The Tea Master and the Detective

English language

Published April 5, 2018

ISBN:
978-1-59606-864-3
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4 stars (15 reviews)

Welcome to the Scattered Pearls Belt, a collection of ring habitats and orbitals ruled by exiled human scholars and powerful families, and held together by living mindships who carry people and freight between the stars. In this fluid society, human and mindship avatars mingle in corridors and in function rooms, and physical and virtual realities overlap, the appareance of environments easily modified and adapted to interlocutors or current mood.

1 edition

Review of 'The Tea Master and the Detective' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

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 …

Review of 'The Tea Master and the Detective' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

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 …

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