The Tainted Cup

The Tainted Cup (2024) is the first book of the Shadow of the Leviathan series by American author Robert Jackson Bennett. A sequel to The Tainted Cup, A Drop of Corruption, will be released in 2025.

Bennett, known for his speculative fiction and elaborate world-building, made his debut in 2010 with Mr. Shivers, which won the Shirley Jackson Award for outstanding achievement in psychological suspense, horror, or dark fantasy; he is also the author of Divine Cities (2014-2017) and Founders (2018-2022) trilogies.

This book references the Del Ray/Penguin Random House 2024 e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material depicts ableism and violence.

Plot Summary

In Daretana, a small town on the edge of the Empire of Khanum, 20-year-old Dinios “Din” Col, who has magically fueled eidetic memory, is the assistant to investigator Anagosa “Ana” Dolabra. When Commander Taqtasa Blas, a high-ranking military officer, dies in the secure house of the rich Haza family of a tree erupting from his body, Din is sent to survey the crime scene. The house staff fears this is a contagion, or a magical enhancement gone awry.

Ana uses Din’s detailed report to determine that the Hazas’ groundskeeper, Uxos, killed Commander Blas using dappleglass, which causes plants to grow inside bodies.