A Drop of Corruption

Robert Jackson Bennett

Completed 8/4/2026, Reviewed 8/13/2026

4 stars

This is the book which, while reading, I acquired an additional roommate and his dog.  It took me two and a half weeks to get through this Hugo nominee for Best Novel, sometimes reading only ten pages at a time.  Life simply became too chaotic.  I did get through it before the Hugo voting deadline, reading the last hundred or so pages in just over a day.  I really liked the ending, and I do love the main characters, Ana and Din. I’m just not sure if this book was better than this review will reflect.  The first book in this series, The Tainted Cup, I gave four stars initially but then changed to five stars after a reread.  I wonder if this book will have the same fate if I reread it before reading the third book in the series.

A canton outside the official borders of the Empire extracts the blood from the dead leviathans to create the magic needed to create the human augmentations which were introduced in the first book.  When a treasurer from Empire goes missing, seemingly abducted by a ghost, they call Ana and Din to solve the case.  They quickly find that this was a murder, one of several in the recent past.  In her usual way, Ana sends Din to do the investigating while he brings detailed info back to her through his augmentations.  They work with some local officials and soon find corruption all over this canton, weaving a web of deceit which may just stump Ana.

The book basically follows a similar mystery formula to the first book but of course set in different environs.  I thought, however, the banter between Ana and Din was less fun, more serious.  I missed that comic relief, or perhaps I had become used to Ana.  It seemed less playful and more scathing.   Also, Din’s sexual diversions seem to indicate an addiction rather than just normal appetite.  It makes his longing for the stability of his short time with Kepheus at the end of the last book that much more significant.

Something I really liked in the last hundred or so pages (but avoiding any spoilers) was Din’s cognitive dissonance over what he had to do in his job versus the rewards he gets from it.  The longing for Kepheus turns up, as does a thin side story involving Din’s paying back his father’s debts.  I liked the introspection and the eventual discussions and arguments between him and Ana.  It kept the character development going through the series.  And it kept me liking Din despite his constant need for sex.  

I give this book four stars out of five.  Reading the last quarter of the book in two sittings instead of another ten helped me to up it from the three stars I was considering.  The prose is still great, as is the  world building, with its Lovecraftian Leviathans and the industry around collecting their blood for augmentations in the Empire.  And it makes me want to see what happens to Din and Ana.  I really want to find out how Din attempts to resolve his issues with himself, his habitual promiscuity, and his dissonance-inducing job.  I’m also still excited about whether Ana is going to reveal to Din what her augmentation is.  Lastly, there’s the question of the true nature of the Leviathans.  So, yeah, the series obviously has its claws in me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to review this book for voting in the 2026 Hugo Awards.  The content of this review is my honest opinion.