Book 9: The Revisionists

The Revisionists

Thomas Mullen

One of the most common themes in time travel literature is the mutability of the past and the ripple effects of changes large and small. The Revisionists considers these themes from a familiar angle- agents from the future set out to preserve their past- but spins its story with a suspense writer's sensibility. The result is a book that is part science fiction, part political thriller, and wholly engrossing, despite these dual identities. Between the first-person present narration of its time-traveler, Zed, and an omniscient third-person view of the present-day protagonists in Washington, D.C., the novel wryly offers a comment on the nature of time, as seen from Zed's perspective. This trick is a bit more understated than other philosophical aspects of the book; though Mullen confronts several issues head-on, for which he should be commended, his characters occasionally veer into the realm of caricature. While it is obvious that Mullen (and, by extension, his characters), appreciates ambiguity, he often offers only the distinction between various extremities, rather than exploring the space between. Though the main characters are usually aware that withdrawing entirely to one side or the other is too simplistic for the vagaries of the modern world, the book careens off of an ethical cliff throughout its climax, where previous noble attempts to draw attention to the gray areas between the equally murky and (often) unethical objectives and actions of superliberal antigovernment activists and superconservative corporate defense contractors are reduced to a heroes-and-villains morality play. And to think, only a few chapters before Mullen was essentially breaking the fourth wall and asking readers to consider whether such a story really could have such clear-cut players.

The sudden moral awakening (so to speak) of the ending does not, however, severely dampen the general tenor of the book. Mullen does an excellent, though sometimes heavy-handed, job of introducing readers to Zed's own present, and his flashbacks reveal his own story at a steady pace that mirrors and complements his personal development. Here, too, Mullen tends to explain rather than organically demonstrate, a sin magnified by his frequent (and effective) use of dialogue and other means to introduce facts and themes. I also appreciated the integration of science fiction elements into a traditional spy-vs.-spy framework, with plenty of surprises throughout. Mullen may resort to a typical progression when describing and undermining his vision of the future (frequent readers of dystopian and other future literature will recognize much of this arc), but that vision itself is compelling in its way and allows the author to construct the suspense novel that the book becomes. Less forgivable is the book's tendency to forget various moral dilemmas introduced as part of the science fiction conceit. They need not (and probably could not satisfactorily be) resolved, but the novel comes tantalizingly close to having a compelling moral core relevant to both its future and present settings, only to allow the science fiction to fade. The latter chapters contain echoes of this ambiguity, voiced through Zed's growing doubts, but one feels that there could be more to the end than the more-or-less pure action that almost undermines the lengthy setup.

Mullen does, however, have an obvious aptitude for writing thrillers, and he effectively juggle and integrate various plot lines throughout the book, though readers may occasionally need to mentally take stock as the stories begin to intertwine. More impressive is the reader's genuine suspense throughout the book, related not only to events but, more importantly, to the characters, their complex motivations, and their shifting relationships with one another. It is a shame that Mullen seems to drop several potentially interesting thematic threads- by the end of the book, it is almost incidental that Zed is an agent from the future- instead of further exploring them, as the book gradually sheds its philosophical skin in favor of a conclusion befitting the best of airport thrillers. The thematic importance of the possibility and morality of revisionism is but a shadow as the book concludes, though its final line pays fine tribute to its more philosophical elements. The Revisionists is a rare book that is almost entirely satisfying despite seeming to discard its vast potential, and it serves as a pleasant reminder of science fiction's potential to elevate and evolve with other genres.

Grade: A-