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The Revisionists

by Thomas Mullen (Goodreads Author)

3.4 of 5 stars 3.40 · rating details · 764 ratings · 196 reviews

A fast-paced literary thriller that recalls dystopian classics such as 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, from the award-winning author of The Last Town on Earth.

Zed is an agent from the future. A time when the world's problems have been solved. No hunger. No war. No despair.

His mission is to keep it that way. Even if it means ensuring every cataclysm throughout history runs its cou...more

ebook, 407 pages

Published September 28th 2011 by Mulholland Books

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Mar 12, 2013 Kemper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, sci-fi, time-mower-adventures, time-travel, modern-lit, politics

“I haven’t taken the time-mower out for a spin lately. I’ll just fire it up and ….Hey, who are you? How did you get in my garage? And why are you pointing that gun at me? If you need a weed-eater that bad, just take it.”

“Don’t play dumb with me, hag.”

“Hag? Why are you calling me a female witch?”

“You’re going to pretend that you belong in this timeline with your time machine sitting right there, hag?”

“Again with the hag? Look, my name is Kemper and this is my timeline. I’ve got a time-mower becau...more

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Oct 04, 2011 Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, september-list, thriller, spyish-espionage

Within these pages you will find a complex cerebral thriller. A thriller post 9/11 and a government where agents hunt down and kill those that plot to unbalance the peace. A world of espionage, secrets and cover ups. Don't expect a visceral thriller, from the title and book cover I was expecting more of a cinematic kind of thriller instead it turned out to be a thinking mans tale of truth and power. You have a couple of searches for truth here, one a dead brother in the army and secondly a diplo...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Lisa Wolf rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: time-travel-and-timey-weirdness, espionage

"The Revisionists" was not at all what I'd expected, yet I couldn't put it down -- hence the four stars.

I have a soft spot for all things time-travel, and the basic synopses I'd read of this book seemed to put it squarely into that genre: Main character Zed works for a post-disaster society at some point in time several centuries from now. In the "Perfect Present", there is no war, no racial tension, no hate. Zed's government agency works to keep the perfect present perfect, by sending agents in...more "The Revisionists" was not at all what I'd expected, yet I couldn't put it down -- hence the four stars.

I have a soft spot for all things time-travel, and the basic synopses I'd read of this book seemed to put it squarely into that genre: Main character Zed works for a post-disaster society at some point in time several centuries from now. In the "Perfect Present", there is no war, no racial tension, no hate. Zed's government agency works to keep the perfect present perfect, by sending agents into the past to thwart "hags" -- historical agitators -- whose mission is to stop disasters (think 9/11, concentration camps, etc) before they can happen, on the assumption that all these calamities were a necessary step in history in order for the perfect present to come to be.

Confusing? You bet.

And strangely, that's not at all what this book is really about. Much more than anything else, I'd describe "The Revisionists" as an espionage-thriller set in DC, filled with intrigue, shadowy quasi-governmental intelligence outfits working against one another, multiple layers of pawns and spymasters, and a reality that slips and shifts from chapter to chapter.

This is not a sci-fi book, when you get right down to it. Zed's mission is the driving narrative, yet we get no information whatsoever about the mechanics of his time travel and only the barest of descriptions of some futuristic technology. Without saying anything that might inadvertently be a spoiler, I will say that the entire time travel premise is not necessarily what it appears to be, depending on how you choose to interpret certain events and passages.

I was fascinated by this book, and it will probably take me some time to mull over all the twists and turns and come to terms with what may or may not have happened. I do recommend "The Revisionists", although I worry that its perfect target audience -- people who enjoy a good spy thriller -- won't ever discover it if it continues to be described as a time-travel novel.(less)

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Jan 31, 2013 Catherine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, dystopian-futuristic, suspenseful

What is this book about? Time travel? Intelligence organizations? Government cover-ups? Diplomatic immunity? War? Dealing with loss? Mental illness? Maybe all of it and then some. Definitely more of a mystery than sci-fi, with twists and turns, additional pieces of the story around every turn of the page.

