A Drop of Corruption - Robert Jackson Bennett

The second Ana and Din mystery in Robert Jackson Bennett's Shadow of the Leviathan series, as you would hope, extends our view and understanding of how the Empire of Khanum works, revealing more about its realms and about the dark corruption that takes place there - corruption of the human kind as well as that caused by the extracts taken from the vast sea monsters that threaten its outer edges. Not that there was anything lacking in the first book The Tainted Cup, but you could see there was potential for further development. There are a few interesting developments that come up early here in A Drop of Corruption.

As is part of their procedure now, Assistant Iudex Investigator Signum Dinios Koi arrives ahead of his chief Immunis Anagosa Dolabra to do an initial investigation. Their latest case takes him to Yarrow, to probe a report of the murder of a Treasury Officer there. Yarrow is a unique and unusual realm in the Empire; it's not officially part of the Empire, but actually a self-governing kingdom with unpleasant customs and an inequitable class structure but it is of strategic importance to the Empire for its processing of leviathan remains, and negotiations are now concluding under an agreement to bring it fully under the control of the Empire of Khanum. 

Inevitably, the circumstances surrounding the murder are strange and inexplicable. Aside from the question of how the officer was killed and dismembered, the question of why also remains unknown to the authorities. Din's enquiries, since they involve the mysterious and inexplicable murder of an official from the Empire, suggest that there is a delicate political aspect to the situation that needs to be carefully assessed, not to mention the dangers associated with the use of powerful and dangerous toxins. It's particularly troubling situation as it seems like someone with clearly evil intent - to what ends not entirely clear yet - has assumed the identity of the dead man to access the Apoth banking box at the Treasury and left a grisly message for them.

The nature of grafts and concoctions developed by the Apoths - biological chemists - for enhancements of abilities is central to A Drop of Corruption, and in the process the investigation reveals many secrets about their manufacture. There are temporary drug intake 'percolations' than can alter moods and powers of perception, while other grafts and alterations can permanently enhance abilities for Sublimes, like Din’s engraver status where he is able to record memories in great detail. All of these enhancements are derived from the flesh and blood of the leviathans that threaten the Empire’s Outer Rim every wet season. Most of the chemistry and experimentation with the leviathans is done on the Shroud, a man-made structure off the coast of Yarrowdale, so the region is of great strategic importance to the Empire and largely made up of Apoths, who work on secret and clearly highly dangerous experiments.

Which makes life difficult for Ana and Din as Iudex investigators is that Yarrow is technically outside the authority of the Empire and the Apoths are not proving to be very cooperative either. And since they are dealing with a dangerous and unpredictable criminal genius who is like a Moriarty to Ana's Holmes that makes this a real challenge. Even by half-way through the book, just as the pieces are starting to fall into place, they have to admit that they know almost nothing about who they are pursuing "except that he is brilliant, mad, should be dead, and he grows more dangerous by the day". And that's putting it mildly.

By going to those extremes however, you also start to find out more about the world, its reliance upon the leviathans and the great danger they represent, alive or dead. Personal issues also come to the fore for both Ana and Din, Din struggling to manage his dead father's debts and considering moving on. Ana meanwhile is becoming more Sherlock Holmes-like; already known to wear a blindfold so that she can focus on essential without visual distractions, she takes up dual Pithian lyre playing to help focus, as well as ingesting stimulants. Her unique abilities also suggest that there is also a lot more to Ana that anyone can imagine.

As creative as this fantasy world is, there are a few parallels you can relate to in the real world; the threat of terrorism, nuclear power, environmental hazards, but particularly here the role of leaders and empires, Bennett admitting in the afterword that he is challenging and upturning a few fantasy conventions here in relation to questions of power, wealth and control. No kings, indeed. Brilliant alone for its fantasy murder-mystery tropes with loose parallels and commentary to our contemporary world, the real key to the success of this series is the continued development of the world of Khanum and the characters within it. Nothing gets too predictable in A Drop of Corruption, there are new wonders and horrors to discover, Ana and Din continue to develop and surprise, and there are hints that there is much we have yet to learn about them.

Reading notes: A Drop of Corruption: Book 2 of Shadow of the Leviathan by Robert Jackson Bennett was published in 2025 by Del Rey in hardcover and Hodderscape in paperback in the UK. I read a review copy in Kindle edition provided by the publisher. The background of the fantasy world and its main characters is summarised very well at the start of this book, so it could be read independently as a standalone book, but it also serves as a quick refresh if it's a while since you've read the first book in the series, The Tainted Cup.