Valley of the Flame

by Henry Kuttner, C.L. Moore, Ed Emshwiller (Illustrator)

They warped Time itself to keep their secrets...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Pulp

156 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Henry Kuttner was, alone and in collaboration with his wife, the great science fiction and fantasy writer C.L. Moore, one of the four or five most important writers of the 1940s, the writer whose work went furthest in its sociological and psychological insight to making science fiction a human as well as technological literature. He was an important influence upon every contemporary and every science fiction writer who succeeded him. In the early 1940s and under many pseudonyms, Kuttner and Moore published very widely through the range of the science fiction and fantasy pulp markets.

Their fantasy novels, all of them for the lower grade markets like Future, Thrilling Wonder, and Planet Stories, are forgotten now; their science fiction novels, Fury and Mutant, are however well regarded. There is no question but that Kuttner's talent lay primarily in the shorter form; Mutant is an amalgamation of five novelettes and Fury, his only true science fiction novel, is considered as secondary material. There are, however, 40 or 50 shorter works which are among the most significant achievements in the field and they remain consistently in print. The critic James Blish, quoting a passage from Mutant about the telepathic perception of the little blank, silvery minds of goldfish, noted that writing of this quality was not only rare in science fiction but rare throughout literature: "The Kuttners learned a few thing writing for the pulp magazines, however, that one doesn't learn reading Henry James."

In the early 1950s, Kuttner and Moore, both citing weariness with writing, even creative exhaustion, turned away from science fiction; both obtained undergraduate degrees in psychology from the University of Southern California and Henry Kuttner, enrolled in an MA program, planned to be a clinical psychologist. A few science fiction short stories and novelettes appeared (Humpty Dumpty finished the Baldy series in 1953). Those stories -- Home There Is No Returning, Home Is the Hunter, Two-Handed Engine, and Rite of Passage -- were at the highest level of Kuttner's work. He also published three mystery novels with Harper & Row (of which only the first is certainly his; the other two, apparently, were farmed out by Kuttner to other writers when he found himself incapable of finishing them).

Henry Kuttner died suddenly in his sleep, probably from a stroke, in February 1958; Catherine Moore remarried a physician and survived him by almost three decades but she never published again. She remained in touch with the science fiction community, however, and was Guest of Honor at the World Convention in Denver in 198l. She died of complications of Alzheimer's Disease in 1987.

His pseudonyms include:

Edward J. Bellin
Paul Edmonds
Noel Gardner
Will Garth
James Hall
Keith Hammond
Hudson Hastings
Peter Horn
Kelvin Kent
Robert O. Kenyon
C. H. Liddell
Hugh Maepenn
Scott Morgan
Lawrence O'Donnell
Lewis Padgett
Woodrow Wilson Smith
Charles Stoddard

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah, I know that one has to take inflation into account when computing these things, but still, what incredible deals the sci-fi lover could acquire 60 or so years ago! Take, for example, the March 1946 issue of "Startling Stories," with a cover price of just 15 cents. For that minimal charge, the reader got stories by sci-fi greats Frank Belknap Long, Jack Williamson and Henry Kuttner, PLUS the entire novel "Valley of the Flame," by one Keith Hammond. Hammond, as we know today, was just one of the many noms de plume used by the husband-and-wife writing team of Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore, and "Valley" turns out to be yet another remarkable tale from this legendary pair.

Equal parts sci-fi, fantasy, Haggardian lost-world adventure and jungle epic, it tells the story of Brian Raft, an American medical researcher in the wilderness of the Amazon Basin, who goes in pursuit of a kidnapped colleague and discovers the hidden valley of Paititi. It is a fairy world of sorts, where falling boulders seem to drift like feathers and streams run like molasses. The reason: All life-forms in Paititi have been abnormally accelerated by the flame called Curupuri, a mass of living energy from the heavens that had crashed in the Amazon region aeons ago. The area's native jaguars have evolved into catlike humans (this is not really a spoiler; the subtitle for the tale in "Startling Stories" reads "A Novel of the Cat People") and numerous mutated plant and animal forms thrive in abundance. Raft becomes embroiled in a plot involving the madman Parror's quest to strengthen the Flame; falls into intrigue at the castle court of the crazed King Darum; and becomes romantically involved with the feline Janissa. The book features two tremendous set pieces; one in the Garden of Kharn, in which Raft must fend off all manner of monstrous flora, and the second in the cavern of the Flame itself, as Raft battles his tigerish madman foe at the brink of an abyss whilst the mountainous, mutating Flame threatens to destroy the entire region. Throw in a cave full of deformed mutants, duels with vicious taloned gauntlets, some high-tech superscience, hypnotism and magic amulets, and you've got quite a little package of wonders on your hands.

I don't think it will surprise anyone to learn that Kuttner and Moore write wonderfully, with a surprisingly wide range of literary, artistic and historic reference (Balzac, Baldur, Brancusi, Arrhennius, Fenris-wolf and Birnam Wood are all brought up) that belies the novel's pulpy origins. The book is as exciting, fast moving and colorful as can be, and was deservedly chosen by James Cawthorn and Michael Moorcock for inclusion in their overview volume "Fantasy: The 100 Best Books." I enjoyed this novel even more recently than I did when I first read it 20 or so years ago, and think that it would make for an incredible film, if brought to the screen with respect by a team with the requisite $200 million. The 1964 Ace paperback edition pictured above, which is the one that I own, has a cover price of 40 cents, and I feel it is high time for this great fantasy work to be put back into print after 40+ years at today's modern, inflated prices. Whatever price the reader winds up paying for this one, I think he/she will be extremely satisfied.