I really, really liked Mullen's first novel, which was a fairly straight-forward narrative about the Influenza epidemic, logging and unionization. I was not so crazy about his second novel, whi...more What is this book about? Time travel? Intelligence organizations? Government cover-ups? Diplomatic immunity? War? Dealing with loss? Mental illness? Maybe all of it and then some. Definitely more of a mystery than sci-fi, with twists and turns, additional pieces of the story around every turn of the page.

I really, really liked Mullen's first novel, which was a fairly straight-forward narrative about the Influenza epidemic, logging and unionization. I was not so crazy about his second novel, which was about bank-robbing brothers in the 1930s, with a paranormal twist. So you might think the convolution of so many different themes and genres would turn me off even more, but it didn't.

Unlike The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers, I believed these characters. I liked these characters. Even Leo, the former CIA agent who reveals himself multiple times to be a selfish asshole, isn't without his redeeming qualities. All of the characters are confused (who wouldn't be, when you don't know who's watching you or who you can trust?), emotionally wounded, and torn between what they are supposed to do and what they think is right. They have depth that I thought the Firefly brothers lacked.

About 100 pages from the end, Mullen throws a curve ball that left me stunned, but I liked it. The ending is left rather open to interpretation, which I usually hate, but it didn't bother me here. I picked the version of the truth that suits me, and I'm good with that. (view spoiler)

In short, I really, really liked this book, couldn't put it down, and look forward to reading whatever Mullen comes up with next.

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Jul 29, 2012 Lynn Reynolds rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Awesome, despite a misleading publisher's blurb. I was expecting a very techno sci-fi tale about time travel, but what I really got was a political thriller with an intriguing subplot about the nature of reality. Zed, a sort of time cop from the future (or is he?) is a complex, well-drawn character, as are the two main female characters, Sari and Tasha. The weak link is Leo, a rather unbelievably gullible former intelligence operative. But despite the weakness of the character, I liked him and k...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Adman rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

couldn't do it. had to abort.

mullen's prose is artless. he lays down awkward metaphor after cliche-ridden character-by-bullet-point after poorly-paced bit of, uh, dialogue.

80 pages in and i had no idea what the main trajectory or stakes of this book were. there are a few writers who earn a pass on this sort of writing but mullen has not achieved any sort of stylistic gold idol/sandbag swap that prevents me from dropping an annihilating boulder on this mother.

instead i bounced between a few forge...more couldn't do it. had to abort.

mullen's prose is artless. he lays down awkward metaphor after cliche-ridden character-by-bullet-point after poorly-paced bit of, uh, dialogue.

80 pages in and i had no idea what the main trajectory or stakes of this book were. there are a few writers who earn a pass on this sort of writing but mullen has not achieved any sort of stylistic gold idol/sandbag swap that prevents me from dropping an annihilating boulder on this mother.

instead i bounced between a few forgettable characters (and god, i hate how every person here got such boilerplate a/s/l treatment) carrying on in flat, expository fashion about, well, sadness and pain and tragedy and a vague, unexceptional futurescape. every confrontation with tragedy felt stilted and repetitive, delivered in terms that robbed the subject matter of its dignity and weight. to paraphrase a typical moment: 'i got to see hiroshima. 100,000 people died. i mean, 100,000 people. that is a lot of people. it was hot from the bomb. just, wow. tragedy.' or a running theme: 'it rained, and i relished in it. these people had no idea they were about to lose it. i ate a burger. wow, it tasted good. these people had no idea they were about to lose it. i peed in an actual toilet. wow, golly, have i mentioned that these people are about to lose it?'

when it comes to historical atrocities i don't think the book is exploitative, perhaps respectably earnest but not skillful or well-researched enough. on that note, i get no sense from the writing that mullen has any solid information about anything he's writing about, except perhaps fancy foods eaten by real people living real life (which apparently is shorthand for abstractly-titled, world-traveling professionals who own $500k homes).

