Book Blog #424: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

 

Title: The Tainted Cup 

Author: Robert Jackson Bennett

# of Pages: 406 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★★☆ (GR 4.0)

Synopsis: In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible. Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home. Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective. As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of 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.

Review: An enjoyable read but so confusing that I'm worried the world/plot isn't going to stick.

This is first and foremost a whodunnit mystery, and it just happens to take place in a fantasy setting. Ana is the erratic and crass investigator, and Din (the narrator) is her more serious assistant.  Ana is clearly the comedy in this book and was a crucial part of why this story was so enjoyable.

Unlike other fantasy books (DCC, Harry Potter) that have a protagonist who is new to the fantasy world being introduced, Din is more relatable to the audience in being new to investigation rather than as a character who could introduce the reader to the fundamental fantasy elements. 

Therefore the world building was put on the back burner, and it felt like the reader was expected to gloss over the complexity in favor of trying to follow along with the mystery plot. To make it more confusing, the author wasn't even consistent; "Leviathans" and "titans" were used interchangeably to refer to the enormous monsters that are a threat to the Empire's wall. Honestly the world was vaguely reminiscent of the anime Attack on Titan (walls to keep the titans at, different military divisions) but instead with way more complicated names. 

The fantasy aspect was overly complex relative to the amount of world building actually accomplished n this book. Yes there's a map and a chart for military ranks at the front of the book, but this only scratches the surfaces of all the different races (Oyapati, Sazi, etc), government divisions (Apoth, Iudex, etc.), and suffusions aka permanent alternations (engraver, crackler, etc.) that all could have used their own chart/appendix. 

There's also way too many characters; maybe more than necessary were introduced to make it harder for the reader to deduce who's involved in the mystery, but it made the story harder to follow. The pacing was also quite slow (took me ~2 weeks to read).

Overall I would recommend this book because it's fun, but moreso for those who are interested in whodunnit mysteries. I hope the fantasy element will be better fleshed out in the second book!

Book Blog #423: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

 

Title: The Great Alone

Author: Kristin Hannah

# of Pages: 544 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆ (GR: 4.25)

Synopsis: Alaska, 1974. Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed. For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival. Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier. Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown. At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources. But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

Review: This is the third Kristin Hannah book I've read (following The Women and The Nightingale), and it further proves that she can consistently write engaging stories.

While still soap opera-esque, this book is equally if not more gripping than The Nightingale. Going into this book, I knew the story took place in Alaska and had something to do with a Vietnam War veteran, but I didn't actually read the full synopsis. I was expecting a nature survival story, and while there were elements of that, the crux of the Allbright's problems were actually rooted in mental health and domestic abuse. 

The story is told in third person primarily from Leni's POV. Despite being a kid, Leni is unrealistically self-aware of her toxic family dynamic. The family struggles with what it means to love someone in the face of abuse and demonstrates (frustratingly so) how difficult it is to break out of toxic cycles when mixed together with positive moments. Hearing about this from Leni's 13 year old perspective in the beginning of the book wasn't as gripping because she sounded like an unusually wise observer of this toxicity with little agency herself. This improved as she aged up with the rest of the story, which contributed to the story becoming more gripping in the second half the book. 

I found this book to be less emotionally compelling compared to The Women. While I still was emotionally engaged, particularly as tragic events unfolded and deepened the family conflict, the romance aspect didn't have me as hooked as it did in The Women. It was still a page turner, and I was still rooting for the relationship, but the male love interest was very flat as a character. His existence seemed to revolve around the woman he loved without having much of a personality on his own.

It shouldn't have surprised me that this book focuses on women and the beauty of unconditional love between them. After three books of this, Kristin Hannah has solidified her position as a women's fiction writer. She also proved again that she is a master of writing historical fiction by weaving in details from the time period into the story. In this book, the social and legal landscape for women (even for something as simple as getting a credit card without a cosigner) really underscored the struggles Leni and her mother Cora encountered.

The ending was extremely rushed; Kristin Hannah seemed to be in a hurry to tie up all the loose ends as quickly as possible without leaving space for the reader to sit with the stress of the high stakes. Despite the uneven pacing, I would still recommend this book.