Voice of the Fire by Alan Moore, his first prose novel and the precursor to Jerusalem, is getting a 25th anniversary edition – with a stunning new cover by John Coulthart.
Out in May, this 312-page edition is co-Published by Top Shelf Productions in the United States and Knockabout in Britain.
A hardback edition, limited to 300 copies in hardcover with a signed bookplate/postcard by Alan Moore has also been announced, by Knockabout but further details about this will be revealed closer to the publication date. It’s worth keeping an eye on their eBay shop for this.
An audio edition, with each chapters read by different actors with Alan doing the last one, is also to be released – again, more details will be announced soon.
Voice of the Fire was the first novel from Alan Moore, a 12-chapter book initially published in 1996. The narratives take place around Moore’s hometown of Northampton, England, during the month of November, and span several millennia – from 4000 B.C. to the present day.
In a story full of lust, madness, and ecstasy, we meet twelve distinctive characters that lived in the same region of central England over the span of six thousand years. Their narratives are woven together in patterns of recurring events, strange traditions, and uncanny visions. First, a cave-boy loses his mother, falls in love, and learns a deadly lesson. He is followed by an extraordinary cast of characters: a murderess who impersonates her victim, a fisherman who believes he has become a different species, a Roman emissary who realizes the bitter truth about the Empire, a crippled nun who is healed miraculously by a disturbing apparition, an old crusader whose faith is destroyed by witnessing the ultimate relic, two witches, lovers, who burn at the stake. Each interconnected tale traces a path in a journey of discovery of the secrets of the land.
Throughout, the image of the fire resonates between the tales, while Moore finds a different voice for each character – though most are inherently duplicitous in some manner, leading to a further commentary on the disparity between myth and reality, and which is more likely to endure over time.
This isn’t the first re-publication of Voice of the Fire. A 2004 edition from featured an introduction from Neil Gaiman and colour plates by artist José Villarrubia., and a new paperback edition, retaining all of these features, was published in July 2009.
• Check out books by Alan Moore available from the Knockabout eBay shop
• Alan Moore – Official Facebook Page
• British cover artist John Coulthart is online at www.johncoulthart.com
• Cliff Harper’s illustrations for the 1996 Indigo paperback edition Voice of the Fire
• Voice of the Fire – Annotations
With thanks to Flavio Pessanha for highlighting this
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Books, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
Journey Planet nominated for Hugo Award for Best Fanzine 
Book bans and censorship attempts soar in United States, including graphic novels 
Coming Soon, the Doctor Who Production Guide: William Hartnell 
Adventure Game Book Spotlight: Realm Wreckers and The Doors Of Destiny