8 /10 1 Votes8
4/5 Livre - Fnac ISBN 978-2205016901 Adaptations Immortal (2004) | 7.9/10 SensCritique 4.1/5 Babelio Writers Enki Bilal Date of publication 1980 Originally published 1980 Followed by La Femme Piège Illustrator Enki Bilal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Genres Graphic novel, Science Fiction, Speculative fiction Enki Bilal books La Femme Piège, The Nikopol Trilogy, Froid Équateur, The Hunting Party, Le Sommeil du monstre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Carnival of Immortals (Original: La Foire aux Immortels; also published in English as Gods in Chaos) is a science fiction graphic novel from 1980 written and illustrated by the Yugoslavian born French cartoonist and storyteller Enki Bilal. It is the first part of the Nikopol Trilogy, followed up by La Femme piège (The Woman Trap) in 1986 and ending with Froid Équateur (Equator Cold) in 1992. In 2004, Bilal directed the film adaptation Immortel (Ad Vitam), although many plot elements were changed from the comic book.
Plot
Set in the year 2023, the book follows Alcide Nikopol's return to Paris after spending 30 years frozen in space as a punishment for dodging the draft. The Paris he once knew is now ruled by fascist dictator J. F. Choublanc, the city is swarming with aliens, decaying and succumbing to chaos. At the same time, a flying pyramid-shaped space craft is hovering over Paris. It is inhabited by Egyptian gods who ask for fuel from the local authorities, as their pyramid vessel has run out of gas. In return for this service Choublanc wants immortality from the gods. One renegade god, Horus, meets up with the disillusioned Nikopol in the Metro, and Nikopol agrees to allow Horus control of his body. Together they go on a journey to oppose the corrupt and megalomaniacal powers of the 21st century.