His experiences as a soldier and war correspondent influenced his writing. Some of the most emphasized topics in his writing are
decolonization,
nationalism, the expansion of
communism, the state of post-war French society, and the unglamorous nature of war. His novel
Les chimères noires evokes the role played by
Roger Trinquier during the
Katanga Crisis. Published in 1963 it portrays vividly the chaos of civil war in the Congo after the murder of
Patrice Lumumba and the conflict between
Moise Tshombe's secessionist government and the
United Nations Forces. The novel is very critical of Belgian colonialism and is also a reliable expression of European views of Central Africa after independence. Several of his book titles were translated into English, with the most successful being his
Algerian War series:
The Centurions and
The Praetorians. The former was adapted into a major motion picture in 1966, entitled
Lost Command and starred
Anthony Quinn. Both have been interpreted as
romans à clef glamorizing Vietnam veterans deeply engaged in Algerian politics, such as
Marcel Bigeard and
Jacques Massu. Also, with his novel
The Centurions, Lartéguy is credited with being the first to envision the '
ticking time bomb' scenario, which has regained relevance in recent debates on the use of torture in a
counter-terrorism role. His novels have been read by military professionals, including General
David Petraeus, in
the new context of modern terrorism.
Bibliography •
La ville étranglée (1955) •
Les âmes errantes (1956) •
La tragédie du Maroc interdit (1957) •
Les dieux meurent en Algérie (1960) •
Les baladins de la Margeride (1962) • ''Visa pour l'Iran'' (1962) •
Les mercenaires (1963) (Originally published as
Du sang sur les collines, without success, reprinted with the new title after the success of
Les centurions) •
Les chimères noires (1963), translated into English as
The Hounds of Hell • Guerre d'Algérie, two volumes •
Les centurions (1963), translated into English as
The Centurions, adapted into film as
Lost Command •
Les prétoriens (1964), translated into English as
The Praetorians •
Le mal jaune (1965), translated into English as
Yellow Fever, (Reprint of two previously published titles:
La ville étranglée and
Les âmes errantes) •
Un million de dollars le Viet (1965) •
Sauveterre (1966), translated into English •
Les guérilleros (1967) •
Les chimères noires (1967) •
Les tambours de bronze (1969), translated into English as
The Bronze Drums •
Ces voix qui nous viennent de la mer (1969) •
Tout homme est une guerre civile, two volumes •
Le prêtre astronome (1969) •
Les libertadors (1970) •
Lettre ouverte aux bonnes femmes (1972) •
Les Rois mendiants (1975) +++ "Adieu à Saigon " (1976) •
Enquête sur un crucifié (1976) • ''Tout l'or du diable'' (1976) •
Les rois mendiants (1977) •
Les naufragés du soleil, three volumes •
Le gaur de la rivière noire (1978) •
Le cheval de feu (1980) •
Le baron céleste (1982) • ''Dieu, l'or et le sang'' (1980) •
Le commandant du nord (1982) •
Marco Polo espion de Venise (1984) •
Soldats perdus et fous de Dieu, Indochine 1954-1955 (1986) • ''L'or de Baal'' (1987) •
Tahiti (1988) •
Le Roi noir, (1991) •
Mourir pour Jérusalem (1995), (non-fiction) ==References==