Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America

#503
Title: Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America
Author: Robert Charles Wilson
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Year: 2009
413 pages

This is the funniest of Robert Charles Wilson's novels to date, but no less engaging. Imagine Samwise Gamgee as Watson. The tale's narrator, Adam Hazzard, is that man. He reports what he observes, and speculates about Julian, politics, and the world on this basis, but he doesn't understand everything he sees. In some ways, the best part of this novel is seeing precisely how the historian's perspective shapes his narrative, and what we as readers can discern (for example, Julian's romantic proclivities) that is opaque to Adam.

The narrative is post-apocalyptic/post-deluge, and strongly evokes Heinlein's "If This Goes On--" in the intertwining of religious, military, and political forces. I am sad to say that in many ways its difference from contemporary America is only a matter of degree. Some reviewers see Gore Vidal's Julian here; I haven't read it yet,  but picked up a copy in order to evaluate the comparison.

Julian's rise to power is well-described. I believed less in his behavior afterward, since it seemed less savvy and the shift was too abrupt. Still, it's a terrific novel and I enjoyed it very much.