i was so prepared to like this book. i was a marinated, tenderized steak of readiness. the premise held so much promise: is it worth all the tragedy in history if we know it results in paradise? unfortunately, if the first fourth of the book is any indicator (i don't rate this as spoilery since i am offering conjecture based on about 20% completion), the very sparse information provided describes a strawman's paradise, set up in jutaxposition to a pedantic notion of Freedom (this book also has too many Capital Words). along with the way history is handled, this simplistic dichotomy ruined my excitement.

let me venture a guess: we ultimately learn the supremacy of running off at the mouth or doing whatever dumb shit you want to do, even if it costs humanity perfection.

dumb. disappointing.(less)

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Apr 03, 2012 Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Dupes of the system

Recommended to Alan by: Powell's City of Books

Apparently, time travel is easy, once you stumble across the trick. The hard part is making your past hold still, afterwards (assuming that "afterwards" continues to mean something). The past you remember from yesterday may not be the past you will have had tomorrow, especially once your opponents start using their own versions of the same trick. This book could easily have been called The Santayana Inversion—those who can remember history are condemned to enforce it—though I'll admit that The R...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Joshua rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

The fact that it took me about three weeks to slog through Thomas Mullen's sort-of time travel book should tell you how much I liked it. A few nights, battling the desire to sleep, I forced myself to pick it up only to find myself about to drift off to sleep soon after. My reading pace was slow due to the book's meandering quality and the fact it doesn't have much action as it tells the story of multiple characters as they connect and disconnect with one another in Washington DC. Lifeless. Dull....more

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Mar 01, 2012 Suburbangardener rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I love when a book plays with your head, and The Revisionists certainly did a great job of that. It's told from several characters' perspective, and the read is limited to the "truth" as it is known by the characters, who are lied to and who also lie to the other characters and themselves. Not every question is answered by the end, but that's good because the accumulation of information is a theme (another is the old "do the means justify the end" question). The Revisionists is more than just a...more

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Dec 23, 2011 Paul Lunger rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"The Revisionists" is a rather interesting time travel tale that doesn't get bogged down in details of the act of traveling itself, but asks the question - is the present worth protecting despite the issues caused in the past. Thus is the job of agent Zed who works for the TES a division of the government whose sole function is to go into the past to prevent people (hags) from preventing certain events (the bombing of Hiroshima, 9/11, etc). This current mission to the past involves stopping a re...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Hira rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Operative "Z" is living in what is known as the Perfect Present, a time in the future where everything is seemingly idyllic. He is a "Revisionist", someone who goes back in time to ensure that the events in history unfold as they should in order for the present (future) to remain as it is. He is opposed by "hags", who are rebels that have traveled back in time in order to change the future by interrupting the events that take place in the present, in order to alter the future. Believing that the...more Operative "Z" is living in what is known as the Perfect Present, a time in the future where everything is seemingly idyllic. He is a "Revisionist", someone who goes back in time to ensure that the events in history unfold as they should in order for the present (future) to remain as it is. He is opposed by "hags", who are rebels that have traveled back in time in order to change the future by interrupting the events that take place in the present, in order to alter the future. Believing that the integrity of the Perfect Present must be maintained, Zed toils hard, enduring the hardship of loneliness and isolation, in order to do his job.

Currently in the early 21st century, right before the era of Conflagration that results in extreme war and destitution. Finding himself alone, and craving human interaction, despite being instructed to leave no (or minimal) trace of their existence in the past, Operative "Z" begins interacting with Tasha, who has lost a brother to the war. Also, there is Leo, an ex-CIA operative in the present who is now in the business of accumulating information, especially on people in powerful positions, and is a spook for hire. And, there is Sari, an Indonesian domestic help who has a horrible boss but cannot escape the situation because of her lack of status and legal papers. Slowly, sometimes painfully so, the lives of these four characters intersect - intertwining with one another to create a plot both thrilling and convoluted at the same time.

