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Le Péril Bleu
Dans ce roman, une serie de disparitions mysterieuses, trouvera son explication de la plus etrange des manieres; des extraterrestres invisibles, enlevent des etre humains pour les etudier et tenter des experiences sur eux. Ce roman monte comme un mecanisme d'horlogerie marie trois genres (policier, fantastique, et science-fiction), et d'autres encore, dans une atmosphere qui associe la fraicheur de la belle epoque a un rythme et un suspense redoutables."
- GenresScience FictionFrance
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1910
7 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
Maurice Renard
132 books18 followersMaurice Renard est un écrivain français né le 28 février 1875 à Châlons-sur-Marne et mort le 18 novembre 1939 à Rochefort.
L'enfance de Maurice est rythmée par des séjours d'été à Hermonville, où ses grands-parents possèdent le château Saint-Rémy (détruit en 1918), et où la famille occupe dans le vaste parc un petit pavillon, le clos Saint-Vincent.
En 1894, il obtient son baccalauréat en lettres et en philosophie. En 1899, il s'installe à Paris et fait des études de droit qu'il abandonne bientôt pour se consacrer à la littérature.Sous le pseudonyme de Vincent Saint-Vincent , il publie son premier recueil de contes Fantômes et fantoches en 1905.
En 1903, il épouse Stéphanie La Batie.quatre Des hôtes illustres fréquentent son salon : Colette, Pierre Benoit, Henry de Montherlant entre autres. Le premier roman de Renard paraît en 1908, Le docteur Lerne, dédié à H.G. Wells, sur le thème du savant fou, suivi par Le voyage immobile en 1909. Il publie Le Péril bleu en 1912, roman remarqué par Louis Pergaud. Il fonde la revue poétique La vie française et publie Monsieur d'Outremort et autres histoires singulières en 1913.
Il participe à la Première Guerre mondiale de 1914 à début 1919 comme officier de cavalerie. Son roman Les Mains d'Orlac paraît en feuilleton en 1920, il sera adapté plusieurs fois au cinéma (Mad Love aux USA en 1935). Publication de L'homme truqué en 1921, d'Un homme chez les microbes en 1928. Maurice Renard divorce en 1930 et se remarie. À partir de 1935, Renard publie de nombreuses nouvelles et des feuilletons dans divers quotidiens et devient vice-président de la Société des gens de lettres.
Il meurt des suites d'une opération chirurgicale à Rochefort en 1939. Il repose à l'île d'Oléron, au cimetière de Dolus d'Oléron où il possédait une petite maison où il vivait le plus souvent.
L'enfance de Maurice est rythmée par des séjours d'été à Hermonville, où ses grands-parents possèdent le château Saint-Rémy (détruit en 1918), et où la famille occupe dans le vaste parc un petit pavillon, le clos Saint-Vincent.
En 1894, il obtient son baccalauréat en lettres et en philosophie. En 1899, il s'installe à Paris et fait des études de droit qu'il abandonne bientôt pour se consacrer à la littérature.Sous le pseudonyme de Vincent Saint-Vincent , il publie son premier recueil de contes Fantômes et fantoches en 1905.
En 1903, il épouse Stéphanie La Batie.quatre Des hôtes illustres fréquentent son salon : Colette, Pierre Benoit, Henry de Montherlant entre autres. Le premier roman de Renard paraît en 1908, Le docteur Lerne, dédié à H.G. Wells, sur le thème du savant fou, suivi par Le voyage immobile en 1909. Il publie Le Péril bleu en 1912, roman remarqué par Louis Pergaud. Il fonde la revue poétique La vie française et publie Monsieur d'Outremort et autres histoires singulières en 1913.
Il participe à la Première Guerre mondiale de 1914 à début 1919 comme officier de cavalerie. Son roman Les Mains d'Orlac paraît en feuilleton en 1920, il sera adapté plusieurs fois au cinéma (Mad Love aux USA en 1935). Publication de L'homme truqué en 1921, d'Un homme chez les microbes en 1928. Maurice Renard divorce en 1930 et se remarie. À partir de 1935, Renard publie de nombreuses nouvelles et des feuilletons dans divers quotidiens et devient vice-président de la Société des gens de lettres.
Il meurt des suites d'une opération chirurgicale à Rochefort en 1939. Il repose à l'île d'Oléron, au cimetière de Dolus d'Oléron où il possédait une petite maison où il vivait le plus souvent.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 8, 2015
The Blue Peril starts out kind of slow (maybe a better word might be repetitious) and there was a stretch of about 10 pages where it felt like 1000 characters were introduced (I actually had to go back and read portions again to make sure I knew who was who). However, Renard's novel turned out to be quite intriguing and he weaves together some fascinating concepts.
