The Quest for Fire

The Quest for Fire (Template:Langx, 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).<ref>According to the dust jacket of a 1967 edition [1] it was the older brother of the Rosny brothers who was author.</ref> It was first published in English in an abridged edition in 1967.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

It was adapted into the critically acclaimed 1981 film Quest for Fire starring Ron Perlman. The film is not a faithful adaptation of the book.

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:

1. the Ulams (Neandertal-like hunters-gatherers who worship the fire and are able to ally themselves with beasts);
2. the Wahs (people without shoulders from marshes);
3. the Blue-Haired Men (huge four-handed simians with a bluish fur);
4. the Men-Eaters (bestial cannibals); and
5. the Red Dwarfs (extremely warmongering and xenophobic pygmies).

Scientific response

Italian paleontologist Template:Ill 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

External links

• Template:Gutenberg