Post-Molecular Comfort Food – Anton Eine | Delectable Sci-Fi Short Story Exploring Our Relationship With Food

***This is a sponsored post but all thoughts are my own***

Synopsis

Public health warning! This story is likely to cause profuse salivation!
Read only on a full stomach!
Michael Turner, the most popular food blogger in the world, has been unable to get his life back on track ever since being overtaken in the ratings by new upstart food designer Amy Williams. And now he is faced with the daunting challenge of taking her on in the annual televised top chef competition and the ignominy of losing his long-held crown to her in front of an audience of millions.
A humorous science fiction tale of delightful dishes and culinary masterpieces that shatters our familiar notions about cooking and explores our relationship with food and each other. Are you still a bit hungry? Good, then dinner is served..!
(Taken from Anton Eine’s website)

My Review

From reading another one of Anton Eine’s short stories, The Cleansing, I’ve learnt that he loves to experiment within fiction and produce perhaps quirkier pieces of writing that other authors don’t explore. I loved The Cleansing, finding it original and humorous, and I felt the same whilst reading Post-Molecular Comfort Food.

This one is longer than The Cleansing at 42 pages, however is still easily digested (pun wholly intended) in one sitting. I read it one morning after breakfast with a cup of coffee, and found myself completely hungry again afterwards. The main character, Michael Turner, is a world-famous food blogger in the future but he’s relatable – his passion for his craft, his zest for competition, and his recurring thoughts of self-doubt. It was fascinating experiencing his mind, seeing ideas emerge as he tries to understand what he needs to do to beat his food blogging rival, who seems destined to overtake him to the top spot very soon.

I really enjoyed the futuristic element, too – the concept of us printing food to perfection in the future made me laugh at first, but it actually sounds quite plausible when you consider the backstory. It made me consider my relationship with food in a different way, and really pinpointed what it is that makes food so enjoyable to us. This realisation grows at the same time as it does for Michael and it feels like a journey alongside him to discovery whilst we also learn why food printing has become the norm. The ending itself is clever – not predictable, and one of endings that you sit and mull over after reading (whilst slowly creeping towards the kitchen cupboards or the fridge, in this case… Eine’s food descriptions are almost mouthwatering at points!). I also loved the title – it’s totally bizarre, but it makes more sense once you’ve read it!

Final Thoughts

This is another great sci-fi short story from Anton Eine, promising an absorbing premise, an interesting main character and backstory, and some understated yet clever humour along the way. At only 99p on Kindle (or free with Kindle Unlimited) it’s an absolute steal, and the perfect quick read for a lazy Sunday morning.

Purchase Links

If you’d like to purchase Post-Molecular Comfort Food then you can do so here:

Post-Molecular Comfort Food by Anton Eine – Amazon UK
Post-Molecular Comfort Food by Anton Eine – Amazon US

Author Bio

Anton Eine is sci-fi and technofantasy author from Kyiv, Ukraine.
After building his successful career in marketing, he decided to let his creativity writing fantastic fiction books to actualize numerous ideas he had in his mind for years.
Anton is passionate about food (and some drinks of course!), photography, animals (especially wild cats) and rock music. He likes embedding his hobbies into the fantastic canvas of his writings and to share that passion with readers.
Anton Eine officially can’t stand any limits and boundaries, so his books usually step out of the box of traditional genres, crossing the edges of conventional storytelling and blurring the borders of common thinking.
Author of superhero series “Maze City” and technomancy series “Programagic”, also known for short sci-fi stories “The Cleansing”, “Sincerely Yours, Lucifer”, “Plus Ten”, “Post-molecular Comfort Food” and others.
(Taken from Anton Eine’s website)

Would you enjoy a world where food was created this way? Or would you be determined to eat real food again? If you enjoyed this review then don’t forget to like, pin, and leave a comment! You can read some of my other book reviews here:

The Cleansing – Anton Eine
Moxie – Alex Poppe
The Accidental Further Adventures Of The Hundred-Year-Old Man – Jonas Jonasson