasury agents, Apothetikists (basically potion magicians), and the mysterious Augurs try to preserve their departmental secrets from the Iudex imperial investigators.
Since Din narrates (first-person, past tense), we know Din only secondhand, from her reported actions and words. She cares passionately about justice, and preserving the Empire to bolster its ceaseless battling against leviathans. In this book, we find that she also cares about Din’s welfare, including his mental health and sense of choice – she doesn’t say this, exactly, but some of her subtle maneuvering definitely points to this. And she also deliberately leads Din to a realization about her nature, and another imperial secret. He may still mostly be a tool to her, but one she is investing in, to increase his stability and long-term utility.
Less vague but not plot-critical spoilers for the first and second book:
Meanwhile, Din, suffering from newly increased strain due to his family’s heavy debts, seeks momentary release with a woman (not his boss), and then they keep getting thrown together; I wasn’t expecting this, after the first book’s hesitant, slow-burn male-male relationship, but upon reflection, it makes sense that Din has become more needy instead of less, having little hope of renewing that fleeting former romance. I appreciate what a complicated character Din is.
I also appreciate RJB’s musings, through the mouths of Din, Ana, and various other characters, about the nature of service vs. glory, and justice, and governance. Discussions throughout, and events sweeping through the kingdom by the end of the book, also explore the relationships between rulers and ruled people, and show the unwisdom of relying upon royalty. Bennett’s Author’s Note essay at the end reflects even more explicitly and expansively on the nature of power and autocracy. I appreciate his insights, and his illustrations of them through fiction.
I can imagine RJB ending the series here, having provided some revelations and explanations about worldbuilding, and having resolved certain aspects of Ana’s and Din’s lives through their choices, but that would be disappointing. I’d be happy even with some “the further adventures of Ana and Din” books, but RJB being RJB, I expect that further books in the series, if any, will include much more worldbuilding goodness, deepening of characters, and exploring of societal structures.
Content warnings: Violence, murders, mild body horror, identity issues.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley for review.
(1) That’s iudex with an i, not an L, in case the font strips the serifs from the capital letter. Iudex is the department, so basically an Iudex investigator is an Imperial investigator.
