The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett is one of the most talked-about recent releases readers keep adding to their lists and it is easy to see why: an eccentric detective and her eidetic assistant solve murders in a monster-besieged empire.
What it's about
Robert Jackson Bennett fuses a Holmes-and-Watson murder mystery with staggeringly original fantasy: an empire defended against giant sea leviathans by bio-engineered humans, where a brilliant, housebound investigator and her perfect-memory apprentice unravel a bizarre killing. It is clever, funny and bursting with ideas.
Why everyone's talking about it
The Tainted Cup was one of the best-reviewed fantasy novels of its year, winning awards and topping best-of lists, praised for making the fantasy-mystery mashup feel brand new. It kicked off a series readers immediately embraced.
The verdict, for now
If you want a fantasy that is a genuine page-turner and a delight of worldbuilding, start here. Come for the impossible murder, stay for one of the freshest fantasy worlds in years.
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