The Shadow’s Child refers to having been born, raised, and having a family, so it appears that she had an organic body before being transferred into a ship. Well, AI isn’t quite the right description. Our reluctant assistant is the AI of a ship who is suffering from PTSD after the traumatic death of her crew and her resultant stranding in deep space. She also appears to be both determined and brilliant in equal measure. Our detective, Long Chau, has a prickly demeanor and a drug addiction. Multiple reviewers have called it Holmesian and I suppose the label fits. This is a short mystery story set in space. As such, it feels pretty well-established and despite scant time spent on the world development in the novella, the author has enough confidence in the setting that the reader just goes along with it. The Tea Master and the Detective, unbeknownst to me prior to doing some research for this review, is set in a world that author Aliette de Bodard has worked in before. Much like last week’s Prime Meridian, this week’s book fit pretty well into the novella format. You might ask me why I keep reading them when they’re not my favorite format, but the truth is that they’re so popular right now and so many authors are exploring such interesting ideas with them that I can’t help myself.
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