'THE TAINTED CUP'....HORRIFIC MURDERS PLAGUE A FANTASY KINGDOM....NOT TO MENTION MONSTERS, TOO

 The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennet (2024)

       Now here's the first bit of honesty.....Fantasy is a category I only sometimes sample and only if the premise is intriguing, startling and promises a rip-roarin' good time for even casual readers of the genre
"The Tainted Cup" easily checked those boxes.....so for me, resistance was futile.

        First I was instantly reminded of how in awe I am of the world building required for these epics... all .the geography, history, and minute details of civilization required to bring a universe to life from scratch. Even more, I'm nodding my head in appreciation of the clever skill required to mirror this fantasy world with the foibles, politics, customs and events we're well familiar with in real life. Humans gotta be humans......no matter what universe they're parked in.

         But what really drew me to this book......the idea of an odd couple detective duo tasked with uncovering a horrific series of mass murders amid 'The Empire'. And this empire is no bowl of cherries to exist in to begin with, with its high walls protecting the populace from 'Titans'......giant Lovecraft-ian sea monster leviathans who, given half a chance, would rampage like Godzilla on a sugar high. (And every so often, they get half a chance....)

         Master sleuth and supreme solve of mysteries Ana Dolabra prefers to stay secluded with a blindfold on to sharpen her already razor-sharp instincts. Her young apprentice Dinios Kol, gets the legwork assignments - interrogating suspects, hunting down clues and stumbling upon corpses. All in a day's work.

       The crimes this pair must solve are the stuff of nightmares.......deploying a poison that results in spectacularly agonizing deaths right out of an unrated director's cut horror movie. And to catch the perpetrators, they must clash with the upper strata of The Empire food chain........and due to a breach in those walls, the empire's on the verge of another Leviathan whoop-de-doo.....for which humans stand at the bottom of the food chain.

         Even as a rare fantasy world tourist, I loved the mystery set up, the intricate creation of 'The Empire' and all the usual tropes of the genre......backstabbing conspiracies, swordfights, horrifying monsters, imperious nobles, rough-hewn stalwart warriors, surprising reveals and a breathless coming of age for a naive young hero. The only thing I wish the author seriously reconsidered was having Ana Dolabra spew out non-stop F-bombs as if Quentin Tarantino wrote her dialogue. Jarring, to say the least and kind of unnecessary.

       But overall, I had a fine time losing myself in this universe and by all means, I' can't wait for Ana And Din's next adventure in Empire crime solving.  (Bur maybe next time they can try Gorilla Clue on those high walls and Ana learns some alternative words to replace her reliance on you-know-what....) 4 stars ****)....A new  BQ favorite of the year...