Thursday Thoughts

First of all, check out my eerie fractal in the sidebar.  Happy Halloween, everyone!

Since it is, after all, Halloween, I thought I'd talk about some of the classical monsters.  So many of these - ghosts, zombies, vampires - revolve around the fear of death.  It's a concept that leaves me flat.  I don't find it frightening.  Once a person is dead, their body is an empty shell.  I don't find anything particularly horrifying or unnerving about the idea of being confronted by the unnaturally animated form of a departed friend or family member.  The thing that gets me (the only thing that gets me) about zombies is the unforgiving nature of fighting one:  it doesn't matter if you get away, one bite, one scratch will doom you.

To me, I find humanized monsters less viscerally frightening than the inhuman.  If the monster is human, you can reason with it - you have a chance of dealing with it through personal interaction, however slim.  The inhuman simply doesn't respond or react.  It keeps coming and coming.  On the other hand, a humanized monster is more compelling, more nuanced ... likely more ambivalent.  With logic and rationale, there is a chance for sympathy, however unwilling.

Witches?  So often, today, they're the heroines.  Devils? ... well, the same thing, really, but unless handled in a unique fashion, the religious element fails to invoke a deep, instinctive fear.

The only thing I can say about werewolves is - paranormal romance.

Thursday Thoughts

It's official:  I'm going for it.

Two years ago, I aborted my NaNoWriMo project a few days in, not because I lost inspiration or thought I couldn't meet the goal, but because I felt I had too many other writing projects to put on hold for a month.  It was a decision of business and practicality, also taking into consideration the fact that I knew I didn't "need" Nano:  I could produce the 1,667 words a day required without it being a mad dash for production.

None of these things have changed.  I'm a little less buried in projects, but I still have a novel to edit (Who Wants To Be A Hero?) and a much longer to-do list with being in school.  It's been a while since I've produced a few thousand words a day, but I know I'm still capable of working back up to it.

But with all the pressures and deadlines in my life, it's time to set aside what I "have" to do as a writer and just do something I want to do, and having the communal goal of Nano may give me that extra little spark I need to find writing time.  I'm also keeping in touch with an online friend who has also committed to giving it a try.  Worst case scenario, I get a good chunk of my next project down.  Best case scenario ... if all goes well, Unnatural Causes may be a finished novel by the end of November.

Even if I make 50,000 words, I actually don't expect the book to be complete ... but who knows?  I'm in the mood to go for it.

GoodReads Review: Ice Will Reveal

Ice Will Reveal by Julia Dvorin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an intriguing fantasy novel of destiny, intrigue and what it means to be chosen ... and if that all sounds a bit familiar, the story makes it into a strength. Fantasy readers are intimately acquainted with these ideas, and "Ice Will Reveal" does an excellent job both in examining them and in playing off our expectations. This is a book that takes familiar ground and makes it new. The use of religion is also particularly vivid - we're left wondering, just as the characters might be, which face of the Goddess is true? Has she intervened? Is there a plan? There are two characters developed throughout the book whose apparent role is suddenly and abruptly turned on its heel, and it's powerful both times.

As a writer, I particularly appreciate when multiple perspectives are used not just to show us what more than one character is thinking, but to foreshadow and increase tension by giving us knowledge one character or the other doesn't have ... and Ice Will Reveal does this beautifully with only a handful of scenes.

The two main characters are nicely balanced - one serious and faithful, the other cynical and clever. It's particularly interesting to see them through each other's eyes.

As an aside, not the author's fault, I think, but the book is littered with typographical errors in the use of italics. Some thoughts are italicized, others aren't, entire paragraphs that are clearly not character thought end up in italics ... the proofing in this book is otherwise clean, though.

Ultimately, I struggled with the star rating on this book because it is definitely a Book One in a series. There is an ending - which I was pretty confident for the last seventy pages or so wasn't going to be at all possible - but it feels shoehorned in and truncated solely to make sure that this was a standalone volume (and even at that, it really isn't). I definitely want to read the next book, but this was handled badly both as a traditional fantasy to-be-continued and a finished-story-arc.

It's a shame, because I really have no other complaints. If you love traditional fantasy and want a thoughtful, unusual exploration of some of its core tropes, pick this one up.

View all my reviews

Thursday Thoughts

My creative process - especially when it comes to arranging music - sometimes frustrates me:  while I feel very strongly about discipline and consistency in my creative schedule, I have trouble taking an idea or a tune and immediately creating from that jumping point.  I need time to let it stew and develop ... well, flavor.

