4 Stars!

My recent foray back into more and more fantasy stories has brought to my attention Robert Jackson Bennett, and my first novel with this author was a very nice win!

Bringing to life a truly unique world, Bennett has created an intricate universe where a mighty Empire rules, and its power over its citizens depends on the confidence they have in the ability of that Empire to protect them. Unfortunately, the Empire is under constant threat of powerful sea creatures known as leviathans who yearly try their beastly best to destroy and conquer the landscape. The only thing keeping them at bay are specially designed fortifications bordering the coastline. It’s not a far stretch to realize that massive amounts of manpower and resources go towards protecting the country, and it will come as no surprise that corruption willingly comes along with it.

Supporting this set up is an intricate class system with a very distinct line between the haves and the have nots, and our hero Din is squarely in the have nots being a low ranked Imperial officer with very limited life choices. He’s gone through extensive training and preparation having become an Engraver, one with the ability to remember everything he sees, hears, and experiences. This makes Din the perfect person to be the apprentice assistant to the infamous investigator Ana Dolabra. She’s eccentric, brilliant, and not afraid to step beyond propriety and protocol to find the truth, so when a prominent officer from the renowned Engineering team has a sudden gruesome violent death, she and Din are assigned to figure out the hows and the whys.

What originally pinged my radar about this book was the promise of a Holmes and Watson type dynamic which holds a very soft spot in my heart for such tales. Ana definitely has unorthodox methods, and by-the-books Din is a foil for her, stating the facts (amongst often reminding her of the rules) so her ingenious mind can make astounding leaps and bounds to bring about the killer. Admittedly, this started off a bit slow, what with new words and terms and trying to gain a basic understanding of this unusual world and its people who are often grafted with abilities to help them in their profession or suffused with talents to hone their skills. However, as more is learned throughout the investigation, the sobering truth that the very safety of the Empire is at stake really fueled my reading momentum as the last half of the book was hard to put down.

I highly enjoyed the smart writing, the layering of the plot’s twists, the intriguing cast of characters Equally captivating was the evolving relationship between Ana and Din, which was tentatively resigned at first on Din’s part, but slowly turned into more, making me look forward to the strengthening of their entertaining working (not romantic) dynamic in future books. Though this is heavy in tone with the feeling of constant danger and touches of horror and treachery, the bits of exciting action, biting banter, and some well placed humor throughout was a nice counterbalance.

Again, this world and the caste system is fascinatingly complex. It’s idealistic at times, cynical and sad often in contrast, but hopeful in the loyalty of many that serve the Empire. I loved the ending as it hints at more to come, possibly a larger threatening conspiracy, and Ana definitely has set her sights on the inevitable fight ahead, dragging poor Din along whether he wants to or not! Hence, I impatiently wait for Bennett’s next installment which is sure to reveal more of the dirty underbelly I suspect we readers only got a glimpse of!

Thank you to the author and Del Rey of Random House Publishing Group via NetGalley for a copy in exchange for a honest review