Karen Dudley's Kraken Bake was published by Ravenstone Books in May 2014.
Information about Karen Dudley:
Karen Dudley has worked in field biology, production art, photo research, palaeo-environmental studies and archaeology. She has written four environmental mysteries and a several wildlife biology books for kids. Her Epikurean Epics, including the Aurora-nominated Food for the Gods, are historical fantasy novels set in ancient Athens. Born in France, she now lives in Winnipeg.
Click here to visit the author's official website.
Information about Kraken Bake:
REHEAT THE KRAKEN!
It's a great day for Greece when Perseus defeats the dreaded kraken. But victory begins to lose its lustre when tonnes of tentacles start to swamp the shores and fishing nets of the Aegean. Now after weeks of kraken cakes, kraken kabobs, kraken fritters and kraken stew, everybody is getting decidedly sick of kraken - none more so than Chef Pelops.
In response to the "kraken crisis", the city of Athens announces the inaugural Bronze Chef competition. Normally, Pelops would jump at the chance to prove himself the best celebrity chef in Greece. The trouble is, the competition's secret ingredient is sure to be kraken - and, having once offended Poseidon, Pelops can't cook kraken to save his life.
To make matters worse, the Chef has serious cash flow problems and the woman he secretly loves is about to marry his best friend. Meanwhile, his loathsome rival Mithaecus has vowed to win the contest by fair means or foul.
Now, Pelops must overcome the sea god’s curse to prove once and for all that he is the better chef - a task made all the more difficult by the insufferable antics of a most unexpected relative...
A REVIEW OF KAREN DUDLEY'S KRAKEN BAKE
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to read a humorous, immersive and well written novel about Greek mythology and gastronomy? If you have, now is your chance to read that kind of a novel, because Karen Dudley's Kraken Bake is a well written historical fantasy novel that's full of humour, originality and inventiveness involving Greek mythology and gastronomy.
Kraken Bake is one of those rare novels in which elements that are normally difficult to combine come together in a brilliant way resulting in a funny and entertaining story. The author offers her readers a unique and funny look at ancient Greek culture, mythology and gastronomy. She gives a totally new twist to Greek mythology. She has managed to write a highly entertaining and charming - not to mention original - fantasy novel that will please fans of humorous fantasy.
Finding originality in humorous fantasy novels is a bit difficult, but Kraken Bake is a totally original novel. I don't recall reading another novel like this one. I've read novels and short stories that have taken place in ancient Greece, but this is the first time that I've read a humorous novel about ancient Greece. I think it's great that Karen Dudley has had courage to play with Greek mythology in a refreshingly bold and funny way.
Because I've always enjoyed reading humorous novels and stories (I've read books and collections by Terry Pratchett, Joe Keenan, Rhys Hughes, David Sedaris, Ira Newman, Douglas Adams, DC Farmer etc), I found myself enjoying the story very much. In my opinion this novel is one of the funniest and most entertaining humorous fantasy novels I've read to date.
Here's information about the story:
Kraken meat has flooded the food market and people are becoming sick and tired of eating all kinds of kraken delicacies. Chef Pelops is personally more than a bit tired of finding kraken everywhere on the market. Chef Pelops has a rival called Mithaecus. They're bitter rivals and can't stand each other. Their rivalry has caused a few very nasty situations and Chef Pelops hasn't forgotten anything that has happened between them. The city council has come up with the idea of organizing a competition called Bronze Chef. It's an ideal competition for Pelops, but unfortunately the competition's secret ingredient is sure to be kraken. Pelops doesn't want to serve and cook kraken because of his tangled past with Poseidon. Because Pelops offended Poseidon, Poseidon uses his powers to ensure that anything Pelops tries to do with kraken meat always ends in disaster... This is the beginning of an entertaining story.
Chef Pelops and his disciple Hermogenes are well portrayed characters whose traits and attributes are described in a lively manner. Chef Pelops can be called a bit of a prat (and also a bit of a snob), but he's a loveable prat who tries to have a successful career despite the fact that the gods are making his life difficult and miserable. Hermogenes is an enthusiastic former slave who has become a disciple. I was amazed how well and humorously the author wrote about these characters and their doings.
I'll also mention that reading about Perseus was very entertaining, because the author didn't hold back the humour when she wrote about him. I found myself laughing out loud when I read about what happened when Chef Pelops met Perseus and what he thought of him.
