Tea with the Black Dragon
{{Short description|1983 fantasy novel by R. A. MacAvoy}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book |
| name = Tea with the Black Dragon
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = TeaWithTheBlackDragon(1stEd).jpg
| caption = Cover of first edition (paperback)
| author = R. A. MacAvoy
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre = Fantasy
| publisher = Bantam Books
| release_date = 1983
| english_release_date =
| media_type = Print (hardcover & paperback)
| pages = 166
| isbn = 0-553-23205-3
| congress= CPB Box no. 2920 vol. 1
| oclc= 12481236
| preceded_by =
| followed_by = Twisting the Rope
}}
Tea with the Black Dragon is a 1983 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. MacAvoy. It led to a sequel, Twisting the Rope.
Plot introduction
Martha Macnamara is called west to San Francisco by a message from her daughter Elizabeth, a computer programmer. When she arrives, however, Elizabeth has disappeared. Mayland Long, an Asian gentleman who is skilled in both human and computer languages—and who may be a transformed 2,000-year-old Chinese dragon—aids Martha in her search for her daughter. As they search for clues to Elizabeth's disappearance, they discover hints that Elizabeth is involved in a dangerous crime.
Reception
David Langford has called it a "pleasant little novel" and "engaging", while qualifying it as "only just fantasy".[https://books.google.com/books?id=3Nz6Ei_gAEkC&dq=%22tea+with+the+black+dragon%22+review&pg=PA36 After the Battle], by David Langford; originally published in White Dwarf, November 1983; archived in The Complete Critical Assembly: The Collected White Dwarf (and GM, and GMI) Sf Review Columns James Nicoll has cited it as an example of how perception of a book can be affected by historical context, noting that when he reread it in 2014, it was "still an often charming period piece, just not as charming" as it was when he originally read it in 1983; in particular, he emphasizes that it "isn't quite" an example of the "white savior" trope, but "this book can see ['white savior'] from where it is standing".[http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/same-river-different-shore Same river, different shore], by James Nicoll, at James Nicoll Reviews; published October 14, 2014; retrieved June 16, 2017 Similarly, Jo Walton—while praising MacAvoy's approach to the novel's central philosophical questions—states that she "remember(s) being excited by what seems to me today [in 2010] to be charming, but quite slight", and posits that "a great deal of the popularity and acclaim came from how lovely it is, and the rest of it came from how amazingly unusual it was in 1983 to have a fantasy novel using Chinese mythology and with a Chinese protagonist".[http://www.tor.com/2010/01/25/the-tea-the-statue-the-dragon-and-you-ra-macavoys-lemgtea-with-the-black-dragonlemg/ The tea, the statue, the dragon and you: R.A. MacAvoy’s Tea with the Black Dragon], by Jo Walton; at Tor.com; published January 25, 2010; retrieved June 16, 2017.
Greg Costikyan reviewed Tea with the Black Dragon in Ares Magazine #16 and commented that "Tea with the Black Dragon is a book mystery lovers, computer people, and fantasy fans will all enjoy. In a way, it is a shame that Bantam's packaging is so oriented toward the fantasy market, as this is the kind of book that could do very well in the mainstream."{{cite magazine |last=Costikyan |first=Greg |authorlink=Greg Costikyan |title=Books |magazine=Ares Magazine |publisher=TSR, Inc. |date=Winter 1983 |issue=16 |page=53}}
It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel of 1983,[https://nebulas.sfwa.org/nominated-work/tea-black-dragon/ Tea with the Black Dragon], at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved July 13, 2024 the 1984 Hugo Award for Best Novel[https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1984-hugo-awards/ 1984 Hugo Awards], at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved July 13, 2024 and the 1984 Locus Award for Best First Novel in 1984;[http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Locus1984.html 1984 Locus Awards] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717042328/http://locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Locus1984.html |date=2012-07-17 }}) it also earned MacAvoy the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.{{cite encyclopedia |title=MacAvoy, R. A. |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |edition=3rd |url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/Entry/macavoy_r_a |access-date=2011-10-22 |archive-date=2011-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113201918/http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/macavoy_r_a |url-status=live }} It additionally found a place in David Pringle's Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels (1988).Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels, by David Pringle, published 1988
References
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080116022540/http://www.lostbooks.org/reviews/2000-06-23-1.html Review of "Tea with the Black Dragon" and "Twisting the Rope" by D. D. Shade at Lost Books]
- [http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1984-hugo-awards/ 1984 Hugo Awards]
{{Locus Award Best First Novel}}
Category:American fantasy novels
Category:Contemporary fantasy novels