fraeon
Films
BrowseTop 250
Series
TV ShowsAnimeTop 250 TVTop 100 Anime
Games
BrowseTop 100
Books
BooksMangaTop 125 BooksTop 100 Manga
For youTrendingTier ListsThe ArchiveLeaderboard
Log inSign up free
fraeon

Everything you watch, play and read — tracked, rated and remembered in one library.

Explore

  • Films
  • TV
  • Anime
  • Games
  • Books
  • Manga

Discover

  • Trending
  • Leaderboard
  • Find people
  • Lists
  • Tier lists

Company

  • Tour
  • About
  • Community guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Contact

© 2026 fraeon. All rights reserved. ·

Metadata from TMDB, RAWG, Jikan & Open Library. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Questions or ideas? mehmet@avortas.com

HomeFeedProfile
Fire from Heaven

Fire from Heaven

by Mary Renault

Kings and rulersGeneralsOpen Library Staff PicksFictionHistory
5.0
Open Library
Open Library

About this book

Fire from Heaven is a 1969 historical novel by Mary Renault about the childhood and youth of Alexander the Great. It reportedly was a major inspiration for the Oliver Stone film Alexander.

Themes & subjects

Kings and rulersGeneralsOpen Library Staff PicksFictionHistoryAlexander, the Great, 356-323 B.C. -- Fiction.

Characters & people

Setting

MacedoniaGreeceKings and rulersMacedonian Expansion, 359-323 B.C.To 168 B.C.

About the author

Mary Renault
Mary Renault

4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983

**Eileen Mary Challans** (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name *Mary Renault* (/ˈrɛnoʊlt/), was an English writer best known for her historical novels set in ancient Greece. Born in Forest Gate in 1905, she attended St Hugh's College, Oxford, from 1924 until 1928. After graduating from St Hugh's with a Third Class in English, she worked as a nurse and began writing her first novels, which were contemporary romances. In 1948, she moved to South Africa with her partner Julie Mullard, where she spent the rest of her life. Living in South Africa allowed her to write about openly gay characters without fearing the censorship and homophobia of England. She devoted herself…

Author

Mary Renault

Pages

390

Read time

≈ 10h

Editions

36

Languages

English, Hebrew, Spanish

Publisher

Pantheon Books

ISBN

9780349018607

Where to buy

TR
Amazon Bookshop

Reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to write one from the Log screen.

Quotes

No quotes yet.

Discussions

Similar books

Hamlet

performing arts · Stage history

Hamlet

William Shakespeare

1603

Macbeth

Drama · Regicides

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

1508

King Lear

Drama · King Lear (Legendary character)

King Lear

William Shakespeare

1608

The Prince

Political science, early works to 1800 · Machiavel, Nicolas, 1469-1527. Prince

The Prince

Niccolò Machiavelli

1515

Cymbeline

Drama · Fathers and daughters

Cymbeline

William Shakespeare

1734

King Richard II

Drama · History

King Richard II

William Shakespeare

1597

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Time travel · Fiction

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Mark Twain

1889

Henry IV, Part 1

Drama · History

Henry IV, Part 1

William Shakespeare

1598

Richard III

Drama · History

Richard III

William Shakespeare

1597

The Prince and the Pauper

Readers · Fiction

The Prince and the Pauper

Mark Twain

1881

King Henry VIII

Drama · Kings and rulers

King Henry VIII

William Shakespeare

1670

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Wills · Scientists

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

1791

The Emerald City of Oz

Juvenile fiction · Fiction

The Emerald City of Oz

L. Frank Baum

1910

Henry V

Drama · open_syllabus_project

Henry V

William Shakespeare

1600

Julius Caesar

Antoine (Marcus Antonius) · Assassination

Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare

1656

Troilus and Cressida

Drama · Troilus (Legendary character)

Troilus and Cressida

William Shakespeare

1609

Antony and Cleopatra

Antonius, Marcus, · Antonius, Marcus, 83?-30 B.C.

Antony and Cleopatra

William Shakespeare

1734

Othello

Drama · Othello (Fictitious character)

Othello

William Shakespeare

1622

Similar across media

Same mood, other forms — books, series, anime, games and beyond.

Film
Green Book

Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line, relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.

4.1

Green Book

2018

Game
God of War III

Hack and slash/Beat 'em up · Adventure

4.8

God of War III

2010

Anime
Gintama Season 5

After joining the resistance against the bakufu, Gintoki and the gang are in hiding, along with Katsura and his Joui rebels. The Yorozuya is soon approached by Nobume Imai and two members of the Kiheitai, who explain that the Harusame pirates have turned against 7th Division Captain Kamui and their former ally Takasugi. The Kiheitai present Gintoki with a job: find Takasugi, who has been missing since his ship was ambushed in a Harusame raid. Nobume also makes a stunning revelation regarding the Tendoushuu, a secret organization pulling the strings of numerous factions, and their leader Utsuro, the shadowy figure with an uncanny resemblance to Gintoki's former teacher. Hitching a ride on Sakamoto's space ship, the Yorozuya and Katsura set out for Rakuyou, Kagura's home planet, where the various factions have gathered and tensions are brewing. Long-held grudges, political infighting, and the Tendoushuu's sinister overarching plan finally culminate into a massive, decisive battle on Rakuyou. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Action · Comedy

