Bonus: Chew: Taster's Choice (Volume One)

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Chew:  Taster's Choice (Volume One)
John Layman
Rob Guillory
2009

The Summary
Tony Chu is a police officer - turned FDA agent - and he is a cibopath.  As a cibopath, Tony can taste or eat anything (and I do mean anything) and figure out what it's made out of, where it comes from, and what happened to it.

In fact, he can figure out just about anything from a single bite.

Except beets.  Beets don't work.

Now, along with Agent Mason Savoy (a cibopath like Tony), Tony can - and will - use his gift to solve food-related crimes.  Like contraband chicken.  Or cannibalism.  Or murder.

The Good
Quirky and dark, Chew is a unique blend of cleverness and the supernatural.  Throw in a hint of political intrigue, and you have a surprisingly good series to read.

Strewn with bits of comedy, fast-paced action, and odd-ball mysteries that can only be solved by the FDA - currently, the most powerful bureau in the U.S. government and, perhaps, the entire world - and the cibopathic abilities of Tony Chu and Mason Savoy, Chew is energetic and pretty fun to read.

The characters are unusual and intriguing enough to keep you riveted, and the story is well-constructed and interesting to hold your attention from beginning to end.  It moves quickly, so it's easy to read in one sitting and easy to become hooked.

The Bad
Altogether, it's a good story.  An odd art style, yes, but it's vivid in its depictions and it's oddly fun.

However (and this is a very big "however"):

If you have an aversion to violence, or foul language, or things just plain gruesome - like vomiting induced by a sabocrivner (one who writes so vividly that people can actually taste the things she describes), or homicidal cannibals - or other unsavory events, Chew may not be the best read for you.

The Ugly
Because Tony can receive psychic impressions from the food (and other things) he eats, he encounters some very unusual situations during his investigations.  Situations that invariably force him to eat unsavory foods.

And other things.

Like fingers.  Or dead animals.