Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tea with the Black Dragon | 1983 | R.A. MacAvoy | Buy |
| 2 | Twisting the Rope | 1986 | R.A. MacAvoy | Buy |
Tea with the Black Dragon (1983) won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and remains R.A. MacAvoy’s most widely read book. The story is simple on its surface: Martha Macnamara travels to San Francisco to find her missing daughter and meets Mayland Long, a cultured, ancient-seeming man who may or may not be a transformed Chinese dragon. The two of them search for the daughter together.
What makes the book distinctive is its restraint. MacAvoy never definitively answers the question of what Long is, and the romantic element between him and Martha develops slowly through conversation and observation. The novel reads more like literary fiction with a fantastical element than a conventional fantasy adventure.
Twisting the Rope (1986) is the sequel, catching up with Martha and Long in a new mystery. Both books are short, quiet, and best suited to readers who prefer character over plot momentum. Tea with the Black Dragon is a natural starting point for anyone new to MacAvoy’s work.