Surprise! It’s another Sherlock Holmes Week! This Summer Edition kicks off with Aliette de Bodard’s unconventional Sherlock Holmes pastiche, The Tea Master and The Detective (2018). Imagine Sherlock Holmes is a woman and Watson is a spaceship. Mysteries abound in the Scattered Pearls Belt, a collection of ring habitats and orbitals. A transport spaceship, The Shadow’s Child, ekes out an existence by formulating exotic teas for passengers. The Shadow’s Child has been discharged from military duty after sustaining a traumatic injury. Along comes a strange client, Long Chau, who wants to find a corpse in space. Reluctantly, The Shadow’s Child accepts Long Chau as a client (rent is due!) and together the spaceship and the detective discover a corpse and a twisted mystery. You won’t find another Sherlock Holmes pastiche as strange and delightful as The Tea Master and The Detective. GRADE: A-
This has been on my radar for awhile. The kindle version is quite cheap so I may pick it up.
Steve, the print version was NOT cheap. THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE is only 93 pages. I do love the cover by Maurizio Manzieri!
I think you hit a week even Rick will approve of. This certainly sounds different.
Jeff, you–and Rick–will discover a very different mix of Sherlock Holmes pastiches this week!
I’m sure you saw that Martha Wells won the Hugo for Best Novella for ALL SYSTEMS RED.
Jeff, ALL SYSTEMS RED delighted me when I first read it last year. Martha Wells has struck gold with the Murderbot series!
I tend to be a traditionalist when it come to Holmes. I read your summary until “Imagine Sherlock Holmes is a woman and Watson is a spaceship”, then stopped. I hope there’s going to be something besides bizarre this week.
Rick, maybe not “bizarre” but certainly…different!
I think we are moving into a new era when Asian-themed books, movies, TV, etc will be much more prevalent.
Patti, you’re right. CRAZY RICH ASIANS topped the Box Office this weekend.
No! No! And No!
Bob, you and Rick need to loosen up and embrace Variety and Innovation!