In my July wrap-up, I reviewed all three books in the Shadow of the Leviathan series by Robert Jackson Bennett, but I loved this series so much that I felt it deserved its own dedicated post. So far (!), the series consists of The Tainted Cup, A Drop of Corruption and A Trade of Blood, although I think it’s pretty much confirmed that RJB plans to write more in the Ana and Din universe, something I am so glad of because I could read about Din being perpetually done, Ana’s outstanding genius and their general shenanigans every year for the rest of my life. If RJB could just continue churning out a book in this world forever, I’d be a very happy reader.
Each book is a standalone mystery (although you definitely need to read all three in order, as there are certain plot points as relates to the characters that go across books, as well as a few flashbacks to the events of previous books).
I say this in my review, but if you’re a fan of the Raven Scholar and how it mixes a high fantasy setting with epic worldbuilding, with a really compelling murder mystery, then I think you’re going to love this. But if even the comp to the Raven Scholar hasn’t entirely sold you, here are my reviews to see if I can manage to persuade you…
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Shadow of the Leviathan #1)
“So instead of committing robbery, I made tea.”
My review: Dinios Kol is assistant to investigator Ana Dolabra, renowned in equal measure for her genius and her madness. In Din’s homeland, the lazy canton of Daretana, admittedly not much stretches Ana’s talents, but when one of the Empire’s foremost officials is murdered in an opulent estate, Din and Ana are duly called in to investigate the case and survey the scene. Or rather, Din surveys the scene, as one of Ana’s many eccentricities is her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times. It is fortunate for Ana then that Din is an Engraver, meaning he has been magically altered by the Empire to possess a perfect memory.
Yet even Ana is stumped when the murder weapon turns out to have been a tree, spontaneously sprouting from the official’s body. Even in the Empire, where the weird and the wondrous abound, such a thing has never before been heard of. As Din recounts everything he’s witnessed with perfect accuracy and Ana begins to make deductions that astound him, it becomes clear that this plot is far bigger than Daretana. Indeed, it stretches west, to the Empire’s capital and their famed sea walls – towering defence structures built to keep out the leviathans that threaten to destroy everything the Empire has built every wet season.
This story might begin life as a strange, unexplained murder, but it takes Ana and Din to the centre of the Empire’s corruption. The worldbuilding is exquisite – the first 100 pages are quite heavy with information, but once I fully understood everything, I found myself so impressed with the world. It feels like Robert Jackson Bennet has thought out every minute detail of the way this society functions. I thought the concept of a world that relies so heavily upon plants and organic matter was so interesting, as well as how the Empire and its citizens cope with the constant threat of total destruction that the leviathans pose.
Ana and Din have a real Sherlock-and-Watson dynamic to them, which I enjoyed immensely, along with a bit of the flair and flamboyance of Benoit Blanc. If you enjoyed the Raven Scholar and the meshing of a classic murder mystery plot within a complex high fantasy world, I can almost guarantee you’ll love this.
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (Shadow of the Leviathan #2)
“This work can never satisfy, Din, for it can never finish. The dead cannot be restored. Vice and bribery will never be totally banished from the cantons. And the drop of corruption that lies within every society shall always persist.”
My review: It has been a few months since Din and Ana solved the curious case of the spontaneously-sprouting tree, but there is to be no reprieve. For in the northerly canton of Yarrowdale, an Empire official has mysteriously disappeared into thin air from a seemingly impenetrable room. But when his corpse is found days later, it becomes clear that foul play is afoot. In this crafty killer, Ana may have met her match.
Which is terrible news, because as Ana and Din investigate further, it becomes clear that the killer is targeting the high-security compound a mile off the coast of Yarrowdale, known as the Shroud. A living, breathing organism where the Empire’s greatest minds dissect and experiment upon the corpses of dead leviathans, it is notoriously volatile and deadly.
I will say that, of the three Ana and Din mysteries RJB has released, this was the weakest and my least favourite – which is not to say at all that it was a bad book, but rather that the other two were just so strong. I thought this dragged somewhat in the middle section, and the plot was more overcomplicated than it needed to be – possibly 100 pages too long. However, the plot was the only part of this that I didn’t think was as strong; everything else, the characters, the setting, the world-building, was just as fantastic as I’ve grown to expect.
Once again, RJB uses a fantasy setting to explore some real themes of our own world through the lens of Din and Ana. This time, it’s the cost of empire, cultural clashes and the consequences of rogue medical experimentation, which is also talked about in the author’s note.
As usual, Ana and Din were delightful to read about. I love both of them, but truly every time Ana is on page, she practically bursts out of the page. Her charisma and distinctive personality adds such levity to the heavy plot, and she’s such a genius. I look forward to her Benoit Blanc-esque explanation of how the murder occurred every book.
A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett (Shadow of the Leviathan #3)
“It is an inarguable truth that most people are absolutely enthralled by dead girls.”
My review: This third instalment takes Ana and Din to the rural canton of Sapirdad, where almost all the food is farmed for the Empire’s consumption. The two main families, the Buravs and the Armentas, are on the verge of civil war after the daughter of Burilis Burav was found dead – and her murderer was presumed to be the only surviving son of the Armentas. He sits in prison, his hands wet with Burav blood, but he can neither explain how it got there nor deny his guilt.
As Ana and Din arrive on the scene, their immediate concern is assuaging the all-out war that the two ranching families are on the brink of, but they soon suspect that the crime goes far deeper than Burav’s murder and Armenta’s imprisonment, possibly having to do wit the successive tragic deaths of three Armenta siblings in the past years.
After the second book took a bit of a dip in quality (in my opinion), I am so pleased to announce that we’re so back! This was phenomenal and I was hooked the entire time. As usual, Robert Jackson Bennet tackles such real-life themes within his entirely fantastical world, which is something I love to see in fantasy. This time, it’s food consumption and the drastic impact over-farming and agriculture is having on the planet. I love how RJB takes us to a different region of the Empire in each book – it makes everything seem so new and fresh but also familiar, and also gives him an opportunity to do fun things with plot and setting.
Now I’ve finished this series, I’m going to really miss Din and Ana – I need the fourth book immediately (I could actually do with a new Din and Ana mystery every couple of months or so). I definitely got the feeling from this book that RJB is going to continue writing in the Shadow of the Leviathan series, which I am so so happy about.
Overall, this series was such a fun, thrilling read. The second book definitely took a slight dip in quality for me, but having read some Goodreads reviews, I know other people adore it, so maybe I’m an outlier here. However, the first book and the third are some of the best books I’ve read so far this year and infinitely make up for it. As I said in all my reviews, I really love how RJB tackles real-life issues in his fantasy books. He’s such a skilled writer, to juggle the prominent murder mystery plot lines alongside that, as well as great characters and great banter that genuinely had me snorting.
Have you read the Shadow of the Leviathan series? If not, have I convinced you? If you’re at this blog, I can only assume you’re a fantasy lover and this series was fantasy at its finest!
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