a trade of blood

a trade of blood by robert jackson bennett

I’ve been really looking forward to this book - Eliza and I both preordered physical copies, and finished it up last night. I think this series is great, with a pretty unique mixture of horror, mystery, and regular old fantasy. A magic system driven by grafting parts of Lovecraftian monsters into your body makes for a compelling setting. I think the way the book wrestles with the Empire and its failings/grotesqueries is very recognizable in America of 2026.

I think I enjoyed this book more than the second book in the series, but maybe a little less than the opener? The opener is an absolute banger, and it’s tough to match the tension/stakes of Din trying to hide his shortcomings. I think the second book had one (or two) too many headfakes in the mystery; the author definitely loves a co conspirator, but this book felt to me like a better balance of “enough twists to be satisfying, but not so many that it feels like a cheap carnival ride”. Certainly a tough balance to strike, but I think it was better in this book.

All told, still loving the series. I’m impressed with the author’s consistency here as well — three great books in three years is impressive.