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What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank: A Fantasy Lover's Food Guide Kindle Edition

4.2 out of 5 stars 169

Don't forget to pick up the companion volume, Hustlers, Harlots, & Heroes: A Steampunk & Regency Field Guide! http://amzn.com/B00K1PDUP6

Equal parts writer’s guide, comedy, and historical cookbook, fantasy author Krista D. Ball takes readers on a journey into the depths of epic fantasy’s obsession with rabbit stew and teaches them how to catch the blasted creatures, how to move armies across enemy territories without anyone starving to death, and what a medieval pantry should look like when your heroine is seducing the hero.

Learn how long to cook a salted cow tongue, how best to serve salt fish, what a “brewis” is (hint: it isn’t beer), how an airship captain would make breakfast, how to preserve just about anything, and why those dairy maids all have ample hips.

What Kings Ate will give writers of historical and fantastical genres the tools to create new conflicts in their stories, as well as add authenticity to their worlds, all the while giving food history lovers a taste of the past with original recipes and historical notes.

Don't forget to pick up the companion volume, Hustlers, Harlots, & Heroes: A Steampunk & Regency Field Guide! http://amzn.com/B00K1PDUP6

Editorial Reviews

Review

As entertaining as it is educational, What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank is a fun romp through the history and culture of food. A fantastic resource for fantasy writers and readers alike.-Michael Wallace, Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of The Righteous and The Red Rooster
What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank is not only a phenomenal research tool for writers, but one terrifically fun read. I not only couldn't put it down, I didn't want to. One of the best reads I've had this year.-Diana Pharaoh Francis, author The Crosspointe Chronicles and Horngate Witches.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009ZX8W3K
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tyche Books Ltd. (October 31, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 31, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5163 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 252 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 169

About the author

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Krista D. Ball
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Krista D. Ball is a Canadian science fiction and fantasy author. She was born and raised in Newfoundland, Canada where she learned how to use a chainsaw, chop wood,and make raspberry jam. After obtaining a B.A. in British History from Mount Allison University, Krista moved to Alberta, Canada where she currently lives.

Like any good writer, Krista has had an eclectic array of jobs throughout her life, including strawberry picker, pub bathroom cleaner, oil spill cleaner upper, and soup kitchen coordinator. These days, when Krista isn't software testing, she writes in her messy office.

She loves company! Come visit at http://kristadball.com or follow her on Twitter (www.twitter.com/kristadb1).

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
169 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2014
An insider look to foods and drinks in fantasy worlds to help make the story feel more authentic to the time. The types of food available can also help draw a darker or enlightened picture of a world. How long does it take to make rabbit stew? And catching the rabbit? How about dressing a deer? Spices and breads and so much more to look into!

We love food. So why not make learning about it fun too? Krista does that here.

For those writing, Krista gets you thinking more in depth of what you are creating. For those loving history, this shares in fun foods at different centuries along with recipes.

This book opened my eyes to how food can reflect and create a world. Food is touched on in different aspects of living. From the poor to the rich. On the move or city living. Even sailors/pirates out at sea. So many aspects and all live very differently. This book of information helped me thinking on the foods in stories, even worlds I've created. Krista tells you how things work and suggestions for the heroes on the run in the woods. How to survive with or without food. Some references are given to help match the food in your land, culture, stature in society, and along with taxes.

Even specific diets. Some of us can think out the diets from what we know of history, but this pins it down for us. There are reasons why there may not be many children born in a time frame. The woman may have been missing certain items from their diet that could result in miscarriages.

Krista presented this book in a fashion that reading about food and history felt like sitting down and talking with an old friend. This book was NOT like reading a history book. Krista made the topic fun. She shares recipes and her experiences. Yes, she's tried making some of the foods and drinks and shares how it was to make it or even taste it. Some good, some not so good. lol. There are myths that surround foods and the times, Krista talks about that and if they are true, false, or a touch of both and why.

But the neat thing with food, it touches different aspects of world and people. Krista talked about health in the middle ages and further back. There are herbs for all things from health to sick to in foods and drinks. Then on to who healers are, even a few thoughts to get you thinking as to a history to your healer choice.

This book was fun to read and learn. I will be using it as a reference guide to help me along. It can be used for anyone wanting to write fantasy, historical, steampunk or Victorian era.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2016
Let this be proof that if a book is well-written and interesting I will persevere over deeply annoying typos, even when they're as frequent as they are here. There are little errors like mentioning eating more berries than you pick (I think that's impossible, unless you don't count windfalls as having been picked), and the best typo in any document EVER, with which I will close this review. Although "drowsy" for (I assume) "dropsy" was pretty good too. But … cellars on ships and root vegetables not in cellars (lofts? Really?) and sentences like " something that is drank" or " was probably drank through a straw" were much too common; the book is crying out for a strong editor. (*makes "call me" motion in author's direction*)

There were also a few things I wondered about – like were "chocolate-dipped beef jerky protein bars" really "passed around at the Battle of Hastings"? (The author's note was "(I'm not even making that up)", but chocolate hadn't made it to Europe by 1066, or even close, so… Er?) And did travelers really have to convince innkeepers of their worthiness? I thought they just took their money up front if they were worried and sent knee-breakers after you if you crossed them.