[Benjamin Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad little tale along the lines of lost world pulp.

A doctor, curious about a mysterious death, an acquaintance's strange behavior, and a strange, almost unearthly, patient, enters a hidden forest deep in Brazil where an otherworldly power known as "the Flame" has caused evolution to follow alternate paths. What appear to be humans there are actually highly evolved jaguars, living in the abandoned cities of a previous people who once tried to harness the Flame. Connections are revealed between the acquaintance and the cat people, and it all comes to a head as they realize the mysterious Flame is flaring, and its radiation could poison the world.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

The surprise for me was the major story point of a source of primal energy that stimulates and accellerates the metabolism and time-sense of animal life, but will go through a 'down cycle' that degenerates humanlike life into mutant beasthood. This is a page out of Richard Shaver's beneficial/detrimental rays and their effects on the tero/dero people.

Given the time period of the writing, I'm curious if there was an influence, if only incidental.

[Alexandre Jorge · Rating 1 out of 5]

meh

[Ivan Lanìa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se The Dark World era un 3,5 quasi 4 e The Creature from Beyond Infinity un 3 pieno, questo Valley of the Flame si barcamena fra 2,5 e 3 – ma non perché il romanzo sia scadente, bensì perché avrebbe potuto osare di più.

Partiamo dal fatto che Valley of the Flame ricade nel genere narrativo del "mondo perduto", il cui schema di trama tradizionale si può riassumere come segue (tutti i termini con la maiuscola sono tecnicismi):

Potente-Uomo-Bianco insegue un MacGuffin nel profondo delle Terre Esotiche e trova un Ecosistema Esotico popolato da una Civiltà Esotica, si fa ammaliare dall'Interesse Amoroso Esotico e accetta di salvare l'Ecosistema Esotico da una Minaccia Apocalittica, il che gli impone di risolvere anche il Conflitto Intestino alla Civiltà Esotica.

Ora, è indubbio che la letteratura di mondo perduto sia una testimonianza importante della mentalità coloniale europea di fine Ottocento e che alcuni testi del genere siano capisaldi della cultura popolare occidentale, il cui influsso si estende anche ad altri media (pensiamo ai fumetti di Paperon de' Paperoni e a Indiana Jones e il Tempio Maledetto, fra gli altri), ma è abbastanza indiscutibile che il genere abbia un po' fatto il suo tempo e che la sua formula abbia bisogno di significativi svecchiamenti per non risultare trita e ritrita. Ebbene, io mi sono accostato a Valley of the Flame proprio sperando che Kuttner facesse la sua magia e portasse la formula in direzioni inconsuete, e invece il nostro ha giocato sul sicuro e ha seguito in modo molto manieristico lo schema tradizionale, che già all'epoca (1946) iniziava a schricciolare: ok, l'eroe è uno scienziato palestrato anziché un cacciatore e la civiltà misteriosa consiste di felini antropomorfi (sì, c'è del furrismo...), però abbiamo comunque il MacGuffin, la Minaccia Apocalittica, una sottotrama politicheggiante che sa tanto di posticcio e una sottotrama amorosa estremamente abbozzata. È tutto formulaico, tutto come te lo aspetti, e ti lascia l'amaro in bocca se pensi che pochi mesi dopo Kuttner avrebbe pubblicato il ben più sofisticato e raffinato The Dark World – per altro sulla stessa rivista cui aveva venduto Valley of the Flame!

Chiusa questa filippica sul manierismo del romanzo, perché concedo comunque le 3 stelle? Perché la prosa di Kuttner è la prosa di Kuttner: anche le scene banali telefonatissime ti incollano alla pagina e, soprattutto, qua e là ci sono dialoghi gustosi pieni di tecno-gergo, descrizioni pittoriche di bestie mutanti e momenti di tecnofilia positivista che ti scaldano il cuore, assicurando all'opera un livello sopra la media.

Quanto all'edizione Gollancz, ancora ci sono refusi nel testo e imperfezioni nella bibliografia, ma mi rassegno...

[Greg Gbur · Rating 2 out of 5]

Henry Kuttner (1915-1958) may be referred to as “one of the most important science fiction authors you’ve never heard of.” He was incredibly prolific and versatile, writing countless short stories of science fiction, fantasy, horror, thriller, and adventure, as well as over a dozen novels. Many of his works have been adapted into movies and episodes of television shows, including The Twilight Zone. One of my favorite science fiction stories of all time, “Private Eye,” was written by “Lewis Padgett,” the pen-name of Henry Kuttner and his equally talented writing wife, C.L. Moore. I’ve blogged about a number of his novels before — The Time Axis, Destination Infinity, The Well of the Worlds — and I’m always eager to read more of his bibliography, though it isn’t always easy to find it.

I recently came across a reprint of Kuttner’s novel Valley of the Flame (1946), and jumped at the chance to read it.

Read the whole review.

[D-day · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting pulp fantasy, fast paced and with an intriguing premise. Deep in the jungles of the Amazon is 'the Flame' an energy source that can speed up or slow down evolution.

First published in 1946, it is interesting that Valley of the Flame takes place in the then future of 1985. I'm not sure why Kuttner placed the setting 40 years into the future since has absolutely no effect on the story. Fairly entertaining with a couple of genuinely memorable scenes.

[Fantasy Literature]

4 stars from Sandy: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...