THE TAINTED CUP by Robert Jackson Bennett

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Have long waited for a Del Rey title to win the Hugo, and now, here we are! It’s also won the World Fantasy Awards recently. 


Anyway, I feel like I’ve slept on Robert Jackson Bennet for so long, despite strong recommendations from readers I trust. I sought to remedy that recently. 


So now, I’ve finished the book. And by golly, I love it. I love Ana and Din. I love the world Bennett created. I love how weird but utterly logical it is. I love how things are revealed and how the action is driven forward. I love the deadpan humor. I love how the mystery is thrown into relief by the reality of leviathans threatening all their lives that everything else pales in comparison. I even love the names (because sometimes, names in SF&F books kind of make me cringe). 


Reading THE TAINTED CUP reminded me of the joy of starting an SF&F series by an excellent writer. It reminded me a bit of how it felt to read Jemisin’s The Fifth Season (though Jemisin’s is still the more mindblowing of the two). 


If you’re reading this and you love fantasy, do ​yourself a favor and pick the book up. 

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