"The Revisionists" is actually an excellent novel, with the author exploring the philosophies of government, politics, racism, history, and sense of personal identity. This novel goes beyond being just a good story, and the story itself becomes a metaphor representing our society - the four different characters becoming representative of the various different perspectives of the common man. What I loved about this novel was this representation and exploration of ideas. What made it a little difficult to enjoy was how convoluted the plot became at one point, and how the book takes a lot of build up before it gets really interesting. However, that being said, if one can stick with it through the first 150 pages, the book becomes immensely interesting. Also, as a forewarning, because this is a novel designed to make you think, it doesn't leave with a simple ending, and instead, is fashioned to leave you with lingering questions that will keep you thinking long after you've finished turning the pages of the book. Personally, I did not mind this at all, in fact I welcomed the thoughts and questions that this book raises. I would definitely recommend it to fans of dystopian and psychological thrillers.(less)

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Nov 08, 2011 Joanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Loved this thriller at first, but it sort of petered out towards the end. Great premise: that a post-conflageration utopian government sends people back in time to protect historical events so that the utopian future can be preserved, since historical agitators (aka "hags") also go back in time to try to disrupt them. Reminds me of The Adjustment Bureau, and was apparently similar to the plot of the Terminator movies too (?). Anyway, one of the Protectors likes to muse about God and Free Will, a...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Luanne Ollivier added it · review of another edition

When I first started to read The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen, I immediately thought of the film/novel The Adjustment Bureau . Although there are similarities in the beginning, The Revisionists takes the story much farther, questioning many things in our society, but the ultimate question is - does the means justify the end?

Operative "Z" is from the future - a time they call the Perfect Present. His job is to make sure that things progress as they should - marching towards the Great Conflagrati...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Grace rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Author: Thomas Mullen
Title: The Revisionists
Description : The books opens as we meet Z, a “revisionist” who has been sent from the “Perfect Future” to make sure that the future stays that way. His opponents are the “hags,” time-traveling rebels who attempt to change the future by preventing certain events from happening. After Z makes sure that a certain journalist will indeed be murdered, the point of view shifts to three other protagonists: Sari, a beautiful young Indonesian domestic worker wh...more Author: Thomas Mullen
Title: The Revisionists
Description : The books opens as we meet Z, a “revisionist” who has been sent from the “Perfect Future” to make sure that the future stays that way. His opponents are the “hags,” time-traveling rebels who attempt to change the future by preventing certain events from happening. After Z makes sure that a certain journalist will indeed be murdered, the point of view shifts to three other protagonists: Sari, a beautiful young Indonesian domestic worker who is trapped in her horrific employment by her lack of documentation and her inability to speak or understand English; Leo, a former CIA agent who, a bit at loose ends after his CIA gig went bad, works for some kind of intelligence-gathering company; and Tasha, a lawyer on the fringes of activism who is of interest to both Leo and Z.
Review source: Netgalley
Plot: The plot is riveting. Even though the action alternates among the four main characters, the reader is not confused about what’s going on. Mullen manages to describe the action clearly without revealing motives too soon. During a good amount of the book, the reader wonders how all four of these characters will eventually connect, but there is no doubt that will eventually happen.
Characters: The four main characters form two loose couples: Z and Tasha know one another, and Leo and Sari know one another. As the point of view moves from one to another, each character reveals enough of his or her past to become familiar and sympathetic to the reader. Z is the only character who is written in first-person, and there is no doubt that he is the primary protagonist. He also has the most backstory, though all of the characters have some history.
Writing style: This was my first book by Mullen, and I thought it was brilliant. He kept the plot spinning, drew the characters finely, and still managed to ask the big philosophical questions that make a book memorable.
Audience: While its genre is technically time-travel sci fi, this book will be of interest to readers of literary fiction as well.
Wrap-up: What is the nature of history? If people lose their past, how much of themselves do they lose with it? Is murder ever justified? Do we live in the best of all possible worlds? These questions are the kind that keep getting raised by this book; all the while we’re trying to fight off fiendish bosses, mourning lost loved ones, and trying to figure out the moral conundrums of postmodern life with the characters of The Revisionists. 4/5*
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Dec 04, 2012 Nade rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wanted to read something about time travel because I am fascinated with the paradoxes it creates. Thomas Mullen's book deals with that quite a bit- how does the present define the future, is one controlled by fate, or does one truly have free will, how would the future alternate if someone was to visit prom the future. His suppositions are highly believable. Mullen presents ideas on other moral and philosophical dilemmas. Set in present-day Washington, D.C., the book has follows multiple chara...more

