Will I love The Tainted Cup?

The Tainted Cup is a gem of world building replete with weird bioscience, an intricate sociopolitical hierarchy, and the ominous threat of annihilation by sea monster. Against this rich backdrop unfolds a series of bizarre murders investigated by the apprentice Kol and his eccentric, blindfolded, foul-mouthed master. The narrative is compelling and the tone is appropriately archaic. In fact, the book reminds me a lot of Gene Wolfe‘s 1980 masterpiece “The Shadow of the Torturer”. Like Torturer, The Tainted Cup has a clueless protagonist with a perfect memory, a futuro-medieval vibe with echoes of ancient Rome and distant glimpses of… show more.

Hard to select what I liked best, because the blending of a strong, likeable lead character and his eccentric-to-say-the-least boss, a totally original and fascinating world, and a devilishly complex murder mystery kept me riveted. I believed I was there and couldn't wait to see the plot unravel.

Sherlock Holmes meets Brandon Sanderson in this fantasy whodunnit.

The Tainted Cup features two of my favorite things in one book—a murder mystery and a fully conceived fantasy world unlike any I've ever read. There were also a lot of great characters—all imperfect and absolutely fascinating.

There were also monsters. Mind-blowingly huge monsters! And people who had been enhanced (or not) in many different ways. And cool plants and birds.

And I love the protagonist Ana Dolabra, the eccentric but brilliant investigator, kind of an even more eccentric female version of Benoit Blanc. Her assistant, Dinios Kol, is so loveable and you find yourself cheering for him constantly despite… show more.