(Pub date 8/4/2026)
Award winning author, Robert Jackson Bennett, is a difficult author to categorize. He has won the Hugo and World Fantasy awards which are for "speculative fiction" (Science fiction and/or fantasy novels.) He has also won several Shirley Jackson awards for horror or "dark fantasy". His novels blend science fiction, fantasy and horror in varying amounts. His newest series "In the Shadow of the Leviathan" or alternatively "Ana and Din Mysteries", adds mystery to the mash up. (All three books in the series were finalists for the Hugo Award: the first book won the award and winners have not yet been announced for 2026.)
The series is set in a complex world that the author reveals gradually with every new book. The Khanum Empire is ruled by an immortal emperor and organized in rings with The Imperial Sanctum at the center. Much of the empire's energy and focus goes to repelling the giant leviathans that attack from the sea in the rainy season. The magic system is less fairy tale and more gothic. There are body modifications, bizarre flora and fauna and a mysterious previous race that may not be extinct. Detectives Ana and Din are a Sherlock and Watson type duo. Ana wears a blindfold at all times to reduce sensory input, eats any unusual (nauseating) food she can find and rarely leaves her room. Din is an Engraver who can lock any memories in his brain by sniffing certain vials. He provides Ana with the information she needs to solve crimes without ever understanding the key clues. Ana is a mystery to the other characters and to the reader. Bennett drops hints about her but so far we don't understand who or what she truly is.
"A Trade of Blood" is book three in the series following "A Taint of Blood" and "A Drop of Corruption". In this outing Ana and Din are sent to the canton that provides the empire with all its beef. The heir to one of the empire's most powerful families is accused of slaughtering his lover from a feuding great family. As it turns out, many members of the boy's family have died mysteriously.
Ana and Din solve the case while uncovering a few more clues to the powerful race of beings that previously ruled the land. Bennett uses this strange fantasy mash up as an opportunity to provide a lesson in the economics of food supply. One has the sense that Bennett's strange fantasies are a way to work through real world problems.
"In the Shadow of the Leviathan" is a strange, but entertaining series for adventurous fantasy readers who don't mind a bit of gore with their magic and are comfortable with not understanding where the author is going with his series. This reader is hooked!
reviewed by Jean C VanNoppen
