A Drop of Corruption – Page 2 – The Unseen Library

I’ve had a excellent couple of weeks for books, as I was lucky enough to receive several incredible and amazing new novels from local publishers and Netgalley. These novels include some truly awesome new releases, including books that have the potential to be some of my top reads of the year. I cannot wait to dive into them, and I so excited to see how they all turn out.

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 39: Ice and Snow by Stan Sakai

First up I have the latest volume of one of my favourite comic series, Usagi Yojimbo: Ice and Snow. Pitting the rabbit samurai protagonists against several relentless supernatural foes, including Usagi’s archenemy Jei, Ice and Snow was a great addition to this awesome series, and I read it the very second I got my hands on it.

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Deep Black by Miles Cameron

Next up we have the epic science fiction novel, Deep Black by Miles Cameron. The sequel to Cameron’s excellent novel, Artifact Space, Deep Black will continue to follow the inhabitants of a massive human trading ship as it attempts to survive a nefarious plot to destroy it. I really loved Artifact Space and I cannot wait to see how Cameron continues the story. I am hoping to read Deep Black next, and I know I am going to really enjoy it.

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The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso

I was also very happy to get my hands on a copy of The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso. A cool new fantasy novel from Caruso, an author who has really impressed me in the past, The Last Hour Between Worlds will see an unlikely pair of rivals team up to investigate a deadly magical mystery. I am deeply intrigued by the synopsis for The Last Hour Between Worlds and I have no doubt this will end up being one of my favourite fantasy books of 2024.

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A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

I was exceedingly lucky to receive an early copy of A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett, which is one of the top books coming out in 2025. The sequel to the exceptional fantasy crime fiction novel, The Tainted Cup (one of my favourite books from the first half of 2024), A Drop of Corruption will continue to follow two unlikely investigators as they attempt to uncover dire plots to their monster-besieged kingdom. A Drop of Corruption is going to be such an epic novel, especially after Bennett blew me away with The Tainted Cup, and this will probably end up being one of my top reads of 2025. I am going to enjoy this book as early as I can (probably once we hit 2025 proper), and I cannot wait to dive into its outstanding story.

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The Ascent by Adam Plantinga

An awesome and cool thriller debut that I have been meaning to check out all year, The Ascent sees a small group of survivors attempt to fight their way to the top floor of a rioting prison. This sounds like a very fun and exciting book, and I cannot wait to dive into it.

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Exodus: The Archimedes Engine by Peter F. Hamilton

A massive and complex science fiction novel from iconic author Peter F. Hamilton, Exodus: The Archimedes Machine, sounds like a very interesting read and I hope that I get the chance to check it out.

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Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson

Another hit 2025 novel I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of was Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson. A fun young adult dark academia novel that will see a young protagonist investigate a mysterious Scottish boarding school with a demonic edge to it, Unhallowed Halls sounds very entertaining, and I have really enjoyed Wilkinson’s other young adult books in the past (see my reviews for The Erasure Initiative and After the Lights Go Out). I look forward to diving into this book and I cannot wait to see what complex narrative Wilkinson has come up with this time.

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Seven Recipes for Revolution by Ryan Rose

The final book I recently received that I want to highlight in this post is the awesome 2025 fantasy novel, Seven Recipes for Revolution by Ryan Rose. An outstanding novel based around magical cooking, Seven Recipes for Revolution has so much potential, and I feel that it is going to be one of the more unique books of next year.

Well, that’s the end of this latest Book Haul post. As you can see I have quite a bit of reading to do at the moment thanks to all these awesome books that have come in. Let me know which of the above you are most interested in and make sure to check back in a few weeks to see my reviews of them.

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. In my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight a particularly awesome upcoming fantasy novel with the gripping second entry in the Shadow of the Leviathan series, A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett.

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Earlier this year I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the captivating novel, The Tainted Cup, by veteran fantasy author Robert Jackson Bennett. An intriguing fantasy murder mystery set in a realm beset by giant monsters, The Tainted Cup was an outstanding read that saw two unlikely investigators, including an eccentric genius and her grounded assistant, attempt to discover the truth behind a brutal death caused by a tree spontaneously growing from someone’s chest. Expertly combining a clever crime fiction story with unique fantasy elements and a hilarious set of main protagonists, The Tainted Cup was an outstanding read that got a full five-star rating from me. Indeed, The Tainted Cup topped the list of my favourite books from the first half of the year and will likely go down as one of the very best fantasy novels of 2024.

Due to how impressive I found The Tainted Cup to be, you can probably appreciate that I am very keen to see how the series continues. Luckily it looks like I won’t have to wait too long to see what happens next, as the sequel, A Drop of Corruption, is coming out in February 2025. Set to once again to pit Bennett’s protagonists against an elaborate magical mystery, A Drop of Corruption sounds extremely epic, and I love the cool new story concept being promised for it.

Plot Synopsis:

The brilliant detective Ana Dolabra may have finally met her match in the gripping sequel to The Tainted Cup—from the bestselling author of The Founders Trilogy.

In the canton of Yarrowdale, at the very edge of the Empire’s reach, an impossible crime has occurred. A Treasury officer has disappeared into thin air—abducted from his quarters while the door and windows remained locked from the inside, in a building whose entrances and exits are all under constant guard.

To solve the case, the Empire calls on its most brilliant and mercurial investigator, the great Ana Dolabra. At her side, as always, is her bemused assistant Dinios Kol.

Before long, Ana’s discovered that they’re not investigating a disappearance, but a murder—and that the killing was just the first chess move by an adversary who seems to be able to pass through warded doors like a ghost, and who can predict every one of Ana’s moves as though they can see the future.

Worse still, the killer seems to be targeting the high-security compound known as the Shroud. Here, the Empire’s greatest minds dissect fallen Titans to harness the volatile magic found in their blood. Should it fall, the destruction would be terrible indeed—and the Empire itself will grind to a halt, robbed of the magic that allows its wheels of power to turn.

Din has seen Ana solve impossible cases before. But this time, with the stakes higher than ever and Ana seemingly a step behind their adversary at every turn, he fears that his superior has finally met an enemy she can’t defeat.

This sounds like another particularly outstanding story from Bennett, and I know I am going to have a ton of fun with it. The mystery premise for A Drop of Corruption is particularly striking, as Bennett produces a high-stakes locked room mystery, where the solution to the crime is likely to be some elaborate form of magic or mutation. In addition, we have the return of the first book’s excellent, mismatched protagonists, whose unusual partnership will likely result in some fantastic humour, while also presenting the reader with a brilliant investigative method. I have no doubt that Bennett will turn these elements into another extremely special story, and I look forward to seeing how he resolves the main investigation, and how it ties into the greater mysteries infecting his fantasy setting.

Based on how impressive the first book in the series turned out to be, I am already extremely excited for A Drop of Corruption. However, the epic plot synopsis above also sounds very cool, and I cannot wait to see what madness and mystery Robert Jackson Bennett unleashes next. A Drop of Corruption will probably be one of the very best fantasy novels of 2025, and I am so very keen to get my hands on this incredible upcoming book.