Reviewing The Brimstone Deceit

At Mysterious Universe I review Joshua Cutchin's new book, The Brimstone Deceit, which is a really good read.

Here's how the review begins:

Available right now is the new book from Joshua Cutchin, The Brimstone Deceit. Its subtitle: An In-Depth Examination of Supernatural Scents, Otherworldly Odors, and Monstrous Miasmas. You may recall that in May 2015 I reviewed Josh’s previous book, A Trojan Feast. You can find the review here. In many ways, the two books are of a similar nature. Whereas A Trojan Feast was focused on the connections between Fortean phenomena, strange entities and food, Josh’s new book revolves around odors and the world of the unexplained.

Before I tell you what this new title from Anomalist Books is about, it’s important I explain what it’s specifically not about. This is not a book about how Bigfoot stinks to high heaven because it lives in the woods and never bathes. Nor is it a study of alien halitosis. Rather, this is a fascinating 445-pages-long book on how certain, specific odors play significant roles in countless paranormal events and incidents. Josh’s work makes it very clear that numerous supernatural phenomena of the kind that many would suggest have no connection to each other, are, in reality, connected to incredible and deep degrees. In that sense, Josh goes down the path taken by John Keel, who came to believe that the many and varied unknown “things” which intrude upon our world are somehow all part and parcel of something bigger, something interconnected.

Two New Books To Review...

 

 

Received in the mail today review copies of what both look to be excellent new books: A Menagerie of Mysterious Beasts from good mate Ken Gerhard and Joshua Cutchin's The Brimstone Deceit. Reviews as soon as I have read them...

A Trojan Feast - Reviewed

Over at Mysterious Universe, I review Joshua Cutchin's just-published book, A Trojan Feast, which I recommend to just about everyone who has an interest in the world of the unknown - even the skeptics and the solidly belief-driven.

Here's how the review begins:

"Now and again, a book is published that is destined to become a classic. Granted, it doesn’t happen too often nowadays in Ufology, but when it does, it’s well worth the wait. There is one that falls into that exact category and which has just been released: Joshua Cutchin’s A Trojan Feast, which is published by Anomalist Books. With the subtitle of The Food and Drink Offerings of Aliens, Faeries, and Sasquatch, this is – in my view – the definitive study of an aspect of the paranormal that has, until now, been vastly unappreciated and consistently misunderstood.

"Before I get to the matter of what A Trojan Feast is about, it’s important that I explain what it’s not about. This is not some simplistic study of why Bigfoot likes to eat apples or aliens from Zeta Reticuli have a particular taste for strawberry ice-cream. No, this is a book that delves deep into the long and notable history of food-based interaction between us, the human race, and magical and supernatural entities from…well, somewhere."

And here's the full review.

A Trojan Feast - A Great New Book

A few days ago I received in the mail from Anomalist Books a review-copy of their latest release: Joshua Cutchin's A Trojan Feast.

I'm up to about page 60 of what is an excellent book. This is one definitely not to be missed.

I'll be reviewing it over at Mysterious Universe, as soon as I've read it.

And here's what Anomalist Books says about A Trojan Feast:

