The Gift of Fire: A Novel from Crosstown to Oblivion

Crosstown to Oblivion

by Walter Mosley

In ancient mythology, the Titan Prometheus was punished by the gods for bringing man the gift of fire—an event that set humankind on its course of knowledge. As punishment for making man as powerful as gods, Prometheus was bound to a rock; every day his immortal body was devoured by a giant eagle. But in Walter Mosley's The Gift of Fire , those chains cease to be, and the great champion of man walks from that immortal prison into present-day South Central Los Angeles.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 8, 2012

About the author

Walter Mosley (b. 1952) is the author of the bestselling mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins, as well as numerous other works, from literary fiction and science fiction to a young adult novel and political monographs. His short fiction has been widely published, and his nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times Magazine and the Nation, among other publications. Mosley is the winner of numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, a Grammy, and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[K2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

GoodRead!

[Geoff Wisner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give Mosley credit for persistence, but he's just not as good in the speculative vein. Christian, Egyptian, and Greek myth are mixed in a blender with a bunch of B-movie conventions, not forgetting the hooker with the heart of gold.

[Kevin Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Mosley is a great storyteller, I am disappointed in myself that I didn't read him sooner. Never late I guess! The gift of Fire has parallels that feel like Christ's story just tethers you to that familiarity.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What incredibly powerful, naturalistic dialog. What magical language. How does he encapsulate the black experience in modern day Los Angeles! Our hero, Prometheus, is confronted by a madman on the street in the following exchange.
"Who the fuck are you man?" the bare chested man said,gesturing violently with his hands.
"Foreman Prospect," Prometheus replied.
"You think you could just walk down the street lookin' like a clown an' somebody ain't gonna stop you? You think just 'cause you big as a horse that I can't knock you on your ass an' stomp yo' th'oat?"
The fire in this man, different from any other that he'd see so far, was wild and raging. His flames were out of control and had driven him insane. Prometheus tried to walk around ths man, not wanting to hurt him. It wasn't the madman's fault that his vision had driven him insane in a place where no one else could even see.

I literally could not put the book down.

[Road Worrier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gift of Fire: Pretty fun fictional idea, of Prometheus bringing the Gift of Fire to the modern-day; not really a spoiler because you meet Prometheus in the first few moments, and you can see the title of the story. I don't know a meme for how this story might go so it is interesting to read on to see what happens.

The rest of the story dragged a bit, but it was solid. I liked it, and the audiobook reader did a decent job. Fun to visualize what a revolution might look like for our entrenched society.

[Hannahlynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

best allegory for modern times

I don’t usually like the genre of allegory. It was a real surprise to me to read this. Mosley has again reached into my soul with his elegant prose and characters of depth and complexity. The plot is fascinating. This book is so creative, I’m going to read it over and over. From the mind of a genius. Thank you, Walter Mosley, for what you have added to my life.

[Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mosley writes pretty good Greek mythology, too.

[S. Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short novel bound in the same book with On the Head of a Pin. Both are part of a series by Mosley, Crosstown to Oblivion, which I think is just used to separate these offerings from his earlier detective pieces. I became a fan of Mosley's after reading The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, a brilliantly envisioned novel. While The Gift of Fire is short, it is, like Ptolemy Grey, profoundly meaningful. Unless you are versed in Greek mythology, you may not pick up all the allusions in the first pages of the novel, but no worries--the story itself unfolds readily once Prometheus lands on Earth, and land on Earth he does, becoming a seven foot tall Black man named Foreman Prospect. He quickly ends up in jail, where he gives the gift of the Second Fire to a man who becomes his friend. The remainder of the novel is a treatise on the behavior of our society, the entrenchment of our codes. Mosley is one of the most brilliant, insightful novelists I've read in a long time. I loved this book.
Excerpt:
"You will find much evil in this sundered world. Malice has grown where hope and faith once thrived. The gods have done this to your race."
"But we created the gods," Chief argued with the shimmering image.
"You have also created the poisons in the air and the ocean, the cities where no one can feel the earth or see the real sky. You have made Commerce a god that weighs on humanity like a twenty-four-pound boil on a man's back...."