Two weeks into culinary school, and already I'm putting my blog posts into cooking metaphors.  Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

But there is something to be said for the metaphor.  Just like a simmering stockpot or crockpot, just because you aren't actively minding an idea doesn't mean that it isn't developing.  Maybe one has to give it a stir every now and again, but the development for me is on the backburner of the mind.  Without the time, it lacks depth.  With too much time, the product evaporates.

I'm turning into the villain in Blazing Saddles, so I'd better stop with the comparisons.  But for me, the process is almost magical:  all of a sudden, what I need to do is crystal clear under my fingers, materializing almost as if by outside influence.  It's just a matter of striking that balance between patience and procrastination.

Anatomy of an Idea: Lightning Strikes

My story "Lightning Strikes" was just released by Kaleidotrope - go and check it out if you haven't.  This story has a lot of history behind the scenes, which all began with my favorite pastime:  worldbuilding.

A long time ago, I started working on a world just for fun - an ancient setting with various Greek-inspired city states.  I worked extensively on naming languages, in particular, but also designed a full pantheon and explored each city in depth.  I had intended to design other cultures - an ancient Egypt analogue, a Celtic / Spanish cross, and possibly a Native American-esque culture - but I never did get to that point.

However, I used this backdrop to write a story.  Nope, not "Lightning Strikes" - it was "Chatter Me Timbers," inspired broadly by the mythological Argo, the ship with a talking board installed by Athena.  It was published by the now-defunct Afterburn SF, which I miss - such a fun magazine.

Unless you have both stories for reference and are looking for it, though, you'd probably miss the connection between the two tales.  "Lightning Strikes" is set several hundred years later - Rome to Chatter's Greece.  I've done similar loose connections before, and coincidentally, the story was also published by Kaleidotrope:  "Voices" is a near-prehistory prequel to my novel "Journal of the Dead."

The idea for "Lightning Strikes" started with two ideas.  First, I wanted to write an action story with a character who wasn't career soldier, fighter, mercenary, etc, and second, I wanted to write about augurs.  As I started to develop the storyline, I decided to use marauding barbarians ... and for interest, I decided to make them centaurs.  (I did very loosely use the Native American inspiration.)  This meant I had to consider a fair amount of logistics about how they would deal with buildings in the city ...

When designing the climactic fight in the story, I decided I wanted to hit all the elements - earth, air, fire and water - but have the solution to each be inspired by a specific Greek myth.  The result was a story I'm very pleased at last found a home.

Thursday Thoughts

This will be a short one due to first week of class:  still adjusting to the new schedule and working out both my workload and how much I need to do in one day to keep pace.  I'm hyper and energized and starting to feel the writing bug, but until I get all this sorted out, it has to be at the bottom of my list.

However ... I decided to do something a little wild with the vocabulary terms for my various classes - create a fantasy character and write in-context sentences including each word.  After having gotten my list for the Career Development, Management and Supervision course, I realized it will have to be an urban fantasy character, but some fun ideas are already popping into my head ...

I'm dithering whether to actually include these in my student notebook, which is a quasi-official document that will be reviewed and is part of the grade.  Obviously, that would be along with (and after) the usual vocab lists, but I wonder if it would just make them think I'm crazy ...

On the other hand, A) it is an art school; and B) I *am* crazy.

Thursday Thoughts

A story of firsts - part two.

While "But Before I Kill You ..." was my first sale, between that blood-stained event (see last week's post) and the publication of the anthology, I sold a couple other stories which came out before ... and so my first publication was "The Dreamweaver's Dispute" in Leading Edge Magazine.

This story was written from a series of random inspiration - five images drawn from a fantasy art site with absolutely nothing to do with each other, and woven together into a story.  The underlying premise became:  what if the fairies came to you and told you that if you didn't fulfill your late husband's bargain with them, they would return your first-born child?  So "Firstborn" was written.

It got a few encouraging responses in submissions, including a lovely reply from Strange Horizons.  I was extremely excited when Leading Edge accepted it, and quite curious when I heard it would be illustrated, but there were a few hurdles to overcome first.

First, I had to change the title.  They had printed a story in their last issue with the same title ("Firstborn"), by Orson Scott Card.  Titles have always been a weakness of mine, so I came up with a list of every character, plot point and theme in the story, brainstorming with the help of my mother (hi!) until I finally hit upon "The Dreamweaver's Dispute" - a reference to the main character's profession.  Not perfect or brilliant, but it was catchy and would work in a pinch.

