The Quest for Fire
1911 fantasy novel by J.-H. Rosny
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The Quest for Fire (French: La Guerre du feu, literally The War of Fire) is a 1911 Belgian fantasy novel by J.-H. Rosny, the pseudonym of two brothers; the author was actually the elder of the two, Joseph Henri Honoré Boex (1856–1940).[1] It was first published in English in an abridged edition in 1967.[2]
First US edition | |
| Author | J.-H. Rosny |
|---|---|
| Original title | La Guerre du feu |
| Translator | H Talbott |
| Illustrator | J. O. Bercher |
| Language | French |
| Genre | Historical, Prehistoric fiction, Adventure novel, Fantasy |
| Publisher | Pantheon Books (US) |
Publication date | 1911 |
| Publication place | Belgium |
Published in English | 1967 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-14-006434-6 (UK Eng. trans.) & ISBN 0-345-30067-X (US Eng. trans.) |
| OCLC | 10813236 |
Setting
The Quest for Fire takes place in 100,000 BC in Europe. The fauna of this period is omnipresent, including: mammoths, cave lions, aurochs, cave bears, saber-toothed cats, giant elks and saiga antelopes. Several humanoid species live alongside animals:
- The Ulams - Neanderthal-like hunters-gatherers who worship the fire and are able to ally themselves with beasts.
- The Wahs - People without shoulders from marshes.
- The Blue-Haired Men - Huge four-handed simians with a bluish fur.
- The Men-Eaters - Bestial cannibals.
- The Red Dwarfs - Extremely warmongering and xenophobic pygmies.
Plot
Scientific response
Italian paleontologist Giorgio Manzi praised both the novel and its movie adaptation for their prescient vision: for him, they can alternatively be seen as a journey through human evolution, where the protagonists meet different species of Homo that succeeded one another through time; or, as a journey through space, with different human species that coexisted (and interbred) in different parts of the world. Finally, they could also be seen as a representation of diversity within Neanderthals, that are now known to have had "modern" traits, like the production of jewelry, but to also have engaged in cannibalism.[3]
Adaptation
It was adapted into the critically acclaimed 1981 film Quest for Fire starring Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nicholas Kadi, and Rae Dawn Chong. The film is not a faithful adaptation of the book.