There was also a sort of odd section on "The Midwife and the Nurse", in which the author indulges in a bit of ranting (like how she was stunned that people she informally polled all (or almost all) thought abortion was purely a modern phenomenon (I'm stunned too)), but never really discusses maternity-related food. It would have been a great place to put things like what food and drink and herbs and concoctions past cultures believed improved fertility or the chances of carrying to term, or helped a new mother "let down" milk, or how babies were weaned, or … etc.

But there were two reasons I persevered. One was the basic intelligence – which can be taken two ways:

And the other was the humor, like the note at the end of the mead recipe to "drink until your mood improves", and the tales of the author's experimentation for research purposes, both pleasant (chocolate for breakfast!) and un (self-ground flour).

Actually, there were three reasons – the third being Newfoundland. The author is – unless my memory is fritzing out – from Newfoundland, Canada – and so is my mother. I've been to visit family several times – and we still have kinfolk on the rock. So when she talks about "gooseberries, partridgeberries, cloudberries, plus blueberries. Oh and screech", I have a big grin on my face; every chance I get I order partridgeberry and cloudberry jam from The Dark Tickle Company and anywhere else I can find it. And screech? Yes, b'y. (Well, no, neither Mom nor I have a screech habit, and I've never been screeched in, but I surely know of it.) The only thing here is that Mom's from Doyles on the west coast, which is apparently much more sheltered than other areas. "Every Canadian reading this book is going to groan and complain that I just perpetuated the frozen tundra myth", she says, and with statements like "People did live in this desolate and harsh region" I suppose she does; I know my grandfather farmed a decent plot of land for decades, and Codroy Valley is lovely. It can actually get quite hot and humid there. (And I never saw fried cod tongues there. When I was a kid the weirdest thing I met with was fries eaten with vinegar instead of ketchup.)

And now, as promised – the Best. Typo. Ever.
"Pemmican is perhaps one of the best-known preserved food stuffs in North America. It's often in the form of beef, bison, or elf jerky, often with BBQ sauce or peppercorns."

Well, the dwarves have cram; perhaps the orcs have elf jerky.
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2023
If you are planning to write a book of historical fiction or fact, a fantasy fiction with heroes/heroines/wizards, or a medieval mystery…..you need this book as a reference! You don’t want your king having a banquet at Christmas and serving lamb (there wouldn’t be lamb at that time of the year).
If you aren’t planning on writing a book but, just want to “fact check” the book you ARE reading…..you need this book!
This book is interesting, has quite a bit of humor, has recipes, and source references. I’m not a writer (I’m a reader) and I found it to be quite fascinating.

Top reviews from other countries

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Lila Klassen
5.0 out of 5 stars A Joy to Read
Reviewed in Canada on December 30, 2013
The research is presented in such a fun and light-hearted manner that you almost forget how much you're learning! Also, I have never wanted a ferret more. Great for authors or readers and even for cooks, a little something for everyone.
2 people found this helpful
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Birgit Schultz
5.0 out of 5 stars Gut recherchiert, viele Informationen
Reviewed in Germany on January 27, 2014
Das Buch von Krista D. Ball hat mir sehr gut gefallen, weil es weitestgehend sehr gut recherchiert ist und die Autorin mit Engagement bei der Sache ist. Denn leider werden in vielen historischen Romanen (und in historisierenden Fantasy-Romanen) gerade beim Thema Ernährung viele Fehler gemacht. Da gibt es schon zur Völkerwanderungszeit Kartoffelsuppe oder Maisgerichte. Als Literaturwissenschaftlerin, Archäologin und begeisterte Köchin bin ich da immer entsetzt. What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank räumt mit den ganzen Fehlannahmen gründlich auf, erklärt, dass beispielsweise eben nicht rund ums Jahr frische Erdbeeren in den Wäldern wachsen und was für logistische Meisterleistungen nötig sind, um eine Armee auf dem Feldzug zu ernähren. Das Buch ist nicht nur für (angehende) Autoren interessant, sondern sicherlich auch für Fantasy-Rollenspiel-Gamesmaster, für Freunde historischer Küche und Einsteiger ins Re-Enactment. Leseempfehlung!
Gunnhildur Rán Stefánsdóttir
5.0 out of 5 stars Aha!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2014
"She cried in accents wild and waved her wooden leg."
You need information regarding what your medieval or indeed fantasy characters might actually EAT in your story? What might have been available? This book would be delighted to help you with that. :)
One person found this helpful
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The Chronicler
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars (Essay / 3452 Kindle Locations)
Reviewed in Canada on July 2, 2018
The data presented is quite informative and judging by the extensive bibliography it seems well researched. Though the presentation, the familiar tone, and the views of the author seeping into it were quite distracting from the information.
Mig Bardsley
4.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2018
A very entertaining read with lots of fascinating insights into eating through the ages. I loved the basic premise, that if you're going to write a fantasy or historical romance you really need to have some idea of what your heroine/hero will be eating and how they'll manage to get enough of it.

My only quibble is that the author appears to have a problem (perhaps an editing problem?) with drink. She often talks about what people would have drank; for instance "the people would have drank beer, wine and tea". This error appears so often that it couldn't be a typo unless it's an editing error where someone replaced the word 'drunk' with 'drank' throughout the book instead of in one place where it was appropriate. A very weird and distracting peculiarity. I was also a little taken aback to learn that "the seal hunt was an important source of food for eons of people...."
But apart from this minor irritation, I enjoyed the book a lot and I'm sure it would be a brilliant and stimulating resource for anyone needing ideas for solid world building and it is a very readable and informative book for non-writers.
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