I couldn't help but get a kick out of Renard's references to luminaries Robert-Houdin and Felix Nadar as well as fellow authors Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle. I did get more than a little "War of the Worlds" vibe in The Blue Peril at times. Yet, I agree with a blurb on the back cover which says the author's works "owe as much to Edgar Alan Poe as they do to H.G. Wells". I don't believe that I've yet read anything by Renard in which the theme of human vivisection or otherwise cutting up of the human body is not employed. It all can get Poe-like gruesome at times. Add to that the character Tiburce, who is a hoot as the would be detective, and its easy to see even more of a Poe (and Doyle) influence.
Having said that, Renard is a unique talent in his own right and continues to impress.
I couldn't help but get a kick out of Renard's references to luminaries Robert-Houdin and Felix Nadar as well as fellow authors Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle. I did get more than a little "War of the Worlds" vibe in The Blue Peril at times. Yet, I agree with a blurb on the back cover which says the author's works "owe as much to Edgar Alan Poe as they do to H.G. Wells". I don't believe that I've yet read anything by Renard in which the theme of human vivisection or otherwise cutting up of the human body is not employed. It all can get Poe-like gruesome at times. Add to that the character Tiburce, who is a hoot as the would be detective, and its easy to see even more of a Poe (and Doyle) influence.
Having said that, Renard is a unique talent in his own right and continues to impress.
January 20, 2019
This might have ranked 5 stars, but the overall product was paced rather awkwardly and didn't have a lot of layers to contemplate for days and weeks after reading. I've read worse books that made me think and stew over the work for quite some time. "The Blue Peril," on the other hand, is not necessarily completely forgettable, but doesn't challenge a modern audience.
That being said, this was an excellent sci-fi novel, with some of the best representation of the mystery and awe of limited human understanding of alien intelligence that writers like Arthur C. Clarke captured so well. Through the lens of a mystery over disappearances in a remote French village, the reader feels like they are trapped in a dark room with some unseen thing making noise in a corner.
The novel reminds me of the first two-thirds of the film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in its ability to build suspense by brief and inexplicable phenomenon caused by an outside intelligence. A weird pattern of sudden abductions and thefts, a glimpse in a foggy sky of a strange object hovering menacingly, gruesome objects raining from the clouds: the nightmarish scenarios grow in intensity and horror, leaving the reader and the protagonists desperate for some explanation for it all.
And unlike a lot of modern films and literature, this novel does a decent job of tying up all the seemingly inexplicable events to a satisfying conclusion.
The biggest payoff comes when the alien "menace" is revealed. The novel rivals such masterpieces as Campbell's "Who Goes There?" (bta "The Thing") on how spine-tingling, awesome, and horrible an encounter with an extraterrestrial organism could be. The aliens are a combination of the most weird biology of extant animal species known to science and combines them with the speculative to create one of the most truly wondrous alien species in entertainment.
At times, the story is very disturbing and horrific even for modern readers. It also does a good job at building suspense and expectation. Yet the work ultimately falls flat in its overall lack of pathos. We care little for any of the characters, and in fact, there are far too many of them to digest adequately for the modest length of this narrative. And any potential for character-development or drama seemed to be missed. This is my biggest problem with the novel. The events that take place are outstanding, but the impact of these intense events are not felt because I can't relate to anyone to whom the situations may impact. Without a solid central caste of characters in which to invest my emotions and good-will, the unfolding action impacted me from a safe distance. Too safe.
"The Blue Peril" was, for me, an experience that was far superior from more well-known works as "War of the Worlds," despite its flaws. It should be read and discussed much more today than it has been. But it did leave me feeling at the conclusion that I had just finished a highly satisfying dinner that I would not remember to tell my friends about in a year's time.
That being said, this was an excellent sci-fi novel, with some of the best representation of the mystery and awe of limited human understanding of alien intelligence that writers like Arthur C. Clarke captured so well. Through the lens of a mystery over disappearances in a remote French village, the reader feels like they are trapped in a dark room with some unseen thing making noise in a corner.
The novel reminds me of the first two-thirds of the film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in its ability to build suspense by brief and inexplicable phenomenon caused by an outside intelligence. A weird pattern of sudden abductions and thefts, a glimpse in a foggy sky of a strange object hovering menacingly, gruesome objects raining from the clouds: the nightmarish scenarios grow in intensity and horror, leaving the reader and the protagonists desperate for some explanation for it all.
