"Even here at the Empire’s borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death both terrifying and impossible.
Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home.
At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana’s brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior—but as the case unfolds and he watches Ana’s mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.
As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect."-- Provided by Amazon
"Even here at the Empire’s borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death both terrifying and impossible.
Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home.
At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana’s brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior—but as the case unfolds and he watches Ana’s mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.
As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect."-- Provided by Amazon
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Find The Tainted Cup Robert Jackson Bennett in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find The Tainted Cup Robert Jackson Bennett in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
3 books in catalog
Blending murder mysteries with fantastical worldbuilding, high-concept speculative fiction often pairs deep procedural investigation with intricate fantasy systems. Author Robert Jackson Bennett has earned widespread acclaim in contemporary speculative fiction through works like the Hugo Award-winning novel The Tainted Cup and the acclaimed The Divine Cities trilogy, which began with City of Stairs.
Born on June 22, 1984, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Robert Jackson Bennett attended the University of Texas at Austin. He made his fiction debut with the 2010 supernatural novel Mr. Shivers, set during the Great Depression, which won the Shirley Jackson Award. He followed his debut with speculative novels including The Company Man and The Troupe before expanding into epic fantasy. His work has received the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Philip K. Dick Citation of Excellence, along with nominations for the World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Locus Awards. Bennett expanded his body of work with The Founders Trilogy and later launched The Shadow of the Leviathan series with The Tainted Cup, which won the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Novel and the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, followed by its sequel A Drop of Corruption. Bennett currently lives in Austin, Texas, with his family.
Bennett's writing frequently fuses genre conventions, combining traditional detective procedurals, horror elements, and industrial-era fantasy settings. His narratives routinely examine themes of empire, divine legacy, political corruption, power dynamics, and the consequences of technological or magical exploitation. Rather than relying on standard medieval fantasy tropes, Bennett crafts secondary worlds undergoing rapid political, economic, or physical transformation, balancing intricate mystery plots with grounded character relationships.
3 books in catalog
Blending murder mysteries with fantastical worldbuilding, high-concept speculative fiction often pairs deep procedural investigation with intricate fantasy systems. Author Robert Jackson Bennett has earned widespread acclaim in contemporary speculative fiction through works like the Hugo Award-winning novel The Tainted Cup and the acclaimed The Divine Cities trilogy, which began with City of Stairs.
Born on June 22, 1984, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Robert Jackson Bennett attended the University of Texas at Austin. He made his fiction debut with the 2010 supernatural novel Mr. Shivers, set during the Great Depression, which won the Shirley Jackson Award. He followed his debut with speculative novels including The Company Man and The Troupe before expanding into epic fantasy. His work has received the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Philip K. Dick Citation of Excellence, along with nominations for the World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Locus Awards. Bennett expanded his body of work with The Founders Trilogy and later launched The Shadow of the Leviathan series with The Tainted Cup, which won the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Novel and the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, followed by its sequel A Drop of Corruption. Bennett currently lives in Austin, Texas, with his family.
Bennett's writing frequently fuses genre conventions, combining traditional detective procedurals, horror elements, and industrial-era fantasy settings. His narratives routinely examine themes of empire, divine legacy, political corruption, power dynamics, and the consequences of technological or magical exploitation. Rather than relying on standard medieval fantasy tropes, Bennett crafts secondary worlds undergoing rapid political, economic, or physical transformation, balancing intricate mystery plots with grounded character relationships.
Shadow of the Leviathan
Shadow of the Leviathan
