The Tea Master and the Detective

An engaging novella exploring a fascinating sci-fi setting. Seeing praise for this online, I was really drawn in by the 'tea' part (I love tea), and did no further research: I didn't know it was part of a Nebula Award winning setting, and a piece of a very, very full pre-existing setup. If I'm being honest had I read about the setting on the author's web page first, I might have been scared off -- it starts with alternate history in the 15th century and continues forward. Present day life on Earth is radically different, with all sorts of cultural and historical surplusage... all of which is utterly irrelevant to this particular story! It's a compelling stand-alone tale, and you don't need any of that background to follow the action.

This story is a mystery, with a mysterious Sherlock Holmes figure who meets her Watson, a starship that has given up space travel and works as a tea-master, making the special blends of tea needed for people to endure the harsh unreality required for faster-than-light travel. Whether it's the author's usual style, or a benefit of all the other stories I missed, the setting's incredible tapestry is given almost no exposition whatsoever. In many ways, it was reminiscent of Frank Herbert's Dune, where the setting's rich character must be absorbed via immersion, making it feel at once both alien and incredibly real. de Bodard's concept of "deep spaces", for example, where time and reality slow and stretch, is never bluntly explained, despite being central to the plot... and yet it is utterly understandable throughout, making as much sense as it needs to, every step of the way.

It is a masterful construction of information-drip that keeps the focus on the compelling central characters. The mystery plot itself feels somewhat ancillary to the setting and the character studies, which would usually read as a criticism, but de Bodard does an amazing job of keeping only enough plot elements to give the story shape while paring them down to let the other story elements really shine.

If I have a criticism of this one, it's that I'd love to read more of the central pair solving mysteries in space... but de Bodard has already moved on to other facets of her universe. If I have two criticisms, it's that the tea isn't really tea, as the ship only ever discusses mixing herbs and things, so it isn't really camellia sinensis, but that probably won't bother anyone but me!

Aliette de Bodard has crafted an alluring alternate history in her The Universe of Xuya: a series with multiple entry points for any reader, a mosaic created with each new piece placed;
threads of tales that stand well alone, yet weave a more satisfying tapestry with each new story read.

The Tea Master and the Detective is a well crafted mystery/detective story at its heart, with a small set of flawed yet substantial characters, placed in a time and culture where mindships and people interact in a unique political and familial setting.

As a stand-alone story everything becomes well defined for the first time reader and has a satisfying beginning and conclusion. As part of a larger story for those more familiar with the universe there might be a little repetition, but it does not distract from the tale.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley and Subterranean Press in exchange for an honest review.