''Ashes, Ashes'' () is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel written by

René Barjavel René Barjavel (24 January 1911 – 24 November 1985) was a French author, journalist and critic who may have been the first to think of the grandfather paradox in time travel. He was born in Nyons, a town in the Drôme department in southeas ...

, set in 2052

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It was first published in 1943 by Denoël. Its English-language translation by

Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of " To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind ...

as ''Ashes, Ashes'' was published in 1967 by Doubleday. ''Ravage'' has been included on many "all-time" best lists, including Annick Beguin's ''Les 100 principaux titres de la science-fiction''.

Plot summary

In the storyline, a civilization much more advanced than ours falls to its knees when

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

suddenly disappears. Chaos, disease, and famine ensue, which readers witness through the adventures of a small group of survivors led by François Deschamps. The group leaves

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and starts a journey toward

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

where the survivors will create a new patriarchal society with Deschamps as their leader.

Critics

This novel has been cited as influential in

science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...

literature in the following books:A more detailed list can be consulted on the websit
Top des Tops
* Annick Beguin, ''Les 100 principaux titres de la science-fiction'', Cosmos 2000, 1981; *

Jacques Sadoul Jacques Sadoul (1934 – 18 January 2013) was a French novelist, book editor and non-fiction author. Work on science fiction His ''Histoire de la science-fiction moderne, 1911-1971'' ��History of Modern SF”(1973; in 2 volumes 1975; revi ...

, ''Anthologie de la littérature de science-fiction'', Ramsay, 1981; * ''Science-fiction. La bibliothèque idéale'', Albin Michel, 1988; * Lorris Murail, ''Les Maîtres de la science-fiction'', Bordas, coll. « Compacts », 1993; * Stan Barets, ''Le science-fictionnaire'', Denoël, coll. « Présence du futur », 1994;

References

External links

Summary of the novel
(in

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

)
Review of the novel
(in

) 1943 French novels 1943 science fiction novels French science fiction novels Apocalyptic novels French post-apocalyptic novels Novels by René Barjavel Novels set in France Fiction set in 2052 Novels set in the 2050s {{1940s-sf-novel-stub