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED
Accept food from faeries, and you'll never escape their realm, according to European folklore. Accept food from Sasquatch and you will forever be trapped in the spirit world, according to indigenous North American tales. And today, abductees-at least those who have returned-often report being offered strange beverages from their captors. Are these similarities mere coincidence, or is something more at play?
In this outstanding example of scholarship on the unknown, Joshua Cutchin has created the world's first survey and analysis of the food and drink offered by aliens, faeries, and Sasquatch. The offerings are often not what they appear to be: some liquids have healing or aphrodisiac qualities, some foods expand awareness, and there are ointments that reveal an invisible world.
Through his playful explorations of every possibility-from the outer regions of space to the inner sanctum of the human mind-A TROJAN FEAST offers new insight into our relationship with these strange creatures of the outer edge.
"The humble subject of food in anomalistic accounts serves, in Cutchin's measured, learned, and lucid argument, as proof that high strangeness events may be uncertain and discordant, but not incomprehensible." - Thomas E. Bullard, folklorist (ret.), Indiana University, Bloomington
"Joshua Cutchin has brought together a contemplative and truly unique folkloric analysis of the way that food and drink fits into the broader narrative of purported strange phenomena. In doing so, Cutchin provides, in the very truest sense, 'food for thought.'" - Micah Hanks, author of "Magic, Mysticism and the Molecule"
JOSHUA CUTCHIN is a native of North Carolina with a long interest in forteana. He holds a Masters in Music Literature and a Masters in Journalism from the University of Georgia, and currently works as a public affairs specialist in the southeast. In addition to his media work, Cutchin is also a published composer and maintains an active performing schedule as a jazz and rock tuba player, having appeared on eight albums and live concert DVDs. A TROJAN FEAST is his first book.

New Book: A Trojan Feast

Out now, from Anomalist Books, is the first book from Joshua Cutchin - and it looks to be an excellent debut!

Check it out: A Trojan Feast: The Food and Drink Offerings of Aliens, Faeries, and Sasquatch.

And here's what Anomalist Books say about this new title:

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

Accept food from faeries, and you'll never escape their realm, according to European folklore. Accept food from Sasquatch and you will forever be trapped in the spirit world, according to indigenous North American tales. And today, abductees -at least those who have returned- often report being offered strange beverages from their captors. Are these similarities mere coincidence, or is something more at play?

In this outstanding example of scholarship on the unknown, Joshua Cutchin has created the world's first survey and analysis of the food and drink offered by aliens, faeries, and Sasquatch. The offerings are often not what they appear to be: some liquids have healing or aphrodisiac qualities, some foods expand awareness, and there are ointments that reveal an invisible world.

Through his playful explorations of every possibility-from the outer regions of space to the inner sanctum of the human mind-A TROJAN FEAST offers new insight into our relationship with these strange creatures of the outer edge.

"The humble subject of food in anomalistic accounts serves, in Cutchin's measured, learned, and lucid argument, as proof that high strangeness events may be uncertain and discordant, but not incomprehensible." - Thomas E. Bullard, folklorist (ret.), Indiana University, Bloomington

"Joshua Cutchin has brought together a contemplative and truly unique folkloric analysis of the way that food and drink fits into the broader narrative of purported strange phenomena. In doing so, Cutchin provides, in the very truest sense, 'food for thought.'" - Micah Hanks, author of "Magic, Mysticism and the Molecule"

JOSHUA CUTCHIN is a native of North Carolina with a long interest in forteana. He holds a Masters in Music Literature and a Masters in Journalism from the University of Georgia, and currently works as a public affairs specialist in the southeast. In addition to his media work, Cutchin is also a published composer and maintains an active performing schedule as a jazz and rock tuba player, having appeared on eight albums and live concert DVDs. A TROJAN FEAST is his first book.

And here's the chapter breakdown:


Foreword by Thomas E. Bullard
Introduction
Chapter 1 Lore: Faeries
Chapter 2 Lore: ET & Bigfoot
Chapter 3 Trends
Chapter 4 Food: Liquid
Chapter 5 Food: Fruits
Chapter 6 Food: Bread
Chapter 7 Food: Pills
Chapter 8 Food: Miscellaneous
Chapter 9 Relationships: Giving & Taking
Chapter 10 Connections: Sattvic Diet
Chapter 11 Connections: Sleep Paralysis
Chapter 12 Connections: Sexuality
Chapter 13 Connections: Absorption, Ointment, & The Entity Diet
Chapter 14 Connections: Entheogens
Chapter 15 Connections: Eating The God & Rebirth
Chapter 16 Entity Food: A Working Model Of Meaning & Thought
Acknowledgments 
References
Bibliography
Index