Second, for whatever reason, they didn't receive my contract, and I found about this pretty close to the publication deadline.  There were some technical issues I can no longer recall the details of - maybe the file was too big to email? - and back and forth that eventually required me to call the magazine office.  Small snag:  being a student-run publication, the office was only open a few days between 7-9pm. ... MST.  So I had to wait until 9pm my time to try them.

But finally got it sorted out just in time for Leading Edge #51 to go to print with its lovely illustrations, and "The Dreamweaver's Dispute" on the table of contents.

Thursday Thoughts

Feeling nostalgic this week, so thought I would turn back the clock and talk about my first story sale - though it wasn't my first published story, the way the timeline worked out.

I had been writing and submitting short stories for a while, with some encouraging responses.  Then I saw the submissions calls for Fantasist Enterprises' Bash Down The Door And Slice Open The Badguy - humorous stories of sword and sorcery.  I had never attempted to write a story for a specific theme before and the deadline was already near, but I had an old story entitled "But Before I Kill You ..." that I had written years ago with the Evil Overlord list for inspiration.  The core of the story would remain, but I rewrote extensively, finished it swiftly, and edited it in time to hurry it off in the mail.

A little less than two months later, I received a reply.  I opened it, expecting another rejection letter, and promptly cut my finger on the side of the page.  I read the contents in shock.  At the time, I was still living at home; my mother came in and asked me what was going on because I was white as a sheet.  I stammered out an explanation.

And that was how "But Before I Kill You ..." found a home.

Check it out here:  Bash Down The Door And Slice Open The Badguy

Stardust Now Available!

My flash fiction story, Stardust, is now available in Silver Blade!  Check it out.

Thursday Thoughts

This past week, I've had a modest goal of writing 500 words on my short story a day.  I haven't reached that every day, but I've generally come close - with the exception of one day when I was just utterly work-slammed and didn't even get to touch it.  I'm estimating this is going to be about a 7000 word story, which is where most of mine tend to fall.  I'm about 2500 words in and on good track to finish in time to do a bit of editing before I post it for the FWO challenge.

The joy of writing every day is hard to express.  It can be frustrating when I can't quite figure out the sequence, have to stop and puzzle something out, worry that there's not enough foreshadowing, doublecheck to be sure I have sufficient description without stopping the story cold ... but oh, the delight of the flow of words.

I know my writing time and energy will decrease again when I'm in school, so I'm pondering short projects that I can finish quickly.  One thought I had was to do a piece of flash fiction, micro fiction or even a poem every day based on a sparker, such as the word of the day or a random Deviantart / Elfwood picture.  I'm certainly open to suggestions of a good source for quick inspiration!  (Weekly may be more realistic; I'll have to think about it and experiment.)

Other writers:  what do you do to keep your muscles sharp when time is limited?

Thursday Thoughts

Quick bit of non-writerly news:  for those who might have missed it, I will be starting culinary school in less than a month - first class, September 30.  I am hoping to be able to blog about the experience, so please feel free to check out Evil Overlady In The Kitchen.

Back to the topic at hand, I am currently tackling the FWO monthly challenge:  write a story in one of the "punk" genres.  Well, how could there possibly be a question?  I'll be writing a mannerpunk story.

I'm fairly fascinated by this subgenre and have even credited it with influencing Journal of the Dead - though truth be told, that is probably more of an intrigue novel.  I love the idea of political and societal manuevering and the matching of wits as the driving plot force of a novel.  It also happens to fit very well with my interest in fantasy mysteries, positively made for labyrinthine motives and alliances.  Unnatural Causes, the fantasy/mystery novel that is on hold until I get Who Wants To Be A Hero? in shape (yes, I have novel overload) is based on a fine web of conflicts and consequences ... and my two outsider detectives, the familiar and the apprentice, are doubtless going to have their clashes with society.

Assuming I ever get a chance to write it, but that's another story (pun intended).

I suppose even the culinary is good practice for all this:  in what other subgenre would it be appropriate to lovingly (but briefly!  I am not a flowery writer) describe food?

