Beneath Ceaseless Skies #317, November 19, 2020
“The Science and Artistry of Snake Oil Salesmanship” by Timothy Mudie
“A Feast from Tile and Stone” by Ryan Eric Dull
Reviewed by Tara Grímravn
For November’s second issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies, the editor has chosen two stories interlaced with humor and conspiracy. Both are well worth a read. They’re fun but not without a sense of danger, and I’m certain readers will love them.
“The Science and Artistry of Snake Oil Salesmanship” by Timothy Mudie
Aloysius (Al) is a snake oil salesman. No, not the unscrupulous kind you’re used to hearing about who prey upon the hopes of the desperate—the snake oil that Al sells actually works, not that that necessarily puts him above suspicion. After making a successful stop in a rather unremarkable frontier town with his partner, a giant talking snake, he realizes the only place left to visit is the one from which he was chased so many years ago.
Mudie’s story is an enjoyable combination of the American Western and Fantasy genres. The setting is very well-done, and I quite like Al as a character. His unlikely partnership with Snake was fun and unconventional. The climax and ending are not entirely what I expected, though. I thought the story would take a turn towards something more South American since Snake made me think of Quetzalcoatl, but it doesn’t. Instead, it ventures into a redemption theme that is just as satisfying and engaging. Honestly, I quite like this story.
“A Feast from Tile and Stone” by Ryan Eric Dull
Duke Agrano has ordered a feast be prepared in honor of the one-hundred-year anniversary of a battle in which his family was involved. The particular dish he’s requested, Egardouce’s Last Pudding, has been attempted less than a handful of times and not all successfully so. The sheer amount of work and resources the recipe requires is astronomical, and the chef contracted to create it, Gastel Dillegrout, and his staff have already been hard at work for three months in the kitchens. Now, less than thirty minutes before the feast is to begin, a group of unidentified guests are trying to upstage all of his efforts by attempting to murder the Duke’s son at the feast. As far as Gastel is concerned, this just won’t do—and it’s not the last of his worries, either.
Having worked in a restaurant kitchen before as a sous chef, I can say with some certainty that Dull has deftly captured the feverish work pace and flurry of activity that is oftentimes a defining characteristic of the industry. The tension and enormous pressure that Gastel and his crew are under in attempting to prepare this elaborate and obscure gastronomic marvel for the Duke’s feast is tangible. That said, while I was engaged enough to keep reading, it takes quite some time to get to any real action. I was more than halfway through before anything of consequence started happening. Still, though, it is very enjoyable. The interaction between Gastel and his crew is charming and, when you get to the meat of the story, it is worth the wait.