A worthy and wonderful sequel…
A few months ago, I was lucky enough to read the first book in Robert Jackson Bennett’s Shadow of the Leviathan series, The Tainted Cup. And I fell in love with it. Which was both awesome and slightly scary: awesome, of course, because I got to read a great book; but a bit scary because the bar was set so high for any sequels. Happily though, I’ve just finished an advance review copy of the next book, A Drop of Corruption, and it lives up to the challenge.
At its roots, Corruption is a natural follow-on to The Tainted Cup. The Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin relationship between Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol holds true, although there are occasional hints of Sherlock Holmes as well. Ana is still eccentric, enigmatic, and brilliant; while Din remains snarky and quietly competent, even if he is sometimes unable to figure out exactly where Ana’s thoughts are headed. And I’d be content just with their by-play, and the mystery itself, and some of the newer characters, like Signum Malo, whom I hope to see more of in future books. (Note: please please let there be future books…)
Corruption doesn’t stop there, though: there is more to the mystery (the mechanics of the locked room puzzle that notionally kicks off the story are rather quickly resolved, almost as an aside), more to the world-building, and more to the characters. And much more to the political background, which is an underlying, serious, thought-provoking commentary on – how shall I say this – the corruption and the stifling of ingenuity associated with autocrats and autocratic government. Which could be rather depressing, especially given our current circumstances. But there are also countervailing moments of optimism, not least of which is one of my favorite quotes, with Ana speaking to Din: “Because you are a reasonably smart boy. I suspect you shall come to realize what many Iudexii* eventually learn—that though the Legion defends our Empire, it falls to us to keep an Empire worth defending.”
Overall, A Drop of Corruption is a worthy and wonderful successor to The Tainted Cup, and I highly recommend it, both for mystery lovers and for fantasy readers.
And finally, a few practical notes: First, just go read it – and definitely don’t skip the Author’s Note once you get to the end! Second, although I imagine a new reader could enjoy A Drop of Corruption by itself, the experience will be much enhanced by reading the first book first. And third, my deep and sincere thanks go to Del Rey and NetGalley for the review copy…
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*the Iudexii are the legal/investigative corps to which Ana and Din both belong