Ironically, I was rather turned off by Swordspoint, the alleged originator of this subgenre, but I will recommend a few mannerpunk books I enjoyed:  Patricia C. Wrede's Mairelon The Magician and sequel; and Barbara Hambly's regretfully standalone Stranger At The Wedding.  Galen Beckett's The Magicians and Mrs. Quent has most of the hallmarks of mannerpunk (indeed, it often feels like fantasy Jane Eyre!), but it wasn't a book I can wholeheartedly suggest.   (Check out my review here if you're curious.)

So it's off to the mannerpunk ball with me ...

Thursday Thoughts

Between the editing for Scylla and Charybdis, editing / revision for stories that have gone into submission in the past while, and of course, the synopses and query letter I mentioned in my last post (which are now being looked over by two brave volunteers and will, of course, result in even more revision), I haven't done any new writing in a while, and it's beginning to drive me a bit batty.  Well, more batty than usual, before anyone points out my normal state ...

It's high time to start something new - a short story, of course, as I still have Who Wants To Be A Hero? waiting for its own turn at edits. Or perhaps the zombie novella ...

However, fantasy-writers.org starts up their monthly challenge at the beginning of the month, and I want to be able to tackle it for the first time in several months - which means, short of bribing someone, I need to wait a few more days.  Idle in the meantime?  Not me.

I think I've mentioned before my favorite exercise book - and the only one I've found almost universally adaptable to fantasy writers - is The 3AM Epiphany, by Brian Kiteley.  I went through the entire book in order once, doing an exercise (roughly) a day; over the next few days, I'll be making some random selections to warm up my author muscles.

Are there any warm-ups, idea sparkers, etc, that people particularly enjoy using, have found especially inspirational ... or especially challenging?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Thursday Thoughts

My main writing project over the past short while has been the dreaded synopsis, or rather, in plural - I have a long version and a short version, which was intended to be five paragraphs, but is currently sitting defiantly at six.  The way the action breaks up, however, it seems better suited in its current form ... and it should be a one-page synopsis when formatted in normal-person font etc - which is to say, not in the 8-9 pt font in which I habitually write.  (I don't like how little of the screen the text fills on Word at 100%, so I write at 150% ... but that would make the text huge, so I use smaller font.  Previous editions of Word allowed you to word wrap, but then it's hard to know where you are on the page ...

(There is a method to my madness, suffice to say.)

I've been pleasantly surprised by how easy this synopsis was to write in a compact format, though I'm sure I still have extraneous details.  For my longest novel in a while, I was dreading it ... but I found that it was fairly easy to move through the action points, and that I didn't need to go back and fill in as much as I usually do when I reached the latter parts of the synopsis.  (That's usually my problem:  I'll think, "Oh, I can omit ABC" and then when I get about two-thirds of the way through, I realize that S and T depend more than tangentially on B, which ... etc.)  It may be because the whole book was written with a circular arc, returning to its starting point geographically and perhaps thematically.

Now as I'm tidying up what I have, I'm wondering - does anyone have any tips for tightening a synopsis?

Thursday Thoughts

First of all, if anyone hasn't seen this, here's Abyss and Apex's review of my novel:

Abyss and Apex 3Q Book Reviews

I'm quite pleased, and grateful they took the time to review it.

On to my thoughts for the week, I've recently discovered (or rediscovered) another tendency of mine in character creations:  I like to explore issues of identity, what defines it, and what happens when you learn that part of your identity wasn't what you thought it was.  (This does, in fact, tie very strongly into Flow.)  I write a lot of characters who are outsiders in their own societies; to a certain extent, I suppose you could argue that most heroes need to be, but it's often used more as an excuse / impetus to adventure than a driving part of the plot.

But I've always been fascinated with circumstances that alter identity and that moment of self-realization, whether it be coming-of-age (Flow again) or something else.  Ioweyn in Who Wants To Be A Hero? is a goddess of change itself, which means that the faces she presents throughout are varied both physically and in the way she acts - but is that real change, or is it pretense over a static identity?  Isn't there a paradox in here somewhere?  And this in what is intended to be a lighthearted comedy ... Vri from Bird Out Of Water (available in Trespass) is half merman, half harpy, and focused on becoming something better ... or is it?

When something forcibly alters your consciousness, how do you deal with it?  Are there circumstances in which you aren't "you" any more?  If your origins are revealed to be something different - your parents, your early childhood circumstances - does that change anything?  And what if you have a terrible past, but you no longer remember it ...

This last is an idea I started to work on a very long time ago in a fandom setting, but I never got to implement more than fleetingly, because the community was on its way out.  Now I'm taking another stab at it in another shared-world environment, and hoping to do it right.  We'll see.

