Reviews with content warning for Ableism - The Tainted Cup

Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

20 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

no_evil_star's review

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Imagine Holmes and Watson solving crimes in a world where Han dynasty China meets Pacific Rim, with a dose of Vandermeerian weirdness to hold the conceit together. The central mystery becomes a little convoluted, which means the resolution isn't as neat as it could be, but there's so much fun to be had with the world and its characters that it hardly matters.

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octopus_farmer's review

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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

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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

heather667's review against another edition

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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

4.5

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elizabeth_lepore's review

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adventurous mysterious 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

4.5

Content Warnings

lbelow's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious

4.75

An excellent book and a compelling start to a new series! I'm not often one for Sherlock/Watson duos because a lot of authors take that kind of "smart" to mean "callous". And there's no denying that the Sherlockian character in this book is weird AF (and I suspect on the autism spectrum due to her sensory issues), but she also does things like take the time to check in with Din after he's had a near-death experience. The other thing I loved: the disability rep. Din is dyslexic and that reflects in how he navigates the world as well as the workarounds he comes up with to capture information.

This world is just as weird and unique as its main characters. And it's introduced with just enough finesse for the aspects of the world explored to tie back to the plot. As for that plot, some of the twists I guessed, and at least one important piece I did not. With the way that information is presented in this book, that makes me excited to reread this and pick up on the clues I missed during the first pass.

I recommend this book and will be searching out more by this author!

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epen's review

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved this so much. World building was so creative and exciting but also felt very effortless to understand and get into as a reader. The characters are 🥹 and the story is so fun while also touching on interesting and important themes. I’d recommend this to anyone but esp anyone who likes fantasy

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nightstitch96's review

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adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

blewballoon's review

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was my first time reading Robert Jackson Bennett, but I've heard lots of good things about their writing. This didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed the "biopunk" universe where technology was based on plants and biology. I liked Dinios Kol and Ana Dolabra very much, which I had been a little worried about before reading. They charmed me quickly and I enjoyed their conversations. I wasn't really trying to solve the mystery, but I did manage to put together some pieces for myself before the reveals. When I talked about it with my friend, they said that sometimes fantasy mysteries are a bit easier to solve because the author has to explain how the world works, and what they are required to point out and explain for things to make sense tends to be relevant to solving the mystery. I listened to this on audiobook and thought the narrator did a great job, but I do think it made it a little harder for me to follow all the unusual names and keep things straight. With regards to content warnings, there is a fair amount of body horror and gore, but (extremely mild spoiler)

there was one weird gross sexual scene that I'm not sure how to accurately content warn about. I'll file it under Sexual Harassment I suppose? I found that scene unsettling.

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