Kethani: Sci-fi with added real ale Posted by Gargleman

I love sci fi. And I love real ale.

I suspect that many of my fellow beard-stroking geeks have a similar combination of tastes.

So I was initially unsurprised to find references to (what is presumably Timothy Taylor’s) Landlord ale in Eric Brown’s Kethani, an enjoyable collection of short stories all gathered together to make a novel.

The characters spend a lot of time in the pub discussing the arrival of aliens called the Kethani (who have come to Earth with the gift of immortality) so it’s fair enough that there would be the odd reference to the beer that the characters drink.

But it did get a bit much – Landlord is mentioned no less than 10 times in the book. It is ubiquitous, whether the characters are drinking to get pissed, in the pub, at home or with a meal. It is even described as “rich and creamy”!

I should point out that  I have no reason to believe that this is one of those rare examples of product placement in a book – in fact, I’m sure that Eric Brown just really likes Landlord ale – but if it is product placement, it’s bloody brilliant.

I’m dying for a rich, creamy pint of Landlord. Yum.

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