The brilliant first-time novel by the brilliant Alan Moore.

The story is told as a collection of twelve short stories, which start in the neolithic age and gradually approach today. The protagonist of the last chapter is Moore himself who rambles about this and that and about writing this book. The main character, though, is fire – and it's fire that connects each episode.

Interestingly, Moore tells each episode in a suitable language so that for instance the 19th-century story mimics the style of Bram Stoker, the 1931 story reads like Mickey Spillane, and so on. This is particularly impressive for the first story, which takes place in 4000 BC. Here, Moore has invented a proto-language that is difficult to get into at first, but manages in a strange way to illustrate the working of the early human mind. One example: “In bove of I is many sky-beasts, big and grey. Slow is they move, as they is with no strong in they.” This is powerful stuff!