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Summary: Transporting.
Review: If science fiction and fantasy got more respect, this book would become a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Great characters, wonderful writing
Review: If you are expecting a traditional fantasy novel, skip this one and its sequel "Twisting the Rope." If, however, you are interested in a beautifully written book with wonderful characters that has just a touch of fantasy, I cannot recommend this too highly. I am devastated that it is out of print--I was hoping to buy a replacement copy for my paperback that is falling apart from multiple re-readings. One of my favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: Great characters, wonderful writing
Review: If you are expecting a traditional fantasy novel, skip this one and its sequel "Twisting the Rope." If, however, you are interested in a beautifully written book with wonderful characters that has just a touch of fantasy, I cannot recommend this too highly. I am devastated that it is out of print--I was hoping to buy a replacement copy for my paperback that is falling apart from multiple re-readings. One of my favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: If you're looking for one of those typical 'Save the World' fantasies with wizards and boy kings, this isn't it. If you're looking for a gentle fantasy by a stylist who ranks among the best in the field of fantasy (DeLint, McKillip, Shinn, Dean), this book is for you. I hope it is re-issued some day soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated - should be under Romance not Fantasy
Review: My wife raved for ages about how utterly wonderful this book was and eventually I succumbed to read it. Unfortunately, it has devalued the worth of her recommendations for me ever since (which is my mistake). My basic gripe was the fact that the title (and the hype) indicated to me that there was going to be well, how can I put this, some Fantasy elements in it. All I got was some characters that I didn't relate to wandering around a place I have no particular affinity to (San Francisco/California). I guess the bottom line is the small fantasy element (one of the characters is a dragon ... who drinks tea), could have been easily extracted without affecting the plot or character development much.
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Summary: Magic realism from before it was trendy
Review: R. A. MacAvoy has done something very rare and special in this book: written with wisdom, compassion and humor about people who are at once very ordinary and quite extraordinary. Martha is a woman in her middle years who moves through the world with freshness, originality, and a youthful spirit; her friend Mayland Long is incredibly ancient and yet has just been born. Together they struggle with a new, technical wizardry, foreign to them both. As in Peter Beagle's _A Fine and Private Place_, the mundane and the spiritual commingle in beautiful and unexpected ways. From the convolutions and paradoxes which are a part of all our lives, MacAvoy weaves a story which is on one level an exploration of what it means to be human, with human emotions and human responsibilities -- and on another level is simply a ripping good yarn. Whatever you look for in a book, you will find here.
Rating:
Summary: Magic realism from before it was trendy
Review: R. A. MacAvoy has done something very rare and special in this book: written with wisdom, compassion and humor about people who are at once very ordinary and quite extraordinary. Martha is a woman in her middle years who moves through the world with freshness, originality, and a youthful spirit; her friend Mayland Long is incredibly ancient and yet has just been born. Together they struggle with a new, technical wizardry, foreign to them both. As in Peter Beagle's _A Fine and Private Place_, the mundane and the spiritual commingle in beautiful and unexpected ways. From the convolutions and paradoxes which are a part of all our lives, MacAvoy weaves a story which is on one level an exploration of what it means to be human, with human emotions and human responsibilities -- and on another level is simply a ripping good yarn. Whatever you look for in a book, you will find here.
Rating:
Summary: What a delightful tale!
Review: R.A. MacAvoy's Tea with the Black Dragon is the tale of a woman named Martha MacNamara brought west to San Francisco by her daughter's disappearance and of the man who changed her life: a mysterious Asian gentleman named Mayland Long who risked his ancient magic powers for her in a battle against modern-day computer wizardiy. It is an elegantly crafted contemporary fantasy by a remarkable new writer.
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Summary: A fascinating blend of fantasy, psychology, and phiolosophy.
Review: R.A.MacAvoy once more demonstrates her profound ability to combine the mystic elements of fantasy, psychological insights, and philosophy (in this case, eastern philosophy) into an absorbing and believable gestalt. This novel is so interesting on so many levels that every time I read it I get something new from it -- the mark of truly great literature in my opinion. Even now that most of the layers of symbolism (and anti-symbolism) and meaning are becoming familiar to me, I still find the interactions between those layers a continuing source of fascination. All of this plus Ms.MacAvoy's tremendous gift for interesting language and engrossing story telling make this book a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Tiny gem of a novel; flawless, beautiful, sparkling
Review: Tea With The Black Dragon may be the most perfect short novel ever written -- in the scant space of some 180 pages, R.A. MacAvoy builds enough tension and suspense for a dozen novels by a lesser author, while breathing life into two of the most memorable characters in all of fantasy fiction.The interplay between the main characters, Martha MacNamara and Mayland Long, showcases MacAvoy's gift for flawless, telling dialogue; they playfully, arfully fence with words, hinting at more than is actually said. In Martha, Mayland finds what he has come to America to seek; in Mayland, Martha finds something she never realized she needed. As they work together to uncover the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Martha's daughter, Elizabeth, their secrets are gradually revealed to each other. A word on Elizabeth's disappearance -- it is in this, perhaps more than any other aspect of the novel, that MacAvoy shows her mastery of craft. Elizabeth is NEVER PRESENT in the first third of the novel, and yet she dominates the story in such a way that when she finally appears, the reader feels that they already know the character. MacAvoy's ability to show without showing that which ISN'T there, as well as that which is, lends the book an intensity that belies its diminutive size. This was cross-genre fiction before such a thing was ever attempted -- MacAvoy artfully combined fantasy elements with a (for the time period) high-tech thriller to produce a masterfully written page turner that leaves the reader fully satisfied, yet wishing for more. The sequel, Twisting The Rope, provides another outing with the characters, but lacks some of the oomph that makes Tea such a tour de force. It is a crime that this book was ever allowed to go out of print.
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