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A review by micksland
The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
3.0
3 stars
Winner: 2019 Nebula Award for Best Novella
Nominee: 2019 Hugo Award for Best Novella
Nominee: 2019 Locus Award for Best Novella
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Much like “The Spare Man”, another murder mystery in space that I read this year, “The Tea Master and the Detective” had its ups and downs. Both works had excellent characters, but the actual murder mystery itself fell flat.
The two characters here are very well-done despite the short page length. The author seems to have a gift for creating complex characters, as I have also really enjoyed the women featured in some of her other Xuya Universe stories.
The problem with this story is the plot. There was really no mystery to be had; they find a dead body and immediately discover what happened. There is no misdirection, no false leads, and no true sense of mystery here. I’ll admit to being a little confused as to why this won the Nebula over “Artificial Condition” or “The Black God’s Drums”.
Winner: 2019 Nebula Award for Best Novella
Nominee: 2019 Hugo Award for Best Novella
Nominee: 2019 Locus Award for Best Novella
___
Much like “The Spare Man”, another murder mystery in space that I read this year, “The Tea Master and the Detective” had its ups and downs. Both works had excellent characters, but the actual murder mystery itself fell flat.
The two characters here are very well-done despite the short page length. The author seems to have a gift for creating complex characters, as I have also really enjoyed the women featured in some of her other Xuya Universe stories.
The problem with this story is the plot. There was really no mystery to be had; they find a dead body and immediately discover what happened. There is no misdirection, no false leads, and no true sense of mystery here. I’ll admit to being a little confused as to why this won the Nebula over “Artificial Condition” or “The Black God’s Drums”.