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Jul 23, 2012 George Stankow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Once you get past the first fifty pages or so, the story revs up a lot better. Mullen was clearly warring with himself over how much exposition the audience could expect, and he ended up treading a poor middle ground -- this could have used either more exposition early on or less exposition generally. Too much of the present-day bad-guy effort is allowed to lurk under the surface (even all the way to the end), with schemes covering plots hiding intrigue wrapped up in cons. With all that said, ho...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Sara by: CNN

Shelves: 2012, thriller

Zed is an agent from the future who is sent back in time to keep other time travelers from extremist groups from preventing disasters. The future is perfect, and Zed's role is to ensure all disasters and tragedies occur as planned in order for this perfect future to be reached; if the extremists (the "hags") succeed in preventing tragedies, then the future will be a complete unknown and definitely not perfect. He blends in with the past (our now-present day) perfectly, thanks to the training he'...more Zed is an agent from the future who is sent back in time to keep other time travelers from extremist groups from preventing disasters. The future is perfect, and Zed's role is to ensure all disasters and tragedies occur as planned in order for this perfect future to be reached; if the extremists (the "hags") succeed in preventing tragedies, then the future will be a complete unknown and definitely not perfect. He blends in with the past (our now-present day) perfectly, thanks to the training he's had, only this time his mission feels different. He's posing as a Troy Jones - a real person who lives hours away that he's been surgically altered to slightly resemble - but regular people seem to be recognizing him as Troy. Also, the hags are doing things differently this time, tailing people and coming back in groups instead of being sent back directly before an Event they want to disrupt. Things aren't adding up, and Zed wants to find out what's really going on.

The first half of the book was interesting, albeit a little slow, and kept me wondering where the story was going, especially since the narrative bounces around between Zed, a woman named Tasha that he becomes involved with and who is being blackmailed into helping an ex-spy, the ex-spy, and the domestic help to a diplomat's family who the ex-spy is trying to help. I didn't know how all the stories would intertwine but figured they would eventually (and I was right!). Halfway through the book, it turned into something even better than interesting separate stories and was quite a riveting thriller. I couldn't wait to find out what was going on and who was telling lies because everything didn't add up and the characters knew it. That's when I really couldn't put the book down.

The author did a good job portraying characters with all sorts of political and philosophical beliefs. I also really loved the concept of the story and the question of who should determine what tragedies happen in life and whether anyone should - and even if they could - prevent them at the cost of changing the future.

For me, the book fell apart a little at the end, when the pace slowed down again and all the separate plots had their separate endings. I expected there to be a big twist - it felt like the author had laid all the groundwork for a particular twist - but instead it ended as you sort of expected, and without answering all the questions that arose throughout. I think perhaps the problem was that so much was going on and there were so many stories (and so many different types of stories!) that there just wasn't enough time or energy to address everything. So, I wish that had been different because I hate unanswered questions at the end - especially since some of these questions leave me confused about strange happenings earlier in the book that really got the plot going. Still, despite the somewhat confusing and murky ending, I did enjoy the book a lot overall and think the author did a good job bringing the story to life. (less)

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Oct 05, 2011 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: time travelers, former CIA agents, Washington, D.C lawyers

Shelves: audiobook, contemporary, science-fiction, time-travel, thriller, literary, washington-dc, spy

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book that I decided to read on a whim. A mix of time travel and modern-day politics? Okay, let's see how the author handles it. To my surprise, he handled it very well indeed. Usually anyone who decides they're going to take on 9/11, gentrification, racial issues, and historical revisionism has an axe to grind, but Mullen's axe is hard to figure out. What politics there are in the novel are not overt, which means you can sit back and enjoy the story,...more I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book that I decided to read on a whim. A mix of time travel and modern-day politics? Okay, let's see how the author handles it. To my surprise, he handled it very well indeed. Usually anyone who decides they're going to take on 9/11, gentrification, racial issues, and historical revisionism has an axe to grind, but Mullen's axe is hard to figure out. What politics there are in the novel are not overt, which means you can sit back and enjoy the story, and it's a very good story.

