Halcyon - Elliot Ackerman

 

Elliot Ackerman's Halcyon is a fascinating alternate history take on the cultural shifts that have so rapidly changed this country and the rest of the world in just the past few years. In this version of America, Al Gore wins the 2000 election instead of George W. Bush, and the Gore administration funds genetic research that finds a cure for death via a process called bioregeneration. However, only time will tell if this Lazarus treatment is really such a good idea for the resurrected and their families.

College professor Martin Neumann, who is recently divorced, is living at Halcyon, a large estate in Virginia owned by the widow of a respected lawyer while he completes research for a new book on the Civil War. It is only after the woman's "dead" husband begins to drop by Martin's rented cottage most afternoons that the professor learns of the still top-secret project that resurrected her husband. Robert Ableson is one of the project's early successes, but Ableson has been in hiding for so long that he is desperate for conversation with someone other than his wife. Over time, and after Martin gets over his initial shock, the two men strike up a genuine friendship. 

Because of his proximity to the family, Martin becomes a confidante of the Ablesons after news about the project finally breaks publicly, and even becomes an advisor of sorts to Robert Ableson as he tries to reinsert himself into the new world into which he's been reborn. Among the first things that Ableson learns is that old grudges against him did not die on the day he was declared dead from pneumonia complications. Instead, those grudges are resurrected right along with Ableson, and they are stronger and more fiercely held than ever. 

Halcyon touches upon many of the issues of the day, including the tearing down of monuments, the "Me Too" movement, the recasting of historical events to coincide with today's sensitivities, and the demands for increasing inclusiveness across the board. The novel, in fact, covers so many issues that it becomes impossible for the book to explore most of them in this relatively short book to the depth they deserve. That, however, is the book's only weakness because Ackerman is certainly a talented storyteller who leaves readers with plenty to think about when they are done with Halcyon.

Elliot Ackerman author photo