4.5

Gintama Season 5

2017 · 12 eps

Manga
20th Century Boys

As the 20th century approaches its end, people all over the world are anxious that the world is changing. And probably not for the better. Kenji Endou is a normal convenience store manager who is just trying to get by. But when he learns that one of his old friends going by the name "Donkey" has suddenly committed suicide and that a new cult led by a figure known as "Friend" is becoming more notorious, Kenji starts to feel that something is not right. With a few key clues left behind by his deceased friend, Kenji realizes that this cult is much more than he ever thought it would be—not only is this mysterious organization directly targeting him and his childhood friends, but the whole world also faces a grave danger that only the friends have the key to stop. Kenji's simple life of barely making ends meet is flipped upside down when he reunites with his childhood friends, and together they must figure out the truth of how their past is connected to the cult, as the turn of the century could mean the possible end of the world. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Award Winning · Drama

4.5

20th Century Boys

Urasawa Naoki

1999 · 249 ch

Film
Come and See

The invasion of a village in Belarus by German forces sends young Florya into the forest to join the weary Resistance fighters, against his family's wishes. There he meets a girl, Glasha, who accompanies him back to his village. On returning home, Florya finds his family and fellow peasants massacred. His continued survival amidst the brutal debris of war becomes increasingly nightmarish, a battle between despair and hope.

4.1

Come and See

1985

Game
Ghost of Tsushima

Role-playing (RPG) · Hack and slash/Beat 'em up

4.6

Ghost of Tsushima

2020

Anime
Gintama

Edo is a city that was home to the vigor and ambition of samurai across the country. However, following feudal Japan's surrender to powerful aliens known as the "Amanto," those aspirations now seem unachievable. With the once-influential shogunate rebuilt as a puppet government, a new law is passed that promptly prohibits all swords in public. Enter Gintoki Sakata, an eccentric silver-haired man who always carries around a wooden sword and maintains his stature as a samurai despite the ban. As the founder of Yorozuya, a small business for odd jobs, Gintoki often embarks on endeavors to help other people—though usually in rather strange and unforeseen ways. Assisted by Shinpachi Shimura, a boy with glasses supposedly learning the way of the samurai; Kagura, a tomboyish girl with superhuman strength and an endless appetite; and Sadaharu, their giant pet dog who loves biting on people's heads, the Yorozuya encounter anything from alien royalty to scuffles with local gangs in the ever-changing world of Edo. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Action · Comedy

4.5

Gintama

2006 · 201 eps

Manga
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi

Plaguing every corner, rumors of the deceased Wei Wuxian never end. Able to control the dead, Wei Wuxian left an epochal dent in the cultivation world, still both feared and revered 13 years later. But when he awakens in the body of a bullied young man who sacrificed his soul to take revenge on his cruel family, Wei Wuxian is faced with trouble once more. However, Wei Wuxian was a mischievous yet brilliant cultivator, and he is not one to be constrained. Using his dark skills, Wei Wuxian interrupts a ritual to capture a powerful cursed arm handled by Lan Sect—a prominent cultivation sect of Gusu, the home of his former acquaintance, the esteemed and poised Lan Wangji. Despite wishing to hide his past life, Wei Wuxian inevitably gets entangled in the sinister web of the ruling cultivation sects' deepest secrets. With Lan Wangji, he attempts to solve the mystery of the demonic arm, but it is soon apparent that they are only scratching the surface—and the truth may just hold the key to his once disgraceful downfall. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Action · Adventure

4.4

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

2016 · 27 ch

Film
Hacksaw Ridge

WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

4.1

Hacksaw Ridge

2016

Game
Assassin's Creed II

Platform · Adventure

4.5

Assassin's Creed II

2009

Anime
The Apothecary Diaries Season 2

Using her wit and vast knowledge of medicines and poisons alike, Maomao played a pivotal role in solving a series of mysteries and conspiracies that plagued the imperial court. Having recently come to terms with the secrets of her parents, she returns to fulfill her normal duties on behalf of the emperor's highest-ranking consorts. Maomao also works alongside the eunuch Jinshi to better the consorts' many ladies-in-waiting, including helping them learn to read. However, with the arrival of a merchant caravan comes a new wave of intrigue. A pattern of strange coincidences involving the visitors and their wares unsettles Maomao, driving her to investigate the puzzling circumstances behind the convoy. As dangers from both outside and within threaten the balance between the imperial concubines, Maomao continues to utilize her cunning and medical expertise to keep the women safe from harm. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Drama · Mystery

4.5

The Apothecary Diaries Season 2

2025 · 24 eps

Manga
Heaven Official's Blessing

800 years ago, Xie Lian was a pure-blooded and noble Crown Prince, a well-regarded child of Heaven with unlimited potential. But who knew that, after he ascended and became a god with tens of thousands of worshippers, his fate would take such a sharp downhill turn? He was demoted again and again, and fell to rock bottom. 800 years later, Xie Lian ascended again, but this time, without worshippers and without incense. One day, after returning from collecting scraps, he took a mysterious young man home. And this young man was the Ghost King that made others pale in fear whenever discussed—Hua Cheng. (Source: Bilibili Comics)

Action · Adventure

4.4

Heaven Official's Blessing

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

2019