Fiction Reviews
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea
((2022 / 2024) Rebecca Thorne, Tor, £22, hrdbk, 343pp, ISBN 978-1-035-03099-6
This was first published in the USA in 2022, but now (2024) has its first edition in the British Isles. In the acknowledgments to her debut novel, Rebecca Thorne gracefully recognises the influence of Travis Baldree’s Legends and Lattes. This reviewer is thankful, as the similarities between the two are very much the elephant in the tearoom, as it were.
A little context, to begin with. Shortlisted for both the Hugo and Nebula awards in 2023, Legends and Lattes is the heart-warming tale of an orcish adventurer who retires to start her own coffee shop, finding friendship, community and romance. There’s some jeopardy – but the peril is not the point – this is an intentionally cosy fantasy. I rather liked it. as did Mark Yon.
You Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, meanwhile, sees lovers Kianthe (archmage) and Reyna (royal bodyguard) flee their employers and travel to the remote town of Tawney to open a teashop with a sideline in books. Friendship, romance and mild jeopardy are once again present and correct.
In pointing out this resemblance, no clutching of pearls is intended. Fantasy as a genre is built on the repeated use of a limited number of plots and tropes. And of course, the publishing industry is always looking for more of what sells.
But, if you liked Legends and Lattes, how much do you really need Treason Without Tea in your life? The answer lies in the subtle differences between the two.
Romance is key to this novel to a much greater extent, with its main theme being Kianthe and Reyna finally committing to each other after several years of keeping their relationship secret from the homicidal queen Reyna serves. Making a go of this isn’t always easy, and how Thorne depicts this is by far the highlight of the book.
Compared with Legends and Lattes, we also have much stronger notes of high fantasy. Kianthe is the most powerful wizard in the known world; while she is not indestructible and is a classic high intelligence/low wisdom magic-user, she has no compunction about taking on dragons. Reyna might not be in that league, but she is a master swordswoman and a savvy political operator with a wicked queen to outsmart. With these protagonists, adventure is unavoidable, cosy fantasy or no.
You could argue that all of this makes Treason Without Tea a more traditional and so less interesting proposition than Legends & Lattes. That said, any fantasy novel with a happy same-seΧ romance between its protagonists is still a welcome disruption, even in 2024.
All of that aside, I’m still Team Baldree, if only for the reason that Treason Without Tea is much less interested in the nuts and bolts (not to mention the sheer oddness) of setting up and running a café in a fantasy setting. Kianthe and Reyna’s teashop is more cottagecore idyll than a halfway convincing business and the story does better the furthest it wanders away from the store.
It is the first book in a planned series, so I’m pleased to report the sequel, A Pirate's Life For Tea, more or less ignores the original premise and focuses down on romance and adventure to much better effect.
Tim Atkinson
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