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storytimed's review against another edition
2.5
I really, really wanted to like this
It's a riff on Holmes and Watson where Holmes is a disgraced tutor and Watson is an injured spaceship and they're both living in space Vietnam!
Unfortunately, despite the nice ideas, this never transcended its influences. The Tea Master and the Detective ended up reading like Holmes and Watson, but worse. Ancillary Justice, but not as good.
So many of the character traits feel like they're stretching to reference the source material. Why is a spaceship AI brewing tea that she can't drink? Because she needs some connection to the Holmes, who is an addict because Holmes is an addict, and de Bodard thought that psychoactive sci-fi teas are cool and she needed to shoehorn that in somewhere
I never really got an impression of the characters as people, or the plot as a mystery, or the setting as a lived-in place. Some of this is the limitations of the novella, which means de Bodard has to skip past character beats in order to get everything in under page count, but I also sort of got the sense that de Bodard was so enamored with ideas that she forgot to write a story.
kabaum's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
accidentalspaceexplorer's review against another edition
4.75
I really loved this. It's short but really sense in information and atmosphere, and I loved the loose Holmes retelling! Definitely want to read more in Xuya now
almitharagreenleaf's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
peter_xxx's review against another edition
4.0
Very nice Sf take on Sherlock Holmes with an underlying theme of overcoming trauma. also a very interesting world this takes place in. I will try out more books by Alliete de Bodard.
jukaschar's review against another edition
3.0
I'm sorry to say - even though I love tea and dumplings - this novella didn't work that well for me. I found the premise and worldbuilding interesting, but for most of the time, the story seemed to lack sense of direction. It is absolutely possible that this intentional, given that the novella falls into the category of detective stories.
The character descriptions were a bit repetitive in my eyes, for me some of the dialogue and descriptions could have well been switched up for more background information.
The character descriptions were a bit repetitive in my eyes, for me some of the dialogue and descriptions could have well been switched up for more background information.
maria_hossain's review against another edition
4.0
Love love love the cover!!! So glorious!!! And the novella was such a quick read. Love the story and premise too.
eb00kie's review
3.0
Female Sherlock Holmes in a sentient ship and a dead body mystery. Some Asian-like influences.
The one appeal arising from originality is the worldbuilding. Not much else new.
The one appeal arising from originality is the worldbuilding. Not much else new.