“... they began to exhibit afflictions.”
“Apophenia being the worst, and most notable,” said Ghrelin. “An uncontrollable, debilitating impulse to spy patterns in everything.”
I glanced at Ana, but she only smiled and wryly said, “Oh, I’m familiar with that one..." [loc. 3361]
Sequel to The Tainted Cup, and second in Bennett's 'Shadow of the Leviathan' trilogy. While this didn't wow me quite as much as the first book -- which was so utterly novel in setting and ambience -- it's still a marvellous read. Bennett continues to explore the Empire of Khanum, in this case by venturing outside it. The kingdom of Yarrow trades with the Empire, and is politically unstable: it's also on the coast, a high-risk location because the Leviathans come from the ocean. Much of the Empire's research on leviathans takes place in a facility known as the Shroud, in the Bay of Yarrow.
Engraver Dinias Kol (who can, with the right stimuli, remember everything) and investigator Ana Dolabra (who is wildly eccentric but a brilliant investigator) are sent to Yarrow to investigate the death of a Treasury official. What they uncover is a complex scheme of murder, theft, and insurrection. Ana is delighted, because she's found an opponent whose cunning and misdirection she can respect. Din is ... less delighted, and missing his lover, and worried about the debt he's inherited: he also has to work with a local Apothetikal, Tira Malo, who has greatly enhanced senses and works as a warden. Into the wilderness they go...
This is a novel that works on many levels: a locked-room murder mystery in a world sufficiently alien that the usual deductive process isn't wholly relevant; an examination of kings and why they are not a stable form of government; a story about experimentation and about science... It's great fun, well-paced, and we discover tantalising scraps about Ana's background. (Din is likeable, but Ana is fascinating, and often repulsive.) I'm very much looking forward to the third in the series, due in 2026.
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