Tea with the Black Dragon

I thought I'd like this but sadly I struggled with this one and found myself racing to get to the end to get it done with.

'Tea with the Black Dragon' won or was nominated for a bunch of fantasy and sci-fi awards when it was published and still crops up on recommended lists. The set up is relatively simple in that a woman called Martha flies across the United States because her daughter is in trouble and meets a Chinese man called Mayland Long who and I guess this is a spoiler but it's a spoiler that's telegraphed in the title, text and everything else is, or was a Dragon.

It's not that the book isn't without promise. A love story between people aged over 50? Oh yes please! Long conversations over tea talking about philosophy, spirituality, history, folklore, the arts, culture? Oh please can I have some more? This rather tantalising conversation between Martha and Mayland sometimes reads quite stilted and it struggles but it has lots of promise. A short book? Oh yeah, I'll have some of that too because I'm a bit beaten down by hefty tomes. And a bit of 'Weird Science' / WarGames / Electric Dreams' stuff going on where complicated technology can do loads of cool stuff? Even putting aside that it's hopelessly out of date and inaccurate - give me more! I do get a kick out of 80's computer nerd media.

So why doesn't it work?

It's brevity means nothing has space to develop. We never really understand Martha and Mayland, their relationship doesn't mature, they just fall in love after an hour with each other. It's completely implausible. Second, Martha is useless. Her daughter is missing and when Mayland offers to help, he does all the work. SHE LITERALLY STANDS THERE PLAYING WITH A REMOTE CONTROL CAR RATHER THAN LISTEN!!!! Seriously, she becomes 'secondary supporting character' the SECOND a man turns up. I found this a massive turn off. Third, the 'computer crime caper' has tons of promise but is the flimsiest of plots. There's no drama, no intrigue, no real sense even when the words suggest it that anyone is in trouble. There is a lack of tension, and the most ridiculous cut out villains. Fourth, Mayland, because he is a dragon is sort of indestructible and his vulnerabilities are not that convincing. He largely wanders around being an old age ninja during the course of a night. Fifth, the racism. There is a lot of Orientalism going on here and anti-Hispanic racism. I get 'standards of the time' and all that, but it isn't pleasant to read.

I'm going to stop trying to number why I don't like the novel. But there is lots, from the white knighting of men (you know, highly intelligent women REALLY need a man in their life to stop them doing crime). To the lack of depth in the mythology of the Dragon (that's the biggest shame - I would have loved some backstory and lore). It's a book which was getting on my nerves and I was kind of hoping the villains would win.

Not for me.