The minor characters, for example Pharsalia, are also fascinating characters and it's fun to read about them. I'm not going to reveal any spoilers, but I'll mention as an example that reading about Pharsalia's extraordinary bread products will probably bring a smile to every reader's face.
Chef Pelops has an interesting past, because he is related to Zeus. He has also been served as tasty food for gods and then put together again. Fortunately Dionysus and Hermes have helped him and continue to help him in different ways. When he finds out that he has an unexpected relative who's also related to Zeus, things become even more intriguing.
The author has a delicious way of describing how kraken delicacies become increasingly popular and how people are interested in them. New recipes and methods of preparing kraken meat spread almost like wild fire around the city. This lasts for a while, but then people gradually begin to lose interest in an unending supply of kraken meat, because there's no end to it, and it becomes increasingly difficult to find other kind of food.
I think that readers who watch cooking programs and are fascinated by celebrity chefs will be delighted to read this novel. It was fun for me to read about how Karen Dudley wrote about a bit different kind of a master chef competition (I was surprised by how easily I was fascinated by the competition in this novel, because I honestly can't stand watching chef programs and other kind of similar reality TV programs). She had a fantastically funny way of writing about the Bronze Chef competition and what was involved in it. Her hilarious yet delightfully sharp humour highlighted the happenings and over-the-top elements in a wonderful way.
Reading about the preparation for the Bronze Chef competition was enjoyable and very entertaining. The author had a way of transporting her readers to another place, because her descriptions of the happenings were so vivid that it felt like you were right there with the characters and in the middle of the happenings.
It's intriguing how well the author examines the importance of fame, public image and gossip in this novel. Fame and public image means a lot when you're a celebrity person and if you happen to be the target of harmless or malicious gossip things may not work out well for you and you may need to update your situation by all means necessary.
I enjoyed reading about how reluctant Chef Pelops was to participate in the Bronze Chef competition. He didn't want to be part of the competition, but he couldn't deny the fact that winning the competition would be good publicity and would mean lots of fame and income. He had to learn how to market and brand himself. His life began to change, because he had to pay attention to food, clothing and appearance in order to appear professional and be taken seriously by others.
One of the best things about this novel is that it's surprisingly easy to relate to the characters' problems and feelings. Although the characters are fantasy characters and the happenings take place in ancient Athens, you can't help but be fascinated by the characters and their problems. I'm sure that all readers who have started to read this novel will want to know what happens to Chef Pelops and how the story ends, because he has interesting problems.
When I read this novel I got the impression that Karen Dudley seems to be fascinated by ancient Greece, because she writes both lovingly and humorously about Greek mythology and ancient way of life. Her descriptions of culture, gods, goddesses and people are clever and intriguing. The ancient Greek comes to life with fluently flowing prose, fast-paced story, colourful characters and humorous situations.
One of the most interesting aspects of this novel is that the author has added several modern concepts and terms to it and has integrated them perfectly into ancient Greek culture. For example, such a term as "direct marketing" is seldom mentioned when talking about mythology, but in this novel it's an important part of the story and it feels natural to read about it.
The advertisements, newsflashes and recipes that can be found between some of the chapters are funny and inventive. They add a nice touch of style to the story. There's also playful whimsiness in this novel that brings freshness to it.
I haven't had a chance to read the author's first Epikurean novel, Food for Gods yet, but I will read it soon, because I liked this novel. This novel was so good and funny that I can hardly wait to read what happens in Food for Gods. Based on this novel alone I can say that I hope there will be many sequels, because this novel is excellent entertainment.
Kraken Bake is - without any kind of doubt - one of the most amusing fantasy novels of its kind, because the author has added many elements to it without making the result feel annoying and tedious. Kraken Bake is a satisfying combination of different elements and sparkling humour. If you're familiar with Greek mythology and ancient way of life, you're in for a real treat when you begin to read this novel. Knowledge about Greek mythology may help a reader to understand a few things better.
I highly recommend Karen Dudley's Kraken Bake to readers who enjoy culinary pleasures, cooking, humour and mythology. It has plenty of humour, playfulness and originality in it - what more could you possible hope for in a humorous fantasy novel? It's an amusing and marvellous novel that offers perfect escapism for fantasy readers.