Fire from Heaven
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Fire from Heaven |
| Abbreviation(s): | ffh |
| Creator: | Mary Renault |
| Date(s): | 1969 |
| Medium: | book |
| Country of Origin: | South Africa |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Fire from Heaven is an historical novel by Mary Renault about the early years of Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great. It starts when he is a small child and ends when he assumes the throne of Macedon on the death of his father Philip. This book is told from a variety of viewpoints—often not Alexander's—and introduces Hephaistion, his lifelong friend and lover, in a relationship central to the novel. The book was published simultaneously by Longman (London) and Pantheon (New York) in 1969.
Book Discussion
After the maryrenaultfics LiveJournal community learned that Fire from Heaven had been short-listed for the Lost Man Booker Prize, they held a chapter-by-chapter discussion of the book, starting in April 2010[1] and continuing until the participants reached the end of the book in July 2010. Participation was limited, but nonetheless was enjoyed by a small but dedicated group of fans who posted long contributions.[2] (It should perhaps be noted that Fire from Heaven did not win the prize.)
In preparation for the forthcoming CBC, two members made and posted icons based on Fire from Heaven.[3]
Art Challenge
In honour of Fire from Heaven being nominated for the Lost Man Booker prize, fans were asked to design their own book covers. The challenge was issued on 4 April 2010, and the results were revealed 18 May 2010.[4]
In Their Own Words
In 2008, maryrenaultfics began a project which involved ‘interviews’ of characters from Renault’s novels. Extensive interviews were conducted with characters from the Alexander Trilogy, including Alexander and Hephaistion. They have always appeared in ITOWverse stories as adults. However, the initial interviews did include a number of questions about their youth, particularly Alexander's relationship with each of his parents. Furthermore, both Philip and Olympias were interviewed during the 5YO celebrations.
Fan Fiction
Alexander's childhood and youth are popular topics in fan fiction. However, not all fan fiction activity is easily categorised as belonging to one book or another in the Alexander Trilogy. For this reason, the maryrenaultfics community decided to develop a single archive for all fan fiction based on any of the three books.
More details on fan fiction based on Fire from Heaven will therefore be found in the Fan Fiction section of the article on the Alexander Trilogy as a whole.
References
- ^ Fire from Heaven Chapter-by-Chapter Discussion, Chapter 1 post by trueriver on maryrenaultfics, 18 April 2010. Accessed 26 July 2010.
- ^ Index to FFH chapter-by-chapter discussion posts on maryrenaultfics
- ^ Icons were posted by here by toujours_nigel and here by queen_ypolita. (Pages accessed 4 July 2011).
- ^ Fire from Heaven: the MRF Edition