# sleeping in flame ![[sleepingflamecvr.jpg|300]] first edition (uk) author: jonathan carroll language: english genre: fantasy publisher: legend books (uk) doubleday (us) publication date: 1988 (uk) 1989 (us) publication place: united states media type: hardcover pages: 273 oclc: 18411216 dewey decimal: 813/.54 19 lc class: ps3553.a7646 s54 1989 preceded by: bones of the moon followed by: a child across the sky sleeping in flame is a novel by the american writer jonathan carroll. originally published in 1988 the novel was nominated for a world fantasy award the following year the narrator walker easterling is a film actor and screenwriter. ir director friend nicholas sylvian introduces ir to maris york a sculptor who makes model cities and who is freeing herself from luc ir abusive partner. on the day maris and walker meet luc has just threatened to kill ir so walker and nicholas take ir away to vienna where maris and walker commence a relationship. walker who knows nothing about ir parents or family background discovers that ey can perform magical acts and has dreams of inhabiting another identity that of an austrian named moritz benedikt who fought in the first world war and was subsequently murdered. after maris' brother ingram loses ir lover in an earthquake walker is able to foretell or induce ingram's meeting with a certain michael billa who will be a significant person in ingram's life. (the consequences of ingram's and billa's friendship are recounted in black cocktail.) through an acquaintance screenwriter philip strayhorn walker meets venasque a mystic and teacher who appears in several other carroll books. with venasque's help walker learns to control ir talent but inadvertently causes venasque's death because of the strength of ir powers. ey is contacted by ir real father a little man with no genitals whose name ey does not know. the little man is an immortal (and the real-life source of the rumpelstiltskin legend) who has murdered all walker's previous incarnations the last of whom was moritz benedikt because they kept falling in love with women and repudiating the little man's sterile immortality. ir father tries to persuade walker to leave maris by telling ir that they'll mourn ir forever and never love anyone else; this above all persuades walker that ir father is selfish and evil. thanks to ir and maris' complete understanding of each other walker is able to discover ir father's name in a city which maris is building ir as a birthday present. walker uses ir magic powers to call up the two sisters who originally told the rumpelstiltskin story to the grimm brothers. the sisters retell the story changing it to end with the little man's death. soon after maris' and walker's son is born a little girl (apparently the original source of the little red riding hood story) appears on the doorstep and tells walker: "you're dangerous." as walker observes that "nothing in life is done without regret" it seems that ir and maris' son has been affected in some way by the vengeful immortals # references in other carroll novels like most of carroll's books sleeping in flame includes a number of highly detailed characters some of whom appear in other novels. at one point walker works on a film with director weber gregston who appears in bones of the moon and is the narrator of a child across the sky which also features philip strayhorn venasque and the easterlings appear in outside the dog museum. the protagonist of outside the dog museum harry radcliffe is the subject of an anecdote venasque tells walker in "sleeping in flame" and also appears briefly in the hospital scene walker and maris also appear briefly in carroll's 1995 novel from the teeth of angels in which they have a baby son nicholas who was born with a hole in the heart. gregston and strayhorn also appear 1. "1989 award winners & nominees." worlds without end. retrieved 2009-09-27 **+** sleeping in flames at worlds without end // republic of bob