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| Sketch by Hope Hoover of a character from Elfhunter |
Death-Pepper Books
by C.S. Marks
So, I was reading a news blurb this
morning about a new species of death-pepper recently discovered. It’s called a
‘Scorpion’ pepper, supposedly has enough capsaicin to eat through a rubber
glove, and can cause a blistering ‘high’ that has been compared by some
spicy-food aficionados to crack cocaine.
I’ve never understood spicy-food
addicts. I love good food--everyone who knows me will soon realize that--but I
want to taste what I’m eating, not overwhelm my palate with the same substance
we use as a counter-irritant on a damaged leg muscle. At least I won’t go out
of my way to seek out hyperinflammatory chili.
Is it the thrill? The dare? The
claim of superior strength and ability to withstand the dreadful assault on
one’s delicate senses? (You...can’t...beat...me!
I...WILL...prevail!) Or
is it the idea that one is so insensitive (aka ‘tough’) that one is unaffected?
(‘You call
this hot? Ha! I laugh at your feeble attempt to break through my barrier of
insensitivity.’) I’m
not sure.
I once purchased a bottle of hot
sauce named ‘endorphin rush’ on a dare. When I got it home, I opened it
(carefully!), inserted a clean (afterwards probably sterile) toothpick about
0.5mm into the surface, and then touched the very tip of the toothpick to my
tongue.
An immediate numbing sensation
followed. I had no feeling in that area of my tongue for several hours. I gave
the bottle to one of my insensitive friends. The Scorpion peppers of the world
are quite safe from me.
As I often do (especially when
pressured to write weekly blog posts), I became reflective. That pepper represents
that (name withheld) book I tried to read
last year. I recall
the book--it was an assault on my imagination, throwing everything violent and
disagreeable at my poor brain, non-stop, from the very first page. The book had
been highly touted as a best-seller, but my ‘tongue went numb’ and I couldn’t
finish it.
I won’t elaborate on the sort of
(ahem!) ‘plot elements’ included in chapter one, but let’s just say I was
thankful the book is a fantasy. The reviews described it as ‘gritty’. I suppose
the author forgot to wash the dirt off the death-pepper first.
I read the reviews. There was
obviously some of the same kind of thinking going on--the same appeal--as with
the tongue-numbing hot sauce. Some reviewers called the book a ‘non-stop thrill
ride’. Others praised the ‘guts’ of the author (and, by association, their own
courage as readers) for not shying away from unpleasant realities. Some
addressed the naysayers, referring to those who criticized the work as wimps
who would obviously rather read about fluffy bunnies. We should all ‘get over
it’.
Okay, I get it. And I’m not saying
that I don’t enjoy a little grit (especially in the literary equivalent of an
excellent clam chowder). For example, at the moment I’m reading the latest
Stephen King novel, 11/22/63, which I classify as fantasy. It’s a wonderful mix
of flavors and textures--dark and decadent, light and refreshing,
saltwater-tangy, sometimes even a little fruity--and, yes, the grit is
definitely there. But the Scorpion-pepper? Well, I don’t know yet. I haven’t
finished it.
I have decided I really can’t handle
death-pepper books. My imagination blanks out, my eyes get stuck in permanent
roll as the gritty author tries to shock me with escalating graphic violence
and degradation (aka ‘smut’), and I end up doing the reader-equivalent of
drinking a big glass of milk: I abandon the ‘gritty’ book and re-read one of my
old favorites like James Herriot or Richard Adams (Watership Down was one of the best literary
meals I have ever enjoyed). I might even feel compelled to go up to my loft and
write, which, for me, is the equivalent of a big ol’ slug of ‘Maalox for the
mind’. In Alterra, I get to cook.
I acknowledge the appeal of
death-pepper books. I can visualize a bunch of rugged, Carhart-clad guys
slouching in the corner booth at their favorite chili parlor re-living past
glories. Yeah.
That stuff in Fort Worth was pretty bad--had m’gall bladder out next day. Yeah.
Those rape scenes involvin’ the explodin’octopus weren’t so bad, though. I’ve
read worse. Yeah...the one with the (censored)...now THAT was gritty. I
had to watch four hours of Winnie the Pooh afterwards.
They’re just not for me.
One of my aforementioned favorite
authors loves to throw chapters of unmitigated grossness in an otherwise
gripping story--it’s become almost a game for me to guess what and where--will
it be roaches? Maggots? Horrible, mutant rats? I know there’s gonna be slime
and other forms of mutant mucous somewhere. Oh, well...nobody’s perfect. And of
course there’s the obligatory ‘sex chapter’...well, can’t have realism without
it, I suppose. I still love the author. His books are a real festival of
flavors.
Some books are like dessert-carts.
Delicious at first, but too sweet. Variety of flavors, but nearly all in the
same family. Some books are like boxed mac n’ cheese. They are all the same,
are predictable, and sell by the millions. I will eat...err...read both,
depending on my mood, but what I really want is a unique combination of
flavors, textures, and images that will delight my ‘palate’, keep me involved
from first course to last, and perhaps even leave me thinking about it for a
long time afterward. (And, no, I am not going to draw the analogy of onions ‘repeating’
for hours after one eats them, nor will I remind readers that eating a whole
banana just before departing on a hundred-mile horse race is NOT a good idea.
That’s not the kind of ‘afterthought’ I was referring to.)
ABOUT C.S. MARKS
C.S. Marks has often been described as
a 'Renaissance woman.' The daughter of academic parents, she holds a
Ph.D. in Biology and has spent the past two decades teaching Biology and
Equine Science. She is currently a Full Professor at Saint
Mary-of-the-Woods College in west central Indiana.
She began writing shortly after the
untimely death of her father, who was a Professor of American Literature
at Butler University. A gifted artist, she has produced illustrations
and cover art for all three books. She plays and sings Celtic music and a
few examples of her songwriting may be found within the pages of
'Fire-heart.' She enjoys archery, and makes hand-crafted longbows using
primitive tools.
Horses are her passion, and she is an
accomplished horsewoman, having competed in the sport of endurance
racing for many years. One of only a handful of Americans to complete
the prestigious 'Tom Quilty' Australian national championship
hundred-mile ride, she has described this moment as her 'finest hour.'
She has been happily married for
nearly three decades. She and her husband, Jeff, share their home with
ten dogs (predominantly Welsh Corgis) and five horses. They live deep in
the forest, where there are miles and miles of trail riding to be had.
ABOUT ELFHUNTER
Elfhunter is the first of the tales of Alterra, the World that Is. It
concerns the quest of an unlikely pair of heroines, Gaelen and Nelwyn,
who are Wood-elves of the GreatwoodForest. They are hunter-scouts in the
realm of King Ri-Aruin, and they have sworn to protect their woodland
home, but they are drawn into a quest to defend all the Elves of Alterra
as they seek to destroy the 'Elfhunter' a monstrous entity intent on
exterminating the Elves until none remain. Along the way, Gaelen and
Nelwyn are joined by other interesting characters as they make their way
through the realms of Alterra in pursuit of the Elfhunter, whose true
name is 'Gorgon' What headstrong Gaelen and her gentle cousin do not
know is that Gorgon is in league with the Dark Power, and that the
forces of Evil have forged an entanglement between Gorgon and Gaelen
herself. Now she and all she loves are in jeopardy, and only an inspired
plan put forth by Orogond, a mortal man, can save her. Watch the Book
Trailer!
PURCHASE ELFHUNTER
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