Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America

by Robert Charles Wilson

Book Overview

From Robert Charles Wilson, the Hugo Award-winning author of Spin , comes Julian Comstock , an exuberant adventure in a post-climate-change America. In the reign of President Deklan Comstock, a reborn... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765359235
• ISBN13: 9780765359230
• Release Date: May 2010
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 689 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Best book I've read all year

Wilson created a believable dystopian vision of America in the 22nd century after the end of oil. This is a much more believable scenario than other dystopian novels I've read. I really liked the fact that it was set 100 years or more after the events that pushed things off the rails. It had great characters, and was a real page turner.

romantic and unflinchingly honest

Julian Comstock: A Story of the 22nd-Century America originates from the novella Julian: A Christmas Story, which has been expanded into a rich personal life of a man who is something of a folk hero to some and a villain to others. The world of the 22nd century is still in the process of rebuilding itself after the collapse of technology and the rise of oceans with a decimated population amid the end of oil. The United States still exists although in different form. The 22nd century is now more like the 19th with a strong civil war era feel and lot of train travel. The United States, which now encompasses Canada as well, is fighting with the Mittleuropean block who are horning in on what was formerly North Eastern Canada. Julian is as upper class as you can get, but the story is told from the point of view of Julian's best-friend and beautifully named, Adam Hazzard, who is himself a very endearing if not somewhat naive chronicler. While Julian has had every comfort in life Adam comes from what is the indentured servant class that has developed, which is essentially the middle class of this era. Julian and Adam have grown up together as teenagers being tutored by the same man to give Julian a companion for his studies. The beginning of the story is set in a remote part of the Americas where Julian is being safe guarded from his Uncle the President Deklan Comstock, who is also responsible for killing Julian's father. From there we roam across the East of America, which is only a glimpse of this rich world. Big bloody battles and heartfelt dialogue carry this story a long way. Julian Comstock is romantic and unflinchingly honest. With Julian Comstock the titular character Wilson has crafted his own Che Guevara, Ben Franklin, and Casey Jones all rolled into one. Even with the telling Julian is still something of a mystery, but his exploits are inventive and awe-inspiring as he holds true to his belief despite what might befall him. As Adam and Julian try to slip away from the noose that Deklan lays for them they unwittingly fall into the very trap as they are conscripted into the Army and taken to the front-lines and so the legend of Julian Comstock aka Julian Conquerer begins. Deklan Comstock the despot of a president remains a cloudy figure even when he takes center stage. A bit of missed opportunity was lost in not having a major interaction happened between Deklan and his wayward nephew Julian. With Julian Comstock Wilson has brought back a sense of frontier adventure to Science Fiction with some of the most well thought out characters I've encountered in ages. No matter how large the scale is the story keeps its personal roots. Suffice it to say I could not get enough of this world. Julian Comstock is without a doubt the best novel Robert Charles Wilson has written to date and one of my favorites reads this year, which says a lot in my mind given how much I enjoyed his Spin. I give Julian Comstock 9 out of 10 Hats. If you're a fan of life h

A Great Novel!

Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! Hilarious! Hilarious! Hilarious! Storytelling at its finest! Mark Twain could do no better ! Full of wonderful apostasy such as, "I was east of Skepticism and north of Faith, with an unsettled compass and variable winds. But I could offer up a prayer as well as the next man, and leave it to Heaven to judge the result," and, "I want a better Bible, Adam, I want a Bible in which the Fruit of Knowledge contains the Seeds of Wisdom, and makes life more pleasurable for mankind, nor worse. I want a Bible in which Issac leaps up from the sacrifical stone and chokes the life out of Abraham, to punish him for the abject and bloody sin of Obedience. I want a Bible in which Lazarus is dead and stubborn about it, rather than standing to attention at the beck and call of every passing Messiah."

I rarely say "must-read", but I'll make an exception for this one

Robert Charles Wilson's new novel "Julian Comstock" is set in a vastly changed 22nd century USA - after the end of the age of oil and atheism has ended in disaster. Technology is mostly back to pre-20th century levels, and the population has been vastly reduced due to social upheaval and disease. Society has become fully class-based, divided in a Eupatridian aristocracy, middle-class lease-men, and indentured servants. The country - which now stretches across most of the North American continent - is involved in a lengthy and brutal war with the Dutch over control of the recently opened Northwest passage. In this setting we meet the novel's extraordinary hero, Julian Comstock, the nephew of the dictatorial president Deklan Comstock. Julian is a free-thinker with a deep interest in the apostate Charles Darwin (whose heretical theories are anathema to the Dominion of Jesus Christ, one of the three branches of the government with the president and the senate). Julian is forced to flee his country hide-out with his friend Adam (the amazing narrator of the novel) and Sam Godwin, who is Julian's mentor since his father died in battle - his father being Bryce Comstock, army commander and brother of the president, who was sent into a hopeless conflict by Deklan, fearing his brother's growing popularity would endanger his own tyrannical rule. While all of this may sound grim, the tone of this story is often actually very light thanks to Adam, the narrator, who combines a certain naivete with a generally positive outlook on life and a willingness to see the good in everything. Adam often doesn't fully understand what is happening, and sometimes his general decency forces him to brush over certain things. At other times, his strong conscience puts many things other characters do in a very stark perspective. Part of the beauty and the fun of "Julian Comstock" is seeing it through the prism of Adam's growing understanding. This novel pulls off something extraordinary: it is written in the style of a 19th century novel, but set in the 22nd century, AND somehow manages to deal with issues that are relevant today. The skill with which Wilson pulls this amazing trick off is simply dizzying. While some of the content might be controversial, I find that Wilson does a great job of extrapolating from current events to an all too plausible future without explicitly taking a definite position. It's been a while since I've a read a novel that so deftly combines so many different elements. The characters have amazing depth, even if you don't always initially realize this due to the narrator's style. The story moves at a brisk pace that makes it impossible to put down. There are moments of high comedy and moments that are so immeasurably poignant and moving that I simply can't stop thinking about them. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough, both to SF fans and to anyone who loves a good book. One note: I found it odd that the author included so

grim bleak futuristic thriller

It is 2172 and America is a radically different place since the oil was depleted. Transportation and communication are gone; people indenture their lives and that of their children to the Aristos who own vast Estates in return for food, clothing and shelter. The term for a president is thirty years as civilization has reverted back to no better than the early nineteenth century. In fact the goal of the present is a new "Manifest destiny" to encompass the entire continent. President Deklan Comstock had his brother hung for the crime of becoming too popular; Julian Bryce's son now lives in the backwater town of Williams Ford. Julian the president's nephew, his mentor Sam and their friend Adam escape the local enlistment only to be impressed into the army. Julian becomes a hero known as young Captain Commongold throughout the Republic. Deklan is irate as history seems to repeat itself with his nephew replacing his bold and charismatic brother. To prevent further mishap to his presidency, Deklan sends Julian and friends to the front with few supplies and the worst troops; he figures if the enemy fails to kill the usurper, his subordinates will when they rebel. Extrapolating current day economic, extremism and environmental trends, Robert Charles Wilson paints a bleak future for the sixty stars and thirteen stripes as the Bush legacy. One disaster after another has devastated America until the president becomes a tyrant and the country is divided between the less than 1% ultra wealthy Dominion And Aristos and the impoverished rest. The Christian Churches, the property owners, and the president determine what can be read by the masses and what is dumbed down taught in schools. Julian is an interesting person who is seen through the eyes of the narrator (Adam) as a champion who never wanted to be a hero, but was destined to be one. Though fascinating as he is, it is Mr. Wilson's America that grimly owns this futuristic thriller. Harriet Klausner