Thumper Forge is a fixture in the modern pagan environment, with a strong following on social media as well as contributions to several anthologies and a co-authorship credit with Llewellyn Worldwide's Virgo Witch. Now he is releasing his first title, The Chaos Apple: Magic and Discordianism for the Postmodern Witch. The work represents an author who is confident in his craft. It is everything that its intended audience would hope it to be.
Forge has an engaging writing style, with little pretense or affect. Just clear language that gets the point across and rarely if ever leaves you wondering what he's trying to get at. The subject could easily be rendered opaque by an author taking himself or his topic too seriously. Discordianism, while not being particularly new, remains a niche topic in pagan circles, but Forge is working hard to change that. He breaks his topic up into very manageable pieces and presents them as understandably as a person possibly could, given that at heart he's writing about the understanding and implementation of, well, chaos. You need someone with his bent of mind and talents as a writer to make this approachable.
Some readers are going to bounce off of this book, and that is nobody's fault. Chaos and Discordianism presents a lens through which to see the world that will be wildly unfamiliar to many readers. Forge makes it as accessible as possible, and I think some will be pleasantly surprised at how much they take away from The Chaos Apple. If you've ever been the least bit curious about Discordianism or what chaos magic is about, this is probably the best onramp you're ever going to have.
~review by Wanderer
Author: Thumper Forge
Llewellyn Worldwide, 2025
Pp.: 261, $16.99 (USD)
