Book · 2025
A Drop of Corruption
by Robert Jackson Bennett
A brilliant investigator and her bio-engineered partner return to solve a locked-room murder inside a dying leviathan.
Catalogue record: Open Library
What does Reddit think of A Drop of Corruption?
The sequel to The Tainted Cup, and the threads recommend the pair as one unit: "The Tainted Cup is the answer to this question, there's also a sequel, a drop of corruption. Both excellent" (↑286). The praise is specific about what works — "I love the characters and world-building" (↑202), "fun, unique world and magic, heavy emotional notes" (↑126) — and the positioning is consistent: mystery plots in a fantasy setting, recommended to readers who want intrigue without large-scale war (↑194). The neurodivergence thread recommends it for a "neurodivergent and brilliant" main character (↑101). r/Fantasy carries almost all of the discussion, and the top mention is the bare title with its series number, which in this sample reads as established, not obscure (↑359).
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · The Tainted Cup's sequel, recommended as a pair
- · Mystery plots inside a fantasy world, war kept off-page
- · Characters and world-building as the named strengths
- · The neurodivergent protagonist as a recommendation vector
Common praise
- + Recommended as a pair with The Tainted Cup — "Both excellent" (↑286).
- + The praise names specifics: "I love the characters and world-building" (↑202).
- + "Phenomenal, fun, unique world and magic, heavy emotional notes" (↑126) is the strongest single endorsement in the sample.
Common criticism
- − No dissent surfaces in the displayed excerpts — the sample is all recommendation, which is itself the caveat: the negative case isn't represented here.
- − The threads frame it through its predecessor; few displayed excerpts argue for reading it cold.
Who it's for
Read The Tainted Cup and want more? The threads treat the two as a unit and say both are excellent (↑286). Want a fantasy mystery where the stakes are a case, not a war? One recommendation explicitly pitches it that way (↑194). If you're looking for the series' strongest selling point named by readers, it's the characters and the world, not the plot twists (↑202).
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for A Drop of Corruption?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“The Tainted Cup is the answer to this question, there’s also a sequel, a drop of corruption. Both excellent.
“A Drop of Corruption. I love the characters and world-building.
“A Drop of Corruption is phenomenal, fun, unique world and magic, heavy emotional notes, and the setting is a great look at some of the problems in our current world. Highly reccomend the author's note after reading. Grave Empire was fantastic. A slow build, I started to get annoyed but realized t…
“The Tainted Cup/A Drop of Corruption by Robert Bennett Jackson. Doesn't focus on it directly, but a main character is neurodivergent and brilliant. A little sexual content in the books, FYI.
“Favorite 2025 reads: * The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson * A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett * Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker (US release) * The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones * The Scour (novella) by Richard Swan Not my absolute faves but still pretty solid from this …
“Strange list. Major absences aside (very surprised not to see A Drop of Corruption there, it seems like it would be firmly in Polygon territory) I’m not sure I’d classify most of the books as ‘fantasy’. There’s a lot of horror, some weird fiction and magical realism, but not much that I’d recognise …
“I just powered through half of A Drop Of Corruption yesterday, so.. that.
““The Tainted Cup” and “A Drop of Corruption!” I tore through those bad boys in under 24 hours each and recommend them to anyone I can. Such an incredible mix of fantasy, science fiction, apocalyptic horror, and mystery, with amazing characters and worldbuilding
“The Tainted Cup, and the sequel A Drop of Corruption, by Robert Jackson Bennet, are a perfect mix between murder mystery and great fantasy worldbuilding.
“Unexpected fave of the entire year so far: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson. It grabbed me and never let me go from the first chapter. Other faves I expected to love and did: A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett and The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses by Malka Older.
“A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett is stellar. But I will take this list with me to check out next time I go hunting...
“I know I'm late to this particular party, but I read the entire **Broken Earth Trilogy** this year and it really redefined what I thought a fantasy series could be. Completely blown away at the worldbuilding and concepts. My other favorite this year was **A Drop of Corruption**. I loved the first …
“The second one in the series by Bennett, A Drop of Corruption, is even better. Bennett's Foundryside series is also really good.
“The Tainted Cup is unique and wonderful, but the second book in the series, A Drop of Corruption, is even better!
“While there have been a number of decent to great reads for me this year, there has only been one five star novel I consumed: A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett. I can't begin to describe how much I love the characters, the world, the writing... the series is just so good. It helps that …
Convinced? Pick up A Drop of Corruption
What else does r/Fantasy read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
A Drop of Corruption — frequently asked
What does Reddit think of A Drop of Corruption?+
Recommended constantly in r/Fantasy, usually as a pair with The Tainted Cup: "Both excellent" (↑286). The praise names characters and world-building (↑202), calls it "phenomenal, fun, unique world and magic" with "heavy emotional notes" (↑126), and positions it as a mystery in a fantasy setting rather than a war story (↑194). No displayed excerpt argues against it.
Do I need to read The Tainted Cup before A Drop of Corruption?+
The threads recommend them together and the sample is sequel-aware — the top mention is the title with its series number (↑359). Nothing in the displayed excerpts recommends starting with book two. Treat The Tainted Cup as the intended entry point.
Is A Drop of Corruption a good pick for mystery readers who don't normally read fantasy?+
Yes, by the framing in the threads. One recommendation pitches it to readers who want mysteries without large-scale battles, noting the books are "mysteries" set in a sprawling fantasy city (↑194). The praise focuses on characters and world-building (↑202), which is the usual bridge for mystery-first readers.