Children of the Flame

by Mike Jefferies

Plague is creeping up on the medieval town of Aurillac. Two witches call upon the powers of Hecate, Queen of the Night, in an attempt to avert disaster; but she calls for the blood sacrifice of two children. Saved by a miracle, the children are nevertheless cursed by the witch-queen for eternity.

Genres: Fantasy

Paperback

Published November 14, 1994

About the author

Mike Jefferies is a British screenwriter, film producer, and author. Jefferies founded the media and publishing group Mondiale in 1991 which he sold to the Daily Mail in 1999 after winning the HRH Queens Award for Enterprise in 1998.
He was born in Liverpool and now resides in Los Angeles. When he is not working in Hollywood, he is writing fantasy novels.

Reviews

[Karen Masters · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish to be honest. So cliched and just bad. Not even sure I remember why I had this book.

[Robert Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the more unusual books I have read, and has been a favourite of mine for a long time.

For me, what makes it unusual is that it starts off in medaeval France, transfers to world war 2, and then finishes off in the book's present day. Somehow, it manages to move seamlessly between the periods in a mostly believable manner, with the same four main characters (two of whom are supernatural, two of whom are humans spread across successive lives).

I found the book engaging, interesting, and I could certainly feel at the start of the book like I was in France during the black death, then ditto for WW2 and the book's present day. What little magic is used is generally pretty low-key, aside from at a few points in the story, but it is handled well and is engaging nonetheless. I also love the use of an extra dimension, which I don't think I've seen used elsewhere in the same or similar context.

The use of Cerberus in this story is interesting, and I personally found him the scariest character of the cast; unrelenting and always persuing. Indeed, it's that ever-persuing nature of the beast that creates a lot of tension (at least, it did for me) in the novel. It is also a nice touch to have forewarning of his arrival and I found that it amps up the tension before one of his scenes considerably.

The story is very well-written, engaging and fairly fast-moving at times. I'm not sure why this novel didn't get more recognition in the fantasy genre either, as it is a nice blend of fantasy and horror, which I have felt for a long time would make a very interesting movie. Ah well, maybe one day.

So yes, if you like horror/fantasy, this is lovely book to read, and is fairly short compared to some. I really enjoyed it.

[Stephan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd book.
On one hand I got fairly annoyed at the language. There was a lot of repetition and long parts where you almost got bored. There weren't enough room for the characters to fully develop and some of the characters you wanted to read more about were discarded far too quick.

But then again. There where moments where I got hooked in a way I haven't been for years. When the twins mother had to sneak through an angy mob and climb a pyre intended to burn the babies alive and the fight aboard the bomber while it was under attack from anti-aircraft guns stand out!
I love how the author manages to build a story on so many layers and across so many ages. I only would have wished to read more of the twins different lives. Not just the dark ages, WW2 and modern age... I want to read about them during the renaissance, during the age of colonization and in different countries. I really got a taste for this... I need to play Fireborn: The Roleplaying Game now =)

[Mandy]

LOVED THIS!! have read it like a thousand times over.