Very happy to report that LEGENDS & LATTES by Travis Baldree is available in a Complex Chinese edition! Published by ECUS Publishing House, as 傳奇拿鐵 咖啡廳, the cover is above. Here’s the synopsis…
「咖啡」是什麼鬼啊?這是獸人威芙在小鎮遇到的第一個難題,或許也是最困難的。
過去,她的雙手沾滿血腥,過著露宿風餐的日子。難道這輩子只能這樣了嗎?不,她決定,要結束冒險生活。威芙想起過去曾在另一座城喝過香醇的咖啡,流過喉頭的悸動,驅使她前往新的地點,打算開一家溫暖的咖啡廳。
這座小鎮的居民不曾品過咖啡。威芙必須從頭來過:重建裝潢、把咖啡泡得更好喝……同時,鎮上還有收保護費的傳聞,加上過去一起冒險時的夥伴時而來找碴,都讓開店變得更加未知。
不過,當一個人懷有夢想,全世界都會成為助力。作者說,這是一個「並沒有重重危機,比起油炸下酒菜更像是雞湯的故事」。
咖啡廳像是有魔力似的,吸引各路好手加入,魅魔幫忙沖泡咖啡、招攬客人;鼠人默默烘烤美味的糕點,研發更多獨特風味的甜品;霍布妖將店面打造得愈來愈舒適;吟遊詩人的歌曲,讓客人忘了時間的流逝……儘管不定時出現的巨貓看來不好惹,卻似乎總在威芙有難時來臨。
隨著更多糕點出爐,咖啡的熱氣蒸騰,威芙與魅魔的曖昧也更加濃烈。
LEGENDS & LATTES is published by Tor Books in the UK and in North America. Here’s the English-language synopsis…
High fantasy, low stakes – with a double-shot of coffee.
After decades of adventuring, Viv the orc barbarian is finally hanging up her sword for good. Now she sets her sights on a new dream – for she plans to open the first coffee shop in the city of Thune. Even though no one there knows what coffee actually is.
If Viv wants to put the past behind her, she can’t go it alone. And help might arrive from unexpected quarters. Yet old rivals and new stand in the way of success. And Thune’s shady underbelly could make it all too easy for Viv to take up the blade once more.
But the true reward of the uncharted path is the travellers you meet along the way. Whether bound by ancient magic, delicious pastries or a freshly brewed cup, they may become something deeper than Viv ever could have imagined…
The internationally best-selling prequel novel (#1 in the US!), BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST, is also available — published by Tor Books in the UK and North America.