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Voice Of The Fire
There's no question about it - this book is formidable. It is formidable in its complexity, formidable in the connective leaps it expects you to make between stories and eras, and most of all, it can be formidable in its prose. Before I even read Voice Of The Fire, I'd heard that the first chapter of the book is enough to put many casual readers off, and that's not far wrong. The story of a cave-boy called Hob -- confused, immature, possibly mentally deficient, and alone in a world of freedom, love, and, potentially, disaster -- is written in intentionally limited language that the less sharp members of mankind might be imagined to use in 4000 BC. It's not an easy read; this segment is a struggle to decode at times, but the rewards are significant, because the emotions are powerful, and the story strong.
The novel's twelve stories are woven together, but only loosely. Sometimes consecutive stories interact with each other by way of common locations, characters, or themes, as historical figures tell their stories in the first-person, one by one, from the aforementioned Hob to an inevitable conclusion in the present day. But generally, the stories don't actually interact. Some of the most memorable tales, such as the first-person tale of a severed head on a pike circa 1607, or the treacherous dealings of a lecherous court judge from centuries past, have absolutely nothing in common except for the general geographical location. But they share exceptional writing, a self-contained message, and an odd sense of foreboding hovering over the entire proceedings, like someone or something is watching over every single sin committed.
And, let it be said, there are a surfeit of sins -- violence, and senseless murder, and lust, and witchcraft, and plenty left over. But that's how real history is -- bloody. Or, at least, that's how Moore wants us to believe history is, and there's clearly been significant research into many of the real-life historical figures whose lives are embroidered and colorized in Voice of the Fire. There's no doubt that some passages are tricky to digest, particularly those with odd language such as 'The Sun Looks Pale Upon The Wall,' the haunting 1841-set meanderings of another poor citizen who's not quite there. However, if you can wade through the occasional story featuring difficult prose, dense layout and strange language, the rewards can be significant. Plus, the gorgeous new full-page color illustrations/photos, courtesy Jose Villarrubia, add a little visceral flavor to the mix no matter how dense the prose.
Comparisons in terms of genre or content are tricky, though, among the stories that make up this book. What Moore definitely shares with the writer of the introduction to this new version, Neil Gaiman, is a sense of myth, of half-remembered deities and supernatural forces existing in the real world, as Gaiman depicts in American Gods . But Moore's supernatural forces are much more shamanic, much darker, and largely less substantial, except for a truly scary vision unearthed from a medieval burial chamber.
As for Moore's previous work, in as much as Promethea is a set of musings on his faith in the mystical, Voice Of The Fire gives those mystical feelings a more sinister edge and spreads them out over centuries. And it might be said that From Hell contains some similar ideas about the mystical significance of geography. But Voice Of The Fire draws no easy comparison even to Moore's own work -- being in a different medium, and focusing on the place he's lived all his life, it's much more personal than much of his other material, almost as if the dark places of his home town's past are being passed down to him.
Moore spent five years writing this book, and even refers to that torturous stretch in the final chapter, which is written by him in the first-person, in which he ties his experiences of Northampton's history to the stories. A daring move, to be sure, and one that Moore himself admits puts him close to the edge, as he muses:
'There are some weak points on the borderlines of fact and fabrication, crossing where the veil between what is and what is not rends easily. ... Walk through the walls into the landscape of the words, become one more first-person character within the narrative's bizarre procession... Obviously, this is a course of action not without its dangers... always the risk of a surprise ending with the ticket to St. Andrew's Mental Hospital.'
But what is Voice Of The Fire really about? Well, the thirteenth character in the novel, and almost certainly the most important, is the town of Northampton itself, looming large over every single character's experience. This is something that Moore has dealt with before -- there's a moment in the massive, monochrome, mystical From Hell where there's an odd 'flash forward' moment - contemporary office buildings intruding on the goings-on of 19th Century London. The same idea of geography subsuming history is true for Voice Of The Fire -- that the people are not a permanent fixture; the location is the only sure thing. Time layers burial ground on murder site on shiny new office development until there's such an odd mixture of old, new, and indescribable that some kind of sinister magic is created.
[There's plenty more about Moore at the comprehensive Alan Moore Fan Site, and the Alan Moore Yahoo group is both knowledgeable and friendly.]
