Liber Malorum Children of the Apple
by Sean Scullion © 2008
PagAnarchy Press
ISBN 97809557984-0-5
523 pages
Paperback
$27.21 (U.S.)
Reviewed by: Mike Gleason
This is a compilation work. There are twenty three authors and over 70 contributions. I’m sure it will be difficult for some people to read, since it is a true Discordian book. And, of course, Discordians are notoriously difficult to pigeon-hole.
In the finest tradition of Discordian writing these stories of fiction raise the question “What is truth?” If you have no exposure to Discordianism the appearance of excerpts from The Principia Discordia and The Illuminatus Trilogy will both extremely helpful and thoroughly confusing.
There are themes throughout this book and tendrils which snake from one story to another. As you read you will likely become aware of these themes and linkages. I said some because, unless you are experienced in the field of non-rational (un-sane) thinking, you will undoubtedly miss at least a few the first time around. Please pay close attention to what I am saying – “un-sane” is not the same as “insane,” non-rational does not mean insane either.
Many, if not most, people in today’s Western society are totally locked into a concrete, rationalistic view of the world. There are occasional flashes which make it into public consciousness (have you seen the movie “23”?). Those who do see the chaos which is the foundation of order are often judged to be “out of touch with reality” at the very least.
I do need to issue a warning. There is a small (very small) amount of sexual content in this book. I would not recommend it for pre-teen children – but then because of the Discordian content I would make the same recommendation.