Thursday Thoughts

I'm not quite sure how I managed to miss posting entirely last week, but I suppose that means I didn't have anything pressing to say ... not that I'm ever busting at the seams with unique and incomparable insights, but cut me a little slack.

This week, however, I've finally finished what (for now) is my final edit of Scylla and Charybdis, coming in just a bit under 145,000 words.  The first chapters have seen critiques in multiple stages ... and now, with a finished novel lurking ominously on my hard drive, I have my eye on the dreaded synopses (long and short ... or in my case, longest and a-little-less-long) and a query letter.

I'm a bit nervous about this one - as a science fiction novel, it's outside of my usual writing zone.  I have it in mind to emphasize the social and worldbuilding aspects of the novel ... and, of course, I won't be looking at publishers or agents that don't also cover fantasy.  I realize there's some risk in this genre hopping, but if nothing else, it was worth writing for my own growth ... and it seems silly just to let it molder.  I certainly would appreciate any advice anyone has as far as the subgenre box-hopping involved, though.

Next up!  I probably will dabble in a few short stories and poetry before moving along to ... more editing.  Who Wants To Be A Hero? has been sitting far too long.  Yes, I am two novels back (one now).  It ain't pretty.

Thursday Thoughts

Happy Fourth of July!

(It may only be Independence Day in the United States, but it's July 4th everywhere.  ;-))

I've always been fascinated with the (US) Revolutionary War period - from pre-colonial to those first few decades after, which were filled with more turmoil than most people think about.  And it wasn't lofty ideals and political principles.  When you think about the fuss of taxation without representation, it seems to me that there was a significant percentage that was more concerned with the "taxation" part ... and looking at the reasons England was turning to its colonies for funds, they may have had a point, even if the way they went about it turned out high-handed and incendiary.

I love the movie / musical 1776 for its portrayal of the warts of the whole process, and of course the music itself is brilliant. This quote from John Adams (the character, not the actual historical figure), I think, comes in some ways frighteningly close to the way the Revolutionary War has sometimes been perceived:

"It doesn't matter. I won't be in the history books anyway, only you. Franklin did this and Franklin did that and Franklin did some other damn thing. Franklin smote the ground and out sprang George Washington, fully grown and on his horse. Franklin then electrified him with his miraculous lightning rod and the three of them - Franklin, Washington, and the horse - conducted the entire revolution by themselves."

And then there's my favorite political quote ever, sung by Adams:

"A second flood, a simple famine, plagues of locusts everywhere, or a cataclysmic earthquake I'd accept with some despair ... but no, you sent us Congress!  Good God, sir, was that fair?"

Happy holiday, everyone.

Stardust sold to Silver Blade!

I'm pleased to announce Silver Blade will be publishing my flash fiction story, Stardust.

This is the actually the first flash piece I wrote with a "looping" technique (the last word of the sentence is the first word of the next) - before The Hurricane Cavalry, which recently appeared in Penumbra - and I'm delighted to see it find a home.

My third piece with this technique is now in submissions (though there, the form is directly imbedded into the plot), so clearly, I need to write another ...

Thursday Thoughts

So the next few days, for me, will be consumed with a massive event on my roleplaying game:  an alien invasion.  (This wouldn't have been my first choice, as I have no skill for either big battles or space-based scenes, but I've managed to find myself some events to hold for players, and I'm writing flavor news from around the game world.)  In working with my fellow staff-folk to build this event, I've been reminded of something ...

I am not a seat-of-the-pants writer.

I may seem like that on the surface because I don't outline plots in great detail, unless I'm dealing with short fiction where precise mapping helps me remain within a reasonable word count (which actually happens almost zero percent of the time, but I digress).  What I do, however, is build my world, scenery, characters and motivations to such depth that when put into motion, the plot flows naturally without the need for guideposts.

I've found this even more useful in gaming, because some of those characters, of course, don't belong to me - they belong to the players.  So I need to be able to roll with whatever decisions they choose to make.

None of this happens, however, if I don't start from a clear foundation ... and I like to have my map well in advance, so I can get comfortable with the lines.

Of course, I suppose this means that by the time I get back to Unnatural Causes (a Nano project I regretfully abandoned due to too many irons in the fire), it will be absolutely superb ...

Well, I can hope, right?

Thursday Thoughts

Today, I'd like to talk about the idea that, "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life."  I wish I could remember where I first saw commentary debunking this particular pearl of wisdom, because I would give credit where it's due - but at least I can clarify that these thoughts didn't originate with me.

