Written by Ian Banks | 11 October 2011

Eneit Press 2011: ISBN 978-0-9806911-3-9

IT’S A COOKBOOK!

There, just needed to get that one out of the way before I get down to the business of reviewing.

Food is an integral part of why many people love fiction. We all eat, and when characters in novels sit down and eat, it can make the world of the story a little more real. It can also add to the depth of a scene, giving you an idea of what life is like for these people. Would Charlie Bucket enjoy Wonka’s chocolates so much if his own dinners weren’t quite so miserable? Think of the banquet in Petronius’s Satyricon: proof positive of the decadence of the era. In all types of literature, food adds an extra frisson of depth: the banquets in Brian Jacques Redwall; the Hobbits’ several breakfasts in The Lord Of The Rings; the school feasts from Harry Potter… in fact, even if I mention something as mundane as The Famous Five I would be willing to bet that one of the first things that pops into your head is, “lashings of ginger beer” (whatever a lashing is).

So here we have a cookbook that is inspired by many periods of history and genres of literature. And with recipes that have been tested at the annual banquet at Conflux, an Australian SF convention.

We are given the menus for five themed banquets (Medieval; Jane Austen; Prohibition-era; Southern Gothic; and Graf Zeppelin) and the recipes for the many courses provided. We are also provided with an insight into how they were prepared, what was chosen or left out and what the reaction to them was. Gillian Pollack’s recounting of the trials and tribulations around catering to the different dietary types attending the banquet is fascinating, especially when you contrast the dairy- and meat-heavy content of the Jane Austen banquet to the health-conscious foods of today. The ways in which she and the other organisers were able to get around these obstacles is fascinating and – dare I say it - even more interesting than the recipes… and they were mouth-watering, especially the Southern Gothic.

And because as at the time of printing the 2011 banquet had not occurred, we are given five delicious zeppelin-themed short stories by Donna Maree Hanson, Maxine McArthur, Kaaron Warren, Nicole Murphy and Bennett. They give us a broad range of ideas and tales all derived from a single theme, rather like the banquets described before them.

You can find out more about Conflux (and its banquets!) at http://www.conflux.org.au/index.shtml