Archives: The Science Fiction Hall of Fame

Son of an embittered and disillusioned firewalker Fingal Tucker, and angry and cynical insurance estimator Blodwen O'Brien, Cosmo Tucker spent his childhood and youth in a sea of constant ill-humour and pique. His moods ranged from peevishness and irritation to outright rage. Constantly red-faced and blustery, he became an expert at losing arguments and coming off second best in confrontations, so much so that he began to consider turning a hobby into a career by becoming a full-time punching bag.

Abandoning this idea due to extreme physical cowardice, he began to pursue what was, unknown to him, the standard apprenticeship for a science fiction writer: circus acrobat, longshoreman, farm hand, patent clerk, and short order cook — the latter despite being above average height.

It was in his position as cook that he turned to writing in his spare time. After some lack of success, he found the book which changed his life: H G Wells The Food of the Gods. This alerted him to the existence of science fiction, and he devoured as much as he could. He began combining SF with his culinary skills in a series of now classic works: The Stainless Steel Ratatouille (1953), The Demolished Meal (1954), The Stars My Delicatessen (1955), the Turkish influenced More Than Humous (1957), and the nightmarish vision of a future society that was always burning its scones, Fahrenheit 451 (1960).

Cosmo Tucker turned to sword and sorcery with his immensely successful series of stories based on the adventures of Rick, the effete barbarian warrior/chef and his demon-possessed wooden spoon Stormstirrer.

Cosmo Tucker combined his successful writing with his restaurant, modestly self-titled "The God of the Food". which became a haunt of SF identities who used to wrangle over such things as How Many Publishers Could You Impale On A Pin, or What If We Woke Up And It Was All A Dream? The crowds came despite the semi-frequent attacks of salmonella poisoning. Tucker denied responsibility for the hygiene of his kitchen staff, washing his hands of the matter — something his staff were notorious for not doing.

A mid-life, or mid-meal, crisis was responsible for his masterpiece of alienation, Stranger in a Strange Kitchen (1965), but a period of writing inactivity followed.

The advent of Nouvelle Cuisine in the 80s seemed to revitalise his appetite for writing, and a series of radical, free form novels emerged, documenting the picaresque wanderings of dashing Chef for Hire, Garry Carnelian: The Final Menu (1980), A Low Cholesterol Cure for Cancer (1981), and A Cook's Tour of Hell (1983). The restaurant became a Bohemian paradise, with singers, musicians, dancers and locksmiths enjoying the swarthy lifestyle.

Tucker financed this, and his entourage, by writing a series of potboilers set in an alien fast food franchise, "Neutron Dave's" (1885-89), but whole chapters consisting of nothing but recipes robbed the novels of some tension.

Tucker underwent a late life conversion to Animism, which helped him deal with his anger problem through tree worship. The only novel from this period in his life was his last, the rambling and chaotic Mixed Fruit Salad (1990), a strange effort at depicting a vegetable-based life form turning to cannibalism.

Cosmo Tucker never won a Hugo or a Nebula, but for several years in the 70s, he did rate three stars in the Michelin Guide.

Cosmo Tucker died in October 1990.