Félicien Champsaur - Read Online Free Books Archive

The Human Arrow

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 00:50:18 +0300

The Human Arrow, written just prior to World War I, is the story of the first non-stop Paris-to-New York flight by rocket-powered plane as it never happened. French engineer Henri Rozal faces tough competition from rivals for the hand of his fiancée, as well as shady dealings from financiers trying to steal his invention. But as the shadow of war looms, is Rozal's utopian dream of a peaceful planet traversed by powerful flying machines fated to turn into an apocalyptic nightmare? This edition is the first time that the two versions of the story, the original 1917 edition as well as its rewritten conclusion published in 1927, to take into account Charles Lindbergh's flight and the horrors of World War I, have been published in a single volume. Also included is Champsaur's novella, The Last Man (1885), which describes how a comet increases the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere and causes Paris to revert to a jungle, and Man to an ape-like beast.

Ouha, King of the Apes

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:50:22 +0300

Félicien Champsaur's Ouha, King of the Apes (1923) is the thematic "missing link" between Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes (1912) and Edgar Wallace's King Kong (1933). In it, Ouha, an exceptional ape from the jungles of Borneo, is educated and transformed into the "Napoleon of Apes" by a well-meaning American scientist. But tragically, Ouha eventually falls victim to a "Beauty and the Beast" doomed romance. There is an archetypal quality to the character of Ouha, as there is to Tarzan and King Kong; if he is no more plausible than Jules Lermina's To-Ho, he is no less relevant as a specter at the feast of civilization and modern morality.

Nora, The Ape-Woman

Sat, 02 Apr 2016 00:50:19 +0300

Felicien Champsaur's Nora, The Ape-Woman (1929) is a sequel to both Homo-Deus and Ouha, King of the Apes. Nora is the story of two hybrids: a beautiful dancer sired by an orangutan and a human scientist, further humanized by surgery. It is concerned with evolutionary history and the true nature of the simian and human species; it deals with the scientific modification of such species by means of surgery, thus enhancing the human condition, ultimately leading to the creation of supermen and the conquest of death. Despite various critical claims, Nora refuses to be racist and proudly claims that supposedly civilized white men are not superior to other races, or even species. It is a story of the triumph of animality, and argues that such triumph is not something of which we should be ashamed.

Pharaoh's Wife

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:50:21 +0300

In New York, the Mage Ormus, claiming to be the reincarnation of Tutankhamun, has gathered around him a coterie of disciples chosen amongst the world's wealthiest elite in order to relive the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt. One of them, the Duchess of Rutland, may well be the reincarnation of Am-Phaoli, the Pharaoh's wife. But is it all star-crossed love over the chasm of centuries, or an elaborate scheme by two conniving conmen aiming to steal the Duchess' fortune? Pharaoh's Wife, subtitled An Occult Novel (1929), is primarily a love story. Whether its heroine really is Tutankhamun's wife or not, what truly matters are the psychological effects that her belief in the notion of serial reincarnation might have on her attempt to find a purpose in life.

Homo-Deus

Thu, 02 Apr 2015 00:50:25 +0300

Meet Dr. Marc Vanel, son of a scientist and a beautiful exotic spy, polymath, engineer, gifted with prodigious strength and intelligence, trained by the Brahmins of India. When Vanel acquires the power of invisibility, he becomes Homo-Deus, invisible but for his emerald green eyes, haunting the dreams of evil men and lovely women alike. Felicien Champsaur's Homo-Deus (1924) is a ground-breaking novel which combines biomedical and superhero speculative fiction. It is a milestone in the evolution of the superhero, dealing with its fundamental problem: to what extent a person who can act with total impunity is likely to admit any constraints stemming from morality? Also included in this volume are Champsaur's sequel, Kill the Old, Enjoy! (1925), a brutal but honest look at the moral disintegration of society after World War I, and an afterword by Brian Stableford.