And unlike a lot of modern films and literature, this novel does a decent job of tying up all the seemingly inexplicable events to a satisfying conclusion.
The biggest payoff comes when the alien "menace" is revealed. The novel rivals such masterpieces as Campbell's "Who Goes There?" (bta "The Thing") on how spine-tingling, awesome, and horrible an encounter with an extraterrestrial organism could be. The aliens are a combination of the most weird biology of extant animal species known to science and combines them with the speculative to create one of the most truly wondrous alien species in entertainment.
At times, the story is very disturbing and horrific even for modern readers. It also does a good job at building suspense and expectation. Yet the work ultimately falls flat in its overall lack of pathos. We care little for any of the characters, and in fact, there are far too many of them to digest adequately for the modest length of this narrative. And any potential for character-development or drama seemed to be missed. This is my biggest problem with the novel. The events that take place are outstanding, but the impact of these intense events are not felt because I can't relate to anyone to whom the situations may impact. Without a solid central caste of characters in which to invest my emotions and good-will, the unfolding action impacted me from a safe distance. Too safe.
"The Blue Peril" was, for me, an experience that was far superior from more well-known works as "War of the Worlds," despite its flaws. It should be read and discussed much more today than it has been. But it did leave me feeling at the conclusion that I had just finished a highly satisfying dinner that I would not remember to tell my friends about in a year's time.
December 28, 2021
(*sigh* There are ebooks from places other than amazon ...)
Oddly Victorian (I kept forgetting it was set in 1912) bit of weirdness with a twist of creep. Mysteries upon mysteries, as objects, creatures, and people begin to vanish; and then we gradually begin to discover what's happening. All of it has a veneer of science fiction, though Renard seems to have been more interested in how all his invisible stuff might work, than in making things completely plausible.
While exploring the way the sarvants' activities would appear to observers, Renard also details the effects of those activities on the general populace. This was a terrific aspect of the novel: characters aren't exactly developed, but the reactions to what they're experiencing are believable and very human.
It's not for the faint-hearted; there are some truly brutal scenes. And there's something really creepy about invisible creatures doing unexplainable things. (The book does dip its toes into horror.) More a book playing with an idea than an exploration of the human experience (though it has that). With, at the end, a rather ... bizarre plot development. An interesting read, though.
Oddly Victorian (I kept forgetting it was set in 1912) bit of weirdness with a twist of creep. Mysteries upon mysteries, as objects, creatures, and people begin to vanish; and then we gradually begin to discover what's happening. All of it has a veneer of science fiction, though Renard seems to have been more interested in how all his invisible stuff might work, than in making things completely plausible.
While exploring the way the sarvants' activities would appear to observers, Renard also details the effects of those activities on the general populace. This was a terrific aspect of the novel: characters aren't exactly developed, but the reactions to what they're experiencing are believable and very human.
It's not for the faint-hearted; there are some truly brutal scenes. And there's something really creepy about invisible creatures doing unexplainable things. (The book does dip its toes into horror.) More a book playing with an idea than an exploration of the human experience (though it has that). With, at the end, a rather ... bizarre plot development. An interesting read, though.
May 5, 2022
Originally published in 1910, set in the immediate future of 1912, this is a cracking tale of extraterrestrial abductions. It is startlingly modern, setting out the archetype of this subset of sci-fi, with all the tropes that are repeated up to this day by blockbuster alien movies. This must be one of the most influential sci-fi novels I’ve ever read, obviously so as everything done today is already here, but it must be one of the least known.
The story is set only a couple of years into the future to create an impression of impending doom. The narration is that of a documentary, an eye-witness report, using all forms of media available at the time. The story progresses from almost farcical reports of eerie goings-on in rural areas, to increasingly frightening events that the local people and the MCs cannot understand. There are elements of police procedural, of crime thriller, before the supernatural takes over, and then by process of elimination, the inconceivable must be true. Aliens are behind it all! Random things, then animals, then people are being seized, dragged into the skies by horrific aliens for nefarious purposes. But never the same specimen twice. Alien scientists plucking up people as we would insects, for systematic study. It’s startling that such an idea was so clearly expressed, so early, long before the pulps.
Seriously, all the elements of the alien abduction story are here, clear as day, as rolled out again and again in subsequent novels, comics, movies … this book has it all, early doors. The author does the now hackneyed trick of throwing in complicated family backgrounds, love stories, tragic pasts, the whole kit and caboodle, to build sympathy for the almost-inevitable next victims. How many horror stories have been doing the same ever since? All the tricks are here, unmistakable and perfectly honed.
