''Ashes, Ashes'' () is a

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 uni ...

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 southeastern ...

, set in 2052

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. 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 t ...

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 that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

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, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and starts a journey toward

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

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 (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 ...

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, ''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)
Review of the novel
(in French language) 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 {{1940s-sf-novel-stub