Reviews with content warning for Pandemic/Epidemic - The Tainted Cup

Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

9 reviews

blacksphinx's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

When I was a kid, my grandparents bought me an anthology of all the Sherlock Holmes stories. When I got into Edgar Allen Poe, they pointed out to me that he's considered to have written the first detective story, and I read The Murders in the Rue Morgue with relish. This seed of detective/murder mystery fiction love has laid dormant all these years, but I think this is the water it needed to sprout.

This is a richly alien fantasy world with fun characters and a well-realized mystery. I am so proud I figured a piece out before our Sherlock expy laid it out for us! This book also made me realize how little the characters in the books I read swear, and once I got used to it... it was kind of nice to have a smart lady running around who says the word fuck. I also loved that the author understood that Sherlock is not a cold or mean person, which shines through in the way he writes his expy, Ana. Her and our PoV character Din have such great rapport while being their own characters. I also loved the disability representation, when it clicked that the protagonist actually had dyslexia and it wasn't some magical side effect I teared up.

Can't wait for the next book in the series!

Content Warnings

octopus_farmer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A fun mystery!! I couldn’t guess much in the first half - lots of worldbuilding and set dressing. Creative world and neat characterization. The title sucks though. Completely inscrutable until the end when

the plot is revealed

Content Warnings

iaraya's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

julalbert56's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was a fun story! The ending was a bit underwhelming but I absolutely loved the characters, they were definitely my favorite part of the novel.

Content Warnings

paracosim's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Attack on Titan meets Pacific Rim and Sherlock Holmes in this stunner of a story. I was obsessed with this book from start to finish. The description sounded amazing, the body horror drew me in, and the cover is gorgeous. Seems too good to be true, right? Nope! The Tainted Cup was incredible. I struggled to put it down, even at work, and spent a good portion of my shift hiding in the back room just so I could finish one more chapter…then one more…then another…
The writing was beautiful but easy to follow along with, and the characters…Oh, man, I love the characters. They were all very distinct in their appearances and personalities, and the interactions between them were often hilarious; I don’t know how I’m going to live without them until the next book comes out. I have endless theories about the leviathans.
If you begin reading and find yourself confused, give it a few chapters. Things will make more sense once you’re around the 10% mark. I already want to reread it.

Content Warnings