A review by tetiana
The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard

5.0

I went absolutely feral reading this. The setting alone was almost enough to sent me into a fit of uncontrollable salivating, but put on top of it a Sherlock Holmes riff with a female consulting detective and a Watson, who’s actually a sentient space-ship (also female, mind you)? I am THERE.

Absolute gem of a novella, with lush prose, and so much care and humanity packet into its compact form. Phenomenal. I read a couple of de Bodard’s things earlier and really enjoyed them, but this one felt like a shot of pure ecstasy. Now excuse me, while go and read everything in the Xuya universe I can get my hands on.