Voice of the Fire is Alan Moore’s first prose novel. It’s probably his second published prose story (after A Hypothetical Lizard (published in volume 3 of Liavak collections and republished in 1988 The Year’s Best Fantasy).  Voice of the Fire was originally published in the UK in 1996, but didn’t get a US version until 2004. It’s a more of a collection of 12 short stories, than a true novel, with each story set in Moore’s hometown of North Hampton, England and set in a different era from 4000 BC to 1995 CE.

This is not an easy book to read. The first chapter/story will make that clear. It’s set in the late Neolithic Era and is stream of consciousness from a man in that time period. It does a wonderful job of getting inside the character’s head, but that’s not always a place you want to be. It’s hard to tell what’s going on and that’s the introduction. The rest of the book is easier, but only relative to the initial chapter.

There are no linking characters. The only link between the chapters is the location. It’s similar to Steven Saylor’s Roma in that respect. As we get closer to the modern age, the stories become easier to read, but not necessarily understand. Moore is doing a lot more under the hood than just talking about his neighborhood through the ages. It’s a book that requires careful reading and probably multiple readings as well.

I can’t say I enjoyed the book, and it’s definitely not science fiction, but it’s interesting. It could me a masterpiece or a random piece of junk, but I’m not sure I could prove either one. It’s definitely worth a read, but be warned, it won’t be easy.