The Story Nook

By: Robert Jackson Bennett

And all the world a savage garden, mindless and raging

A Drop of Corruption is the sequel to A Tainted Cup, a Sherlock Holmes-esque mystery taking place in a fantasy world. I would highly recommend reading A Tainted Cup first, I’m planning on giving it a reread myself.

Worldbuilding

This time we leave the Empire to a kingdom called Yarrow that is due to be integrated into the Empire in a few years. Yarrow is a turn on the classic high fantasy kingdom, and a critique on the dictatorial nature of them. For me, it brings into question how the Empire is different. The answer that Robert Jackson Bennet seems to provide is the Iudex, an investigatory force to stop the corruption from within. In this sense, the titular Drop of Corruption refers to more than just the corruption caused by Leviathans.

Yarrowdale, the city that serves as the primary setting, is on the northeast corner of the continent. This far north, Leviathans rarely attack. Instead, this is where dead Leviathans are brought and processed. The existence of The Shroud, the heavily protected laboratory in the bay, is the source of much conflict between the Empire and Yarrow. This conflict plays out in many small ways. Yarrow’s hierarchical monarchy that operates off of slave labor clashes with the Empire’s bureaucractic and, in all appearances, meritocratic system. That said, we do not see many of the actual Yarrow citizens besides the high court and wardens. Both of which operate outside of the norm. The question of the incorporation of Yarrow into the Empire and the examples of the improvements to quality of life in Yarrow seems a little colonialist and propagandistic, but this may be the point.

Plot

Ostensibly this book is a locked room murder case, in what seems to be an homage to classic Sherlock Holmes mysteries, except it isn’t. What seems to be a simple murder case unravels into a story of corruption, political intrigue, morality, and pride. The ultimate culprit is a representation of both the injustices of Yarrow and the Empire. But the culprit is just one of many who are harmed by both, which brings up one of the main themes of the book, the corruption of power.

In the mystery iitself, no element of hte book is wasted. Robert jackson Bennet utilizes every interaction, or even subconscious observation, as an opportunity for clues. The mystery itself is gripping, and has allowe for the exploration of the larger themes mentioned previously.

Characters

I am a very character driven reader, and this is perhaps one of my favorite aspects of Robert Jackson Bennet’s writing. All of the book is through Din’s point of view. That said, between his observations and dialogue we are given detailed impressions of other characters. These impressions, however, focus mainly on a few close characters.

We learn a lot more about Ana throughout the course of her book, and what exactly has been done to her that results in her eccentric behavior. This also leads to an understanding of her motives and why she became an Iudex investigator in the first place. Ana is on the periphery of interaction for most of the book, but her conversations with Din allow for him to process the issues he’s dealing with over the arc of this book.

Din is having somewhat of an existential crisis in this book, as he is struggling with the purposes of his career, financial issues, and missing his once lover. Din is not doing well mentally, and one of the subplots is him processing it and finding purpose as an Iudex. This arc feels very much like a middle book plot, but that does not detract from the realism of it. The struggles of Din parallel extremely well with the struggles of modern day dealing with financial and work stressors.

We learn a bit of Din’s observational skills through his impressions and descriptions of those around him. While this is a biased perspective, Din provides the perfect window into boththe world and the people that surround him. The unraveling of the mystery exposes several motivations, ambitions, and backstories in a complicated web and Din is our guide.

Conclusion

I am a big fan of Robert Jackson Bennet, and will coninue to read any of his books as they come out. A Drop of Corruption gets more political than The Tainted Cup, but his fantasy is never bereft of political undertones. Fantasy and scifi both are fantastic vehicles for political and societal exploration due to the degree of separation from our reality. A Drop of Corruption is an excellent sequel to one of my favorite books, and one I would readily recommend for anyone looking for fantasy, mystery, or political intrigue.