AboutSue Kayton Expertise Engineer who has read thousands of science fiction books and short stories. Can recommend stories on specific subjects and comment on technical feasibility. Especially good at older out-of-print books and authors.
Question I recall reading a sci-fi book back in the 80's I think about a race of beings who created reality from their thoughts. Apparently our universe was one of their creations. Anyhow, one of them comes into our universe and is "captured" by a human who discovers that the herb basil is basically a narcotic for these beings and manipulates the creature. Any ideas as to what this book was?
Answer I read this book, too, just a few months ago and am having trouble remembering the title or author. I remember the alien called the plant basil "Bazeel". The alien had taken over the mind of a human, but when the human ate basil, it made the alien drunk and he lost control of the human. Perhaps the novel was by Barry Longyear. I will check my bookshelves. If I don't respond in a week, remind me again to go check.