It’s hard at times to think how new and weird all this would have been in 1910. And horrific: some scenes are exceptionally gruesome and violent.
Over a century later, the step-by-step build up is achingly familiar and hence could be called slow, maybe even boring, but - back then - alien abductions were not an ingrained part of popular culture as they are now. This book was a complete outlier. And yet it got the formula down pat. The apparent levitation abductions described here are exactly as shown in movies today, shot for shot. How about that for anticipation? This book has been the pulp writer’s and pulp film director’s little secret. It must have been.
And it’s nicely done too. The novel is very well written, erudite, very well observed, with plausible reactions of people of all social strata of the time, faced by utterly incomprehensible events, beautifully if briefly described. The characters behave consistently, intelligently, and, even though the narration is necessarily distant being an ex post facto report, their emotions (of confusion, fear, despair) are vividly portrayed. The story is deeply steeped in period detail, but is otherwise told with cinematic clarity and modern realism. There are startling action set pieces. The alien base is a monument of imagination as is the description of the aliens themselves and their evolving behaviour. The plot twists and turns of the ending are a self-aware mockery of genre tropes, but superbly done with verve and humour. Finally, there are some deep philosophical considerations of what is knowable and what might be beyond human perception.
I am very impressed indeed. This is a definite “wow” on many levels.
The story is set only a couple of years into the future to create an impression of impending doom. The narration is that of a documentary, an eye-witness report, using all forms of media available at the time. The story progresses from almost farcical reports of eerie goings-on in rural areas, to increasingly frightening events that the local people and the MCs cannot understand. There are elements of police procedural, of crime thriller, before the supernatural takes over, and then by process of elimination, the inconceivable must be true. Aliens are behind it all! Random things, then animals, then people are being seized, dragged into the skies by horrific aliens for nefarious purposes. But never the same specimen twice. Alien scientists plucking up people as we would insects, for systematic study. It’s startling that such an idea was so clearly expressed, so early, long before the pulps.
Seriously, all the elements of the alien abduction story are here, clear as day, as rolled out again and again in subsequent novels, comics, movies … this book has it all, early doors. The author does the now hackneyed trick of throwing in complicated family backgrounds, love stories, tragic pasts, the whole kit and caboodle, to build sympathy for the almost-inevitable next victims. How many horror stories have been doing the same ever since? All the tricks are here, unmistakable and perfectly honed.
It’s hard at times to think how new and weird all this would have been in 1910. And horrific: some scenes are exceptionally gruesome and violent.
Over a century later, the step-by-step build up is achingly familiar and hence could be called slow, maybe even boring, but - back then - alien abductions were not an ingrained part of popular culture as they are now. This book was a complete outlier. And yet it got the formula down pat. The apparent levitation abductions described here are exactly as shown in movies today, shot for shot. How about that for anticipation? This book has been the pulp writer’s and pulp film director’s little secret. It must have been.
And it’s nicely done too. The novel is very well written, erudite, very well observed, with plausible reactions of people of all social strata of the time, faced by utterly incomprehensible events, beautifully if briefly described. The characters behave consistently, intelligently, and, even though the narration is necessarily distant being an ex post facto report, their emotions (of confusion, fear, despair) are vividly portrayed. The story is deeply steeped in period detail, but is otherwise told with cinematic clarity and modern realism. There are startling action set pieces. The alien base is a monument of imagination as is the description of the aliens themselves and their evolving behaviour. The plot twists and turns of the ending are a self-aware mockery of genre tropes, but superbly done with verve and humour. Finally, there are some deep philosophical considerations of what is knowable and what might be beyond human perception.
I am very impressed indeed. This is a definite “wow” on many levels.
October 27, 2025
It was difficult to read at first, but once I understood the formatting and the narrative picked up, it was very charming. The characters are not exactly shallow, but they are a little lacking, yet that did not affect it too much. The story itself is good, and the ending ties up perfectly, everything worked very nicely.
November 20, 2023
Period piece science fiction. Very nice and innocent.
January 5, 2016
On entre dans la science-fiction petit à petit, ce qui n'est pas une mauvaise chose mais donne une impression de longueur. L'histoire met du temps à démarrer vraiment. Par contre la deuxième partie contient pleins de bonnes idées.
Maurice Renard s'inscrit dans la lignée stylistique de Jules Verne, avec ses qualités et ses défauts.
Maurice Renard s'inscrit dans la lignée stylistique de Jules Verne, avec ses qualités et ses défauts.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews