Maurice Limat (September 23, 1914 - January 23, 2002) was a French
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
of
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
.
His œuvre, particularly abundant, was published primarily by publisher
Fleuve Noir
''Black Tide'' (french: Fleuve noir) is a 2018 French film directed by Érick Zonca, and starring Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris and Sandrine Kiberlain in lead roles. It was adapted from Israeli writer Dror Mishani's book, ''The Missing File''.Bro ...
. He used a variety of
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
s, notably Maurice Lionel, Maurice d'Escrignelles, and Lionel Rex.
Overview
Maurice Limat published science fiction novels such as ''Les Fiancés de la Planète Mars''
he_Fiancés_of_Planet_Mars.html" ;"title="Mars.html" ;"title="he Fiancés of Planet Mars">he Fiancés of Planet Mars">Mars.html" ;"title="he Fiancés of Planet Mars">he Fiancés of Planet Mars(1936) and ''Les Naufragés de la Voie Lactée'' [The Castaways of the Milky Way] (1939), with a style that was reminiscent of the type of science fiction published before or just after World War I.
During that period, the prolific Limat also authored a number of adventure novels with
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
elements such as ''La Montagne aux Vampires''
he Mountain of Vampires(1936), about a man who could control
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
s, ''L'Araignée d'Argent''
he Silver Spider(1936), featuring a
robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...
ic
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
created by an
Ancient civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Civ ...
, ''Le Septième Cerveau''
he Seventh Brain(1939), ''Le Zodiaque de l'Himalaya''
he_Zodiac_Of_The_Himalaya.html" ;"title="Himalaya.html" ;"title="he Zodiac Of The Himalaya">he Zodiac Of The Himalaya">Himalaya.html" ;"title="he Zodiac Of The Himalaya">he Zodiac Of The Himalaya(1942) and ''La Comète Écarlate'' [The Scarlet Comet] (1948), to name but a few.
During the 1950s, Limat wrote more science fiction novels, such as ''Les Faiseurs de Planètes'' [The Planet Makers] (1951), ''Comète 73'' [Comet 73] (1953), ''Courrier Interplanétaire''
nterplanetary Courrier(1953) and ''Le Mal des Étoiles''
tar Sickness(1954), disguising his abundant production with various pseudonyms.
During 1955, he contributed ''SOS Galaxie''
OS Galaxyto the imprint ''Série 2000'' and then wrote ''Monsieur Cosmos'' (1956) which dealt with the theme of the macrocosmic man, creator of universes. His novels began to display the influence of American "
space operas".
By the time he began writing for the ''
Anticipation
Anticipation is an emotion involving pleasure or anxiety in considering or awaiting an expected event. Anticipatory emotions include fear, anxiety, hope and trust. When the anticipated event fails to occur, it results in disappointment (if posi ...
''
imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
of Editions Fleuve Noir, during 1959, Limat was already a veteran writer.
''Les Enfants du Chaos''
he Children Of Chaos(1959), in which men use
psychic
A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
powers to create a world, but then ask themselves whether they have earned the right to play
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
, is somewhat characteristic of his subsequent production.
Limat continued to be a prolific writer, authoring numerous, lyrical, sometimes even
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
, space operas for Fleuve Noir—107 in total, until ''Atoxa-des-Abysses''
toxa-Of-The-Abyss(1987)—as well as some
horror novels for Fleuve Noir's ''Angoisse'' imprint, which featured as main character a
detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
of the
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
,
Teddy Verano.
Limat introduced the character of futuristic
police commissioner Robin Muscat in ''Les Foudroyants''
he Lightning Men(No. 164; 1960), in which a hapless young man is turned into an
electromagnetic force
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of ...
. His most popular, long-running hero was the green-eyed,
telepath
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...
ic
Chevalier Coqdor introduced in ''L'Étoile de Satan''
he Star Of Satan(No. 241; 1964). Muscat and Coqdor often teamed with each other and were featured, separately or together, in a great number of subsequent novels. The Chevalier Coqdor adventures usually celebrated the power of love and tolerance, and a genuine belief in God, the Great Architect of the Universe, something unusual in science fiction.
New stories featuring Chevalier Coqdor are now written by
Jean-Michel Archaimbault &
Jean-Marc Lofficier
Jean-Marc Lofficier (; born June 22, 1954) is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comics and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier ( ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Limat, Maurice
1914 births
2002 deaths
French science fiction writers
20th-century French novelists
French male novelists
20th-century French male writers