You can purchase Voice of the Fire from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Six Thousand Years?!?!?
Neal Stephenson, eat your heart out.
$7.95/mo, 200 GB disk, 2TBxfer, MySQL, PHP, RoR.
That publishing company is infringing on my Slashdot nic! Somebody get me a lawyer, ASAP!
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
"if you can wade through the occasional story featuring difficult prose"
Are you referring to the book or your review?
No man is an island, but Gary is a city in Indiana.
Alan Moore is a cinematic genius who doesn't care whos toes he steps on. From George Bush to Charlton Heston, Alan Moore shows them for what they are, bigoted, rich white men!
Oh wait, that's Michael Moore. My bad.
Alan Moore is probably best known as the writer of some of the best graphic novels of all time - Watchmen, From Hell, and The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, to name but three.
Finally. A review that doesn't assume we're all super sci-fi geeks and explains who the person is and why we should care about them.
This is the single greatest piece of literature I've read in recent years. The subtle interplay of the esoteric vs the prolific, the intertwining of melodic paradigms, the juggernaut of the plot had me in trepidations!
A+++! Highly recommended if you enjoy calibrating fiction that redefines genres even as it spans them.
I also like his comic books.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Every little thing in the payne means something and is important. It's much deaper.
Apparently graphic novels don't require spelling abilities any greater than comic books, though.
[snip]
But what is Voice Of The Fire really about? Well, the thirteenth character in the novel, and almost certainly the most important, is the town of Northampton itself, looming large over every single character's experience. This is something that Moore has dealt with before
from the ooh-make-it-stop-oooh dept.
Read on for GillBates0's review:
There's no question about it - this site is formidable. It is formidable in its complexity, formidable in the connective leaps it expects you to make between stories and comments, and most of all, it can be formidable in its prose. Before I even read Slashdot, I'd heard that the first FP comment of the site is enough to put many casual readers off, and that's not far wrong. The rants of a typical Slashdotter -- confused, immature, possibly mentally deficient, and alone in a world of freedom, love, and, potentially, disaster -- is written in intentionally limited language that the less sharp members of mankind might be imagined to use in 2004. It's not an easy read; this segment is a struggle to decode at times, but the rewards are significant, because the emotions are powerful, and the group-think strong.
But what is Slashdot really about? Well, the anonymous character on the site, and almost certainly the most important, is Anonymous Coward itself, looming large over every single character's experience. This is something that CmdrTaco has dealt with before -- there's a moment in the massive, monochrome, mystical From Hell where there's an odd 'flash forward' moment - contemporary office buildings intruding on the goings-on of 19th Century London. The same idea of geography subsuming history is true for Voice Of AC.
Thanks for the applause *bow*
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
It's sure got 24 beat for time.
Can you imagine how screwed up Jack Bauer would be if he took that long to find a Presidential assassin/rogue nuclear device/killer virus? And can you imagine how torturous watching the scenes with his wife/daughter/girlfriend/whoever being inept and all girlie woud be if they lasted a few centuries each? You'd kill yourself before the next episode...
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
> detail to the paynes.
> Every little thing in the payne
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
Slashdot now says its political correct to call comic books graphical novels...What next, them making us call text adventures interactive fiction? Oh... Wait...
"Hey, you remember that guy? The one who pretended to be a super-villain so he could get beaten up?"
... broad daylight, right? Saying 'punish me!' I'm saying 'No! Get lost!'"
"Oh, you mean Captain Carnage. Hahaha! He was one for the books"
"You're telling me! I remember, I caught him coming out of this jewelers. I didn't know what his racket was. I start hitting him and I think 'Jeez! He's breathin funny. Does he have asthma?'" (laughing)
"He tried that with me, only I'd heard about him so I just walked away. He followed me down the street
"Whatever happened to him?"
"Uh, well, he pulled it on Rorschach and Rorschach dropped him down an elevator shaft."
(both) Hahahahaha. Oh, god, I'm sorry, that's not funny. Hahahahahahaha.
(That and the Pagliacci joke, of course.)
There is a God - the one in the Bible - fear and believe Him and you will be saved on Judgement Day.
Well, that's me convinced! It's all so simple. Just believe in anything that people tell you. Got it. Now, where do I sign up to give away ten percent of my pre-tax income?