First of all:  it's nonsense, and not only that, it's harmful nonsense, prompting people who *are* doing what they love and still feeling frustrated or stressed to secondguess themselves.  Every profession has aspects that are drudgery; every profession also has aspects that are bound not to be an individual's cup of tea.  (These aspects may or may not fully overlap.)

For instance, I adore performing and teaching the harp.  However, I dislike:

Making phone calls to clients.
Diagnosis of buzzing strings.
Explaining the limitations of the instrument to clients - no, I can't realistically pick up a brand-new piece of music in four days; no, I can't accompany a vocalist if the tune is in five flats; no, XYZ can't be played on a lever harp (though I can work some miracles and this rarely happens - the last tune I tried to work up and failed was personal, and it was "Til There Was You" from Music Man).  The lever harp has a steeper learning curve than many instruments, and even other musicians are sometimes surprised when I have to say "no" - or better, "I can, but it wouldn't be to a standard I would feel comfortable with for your event."
... okay, that was a rant.  Back to the list.
Special requests to learn a tune I can't stand (example redacted ;-))
Required standard repertoire I can't stand (Danny Boy and Wagner's Bridal Chorus ("Here Comes The Bride"), I'm looking at you)  (Conversely, I adore the Pachelbel's Canon, cliche though it is)
Cameras, especially for posed shots.  Get out of my face!  Or at least warn me so you only get the instrument.  It's the only part of the package worth photographing.
Long, narrow staircases.

From this laundry list, there's clearly some work involved in this occupation I love ... but if I were to omit any (or at least most) of these items, I would have difficulty booking jobs.  The same is true for any vocation.  I think few writers enjoy the process of submission and rejection; many also loathe editing or marketing (or both).

Let's play Devil's advocate for a moment.  Let's say your passion in life is gardening, but you hate tracking plant shipments and physically unloading the plants ... but!  An employer is willing to pay you to do just the part of the job you're interested in.  Someone else will do the tracking and the heavy lifting.  Sounds like you've escaped ... but now you have to deal with your boss' expectations and requirements, either clock in and clock out at specific times (convenient or not) or in some way record your hours ... the work has found you again.

Does that mean I suggest having any old job, because you'll never be totally happy?  Not at all.  The pleasure of doing what you love is hard to beat.  But expecting that there won't be any rough patches or places where you're just slogging along seems unrealistic to me.  Every occupation has its work:  you just have to find one where the good outweighs the bad to the point ...

Well, where you find yourself forgetting the bad and spouting, "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life."  But please don't.

GoodReads Review: Outlaw Cook by John Thorne

Outlaw Cook by John Thorne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rather than a single, cohesive memoir, story or thesis, Outlaw Cook is a series of essays, divided into sections by a joining theme. The first part, Learning To Cook, had both an autobiographical and thematic arc, describing how Thorne developed his relationship with food and hunger. It was thus a disappointment when the following sections - Made To Taste and The Baker's Apprentice - diverged into an unordered discussion of various cuisines. The final section - The Culinary Scene - is a bit of a puzzlement with book reviews, but a couple of the pieces here are quite intriguing: the one on Martha Stewart and Cuisine Mecanique, the closing essay. It's an eminently appropriate ending and a perfect summation for the whole book.

Thorne has a distinct way of looking and writing about cooking, centered on a very primal philosophy of its uses. Even when not addressing his primary viewpoint, every essay in the book reflects this thesis. At times, he takes the whole thing to a pretentious degree ... which is ironic when the book argues vehemently against such pretention in the culinary field. Still, whether or not you agree with him as a reader, his discussion will make you think about your attitude towards cooking ... and why you hold it. (I came to the conclusion that my philosophy is almost entirely the polar opposite of his, which might color this review.)

Thorne's discussion of the history and physics of food is absorbing, though, and he takes a deep look at the cultural roots of each dish he considers. There are recipes a-plenty throughout this book, but it's not really a cookbook ... and Thorne would be the first person to tell you to be suspicious of recipes, so they are intended to be jumping-off points / inspiration. (Hand in hand with this, they were too simple for me - I noted only a few.) It's easy to see why Alton Brown was electrified by his point of view - I originally found out about this book from "I'm Just Here For The Food" - even though he took it in a completely different direction.

Even though I don't agree with a lot of this book, it makes for an interesting, thought-provoking read.

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