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never having read Walter Mosley before I was spellbound by these two short novels.

First I read On the Head of a Pin which took advanced animatronics to remarkable realms. While immersed in this story I remembered seeing a newspaper headline alluding to artificial intelligence governing us. The locked in atmosphere of this group of scientists under siege by government agencies and also the unique qualities of Cosmo's sail made for compelling reading. Narrator Joshua was hired to write about the progress of the research and so he tells it in non-scientific terms with an "everyman's" voice. He also turns out to possess a unique connection with the sail.

The Gift of Fire is something else altogether. It imagines Prometheus free from 3,000 years of torture and transported to Los Angeles. The Titan attempts to share his gift of fire or life-spark with a man he meets in jail. This launches a fantastic story which sets young Chief Redd loose in a world to deliver a message to bring mankind back to life.

Brilliantly imagined and thought-provoking tales from an author I intend to explore further.

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

Looking for a uninterestingly-plotted savior parable? You've come to the right place! Normally I'm all about mythical gods interacting with Earth, and people sticking it to the man, but this three-part novella goes wildly off the rails in Part Two and never gets back on track. I finished it because it was short and I had a frustrated review brewing; otherwise I might've given up. This book tries to do a bunch of things in very few pages and ends up doing none of them very well. If you want mythical gods in the modern world, go read American Gods. If you want a weird savior parable with religious vibes, go read The Stand. If you want trite stuff about loving your neighbor and stoking the fires in the heart of man and if only we all just loved each other, stick around, I guess.

[John Benschoter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I expected from these novels, but it was not what I got. In the first of this duet, Mosley delves into a surreal fantasy of Prometheus' return to give mankind a second "gift of fire." The second story, "On the Head of a Pin," is a science fiction tale of people accidentally creating a "page" connecting dimensions, futures, and pasts. Each story is firmly grounded in our world, in L.A. mostly, and explores, as Mosley does, what it means to be black in that world. There is little aside from this that connects the stories. However, Mosley does seem to be exploring our myths and our religions, examining the ideas of good and evil and from where such things come, are they a part of all of us, only in some of us, or gifts from the gods.

[Amy Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't exactly what I'd expected. I thought this story could be expanded upon in much greater detail, with much less of the preachiness to it and more plot. I would have liked to see it be more about Prometheus, but he is taken out of the story very quickly and replaced with what was once a bed-ridden kid who becomes a man practically overnight so he can have sex with some chick he met. I thought that was extremely unnecessary. The girl could have been taken out completely and it wouldn't have bothered me one bit. What began as a promising story became something rather strange. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mosley writes two short stories that share a theme: modern humans have lost touch with the spark of the Devine. In the first story, Prometheus comes to modern-day LA and gives a young boy the fire that will hopefully reignite the shared fires in people's souls. In the second story, a movie technology shows a world filled with remnant of everything that has ever lived. A real departure for Mosley who has written the Lew Griffin detective series.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of six novellas - three stars is partly for the format. Each explores possibilities of humanity, each poses the question then ends. This one in particular seems a bit unfinished (maybe just me - maybe I need more imagination).

The store overall reminded me of a more artistic version of The Stand. Enlightenment helps many and enrages a few. I would have like to know where it went...

[David Marshall · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is non-stop facile moralising and not even Walter Mosley's great writing style can save either or both these novellas from sinking into ghastliness.

http://opionator.wordpress.com/2012/0...

[Kennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not that I don't like this book, but it didn't do it for me. It had some very interesting parts in "On the Head of a Pin" and I have to say I'm intrigued by the notion of The Sail however, The Gift of Fire was just not my thing. Walter Mosley just isn't a science fiction writer to me.

[Guisela · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesante

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A weird short novella about Prometheus come back to Earth...

[Jon Brandts · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well written, as are all of Mosley's books, but sci-fi not my favorite. I'll stick with his crime fiction, thank you.

[Martha Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little preachy for my tastes, but I think that was the intention. Well done. Jaketed with On the Head of a Pin

[MusicalTati · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm thinking this should not have been my 1st Mosley read...

[Christy]

https://www.librarything.com/work/123...