Basically, there is an agent "Z" from a future society whose job is to prevent a group of would-be revisionists from Z's time from changing the past and thus destroying the society of the future. Initially Z is presented to us as a good guy defending an advanced, peaceful society from possibly devastating historical changes. As the story goes on, however, we learn that Z's society isn't as wonderful as we've been led to believe -- indeed, as Z has been led to believe. Increasingly, he questions his mission and the truth behind it, and through flashbacks we learn just how dark the future really is.

Paralleling Z's story is that of a former CIA agent in our own time who, like Z, increasingly found the ideals he was supposedly working for in conflict with the work he was actually doing. There is also a young Washington, D.C. lawyer searching for the truth about her younger brother who died in Iraq, and a domestic worker trapped in Washington by her abusive employer who has diplomatic immunity.

Weaving all these different threads together would be complicated enough in a plain old thriller, but as it is a science fiction novel as well, I feared it would either be a mess or something resolved with some kind of deux ex machina. In fact, everything ties together quite well, and the overall tone of the novel does not even feel that much like a science fiction novel, more like a literary thriller. This would be a good book to hand someone who likes mysteries and thrillers but not science fiction particularly. The time travel elements are so unobtrusive you don't even find yourself worrying about the sorts of things you usually do in time travel stories like the Grandfather Paradox, etc.

There is some philosophizing by all the characters, each of whom is basically a good person who sometimes acts out of self-interest and has to weigh how much guilt and responsibility they can bear. Overall, a good and somewhat intellectual read with a fast-paced story. This one really surprised me. Recommended for a change of pace for anyone who likes science fiction, and worth trying even by those who don't.(less)

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Nov 04, 2011 Jeff Scott rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, fiction

What if you could only preserve a society with advanced technology, worldwide peace and harmony by assuring that every major catastrophe in our history happened? 9/11, assassinations, and other diabolical acts must be preserved to protect the “present perfect”. This is the premise of the book The Revisionists. Zed is from the future, sent back to protect a series of Events that lead to the Great Conflagration. A series of wars that would be horrible, but would also help ensure world peace. As Ze...more What if you could only preserve a society with advanced technology, worldwide peace and harmony by assuring that every major catastrophe in our history happened? 9/11, assassinations, and other diabolical acts must be preserved to protect the “present perfect”. This is the premise of the book The Revisionists. Zed is from the future, sent back to protect a series of Events that lead to the Great Conflagration. A series of wars that would be horrible, but would also help ensure world peace. As Zed carries out his mission, he realizes that his “present perfect” isn’t so perfect.

Overall, this book was an interesting read. I like books that play with time travel and what-ifs, and this one is different than most. Zed had a lot of technology on his hands, a database in his head, and a way to scan for “hags” historical agitators bent on changing the past to help the future. The concept is really cool, however, the problem I had is with the story’s present. Even though this book was written in 2011, it has a very stale feel to it, as if it was written, or is supposed to take place around 2004. The Iraq war and actions by the Bush Administration are to the forefront in the book’s present. By doing this, the story didn’t feel very current or real. I love science fiction for being able to take a present, compelling situation, and imagine an unstable future. If the present seems stale and dated, it doesn’t seem as compelling to me. Some of the characters seem to go off in different directions which seem to tie to the overall narrative, but I didn’t make a connection with them. I enjoyed the concept, overall, but the execution wasn’t what I was hoping for.

“You wish she weren’t important—that’s obvious. The job hurts a lot worse when you get to know the people that our bosses have already written off, doesn’t it? History’s losers. But maybe they’re all important, Zed. Ever think of that? Maybe everything’s important, everything matters. What if the Great Man theory is a myth, and everyone can be great, and there’s no way for you to tell which person might one day make history?” p. 259

“We try and we try, we work so very hard, we seek to control our own destinies. Isn’t that hilarious? We control nothing. Well, one another, maybe. We enslave one another, conquer one another—that’s the closest any of us get to God. We use the word God to make ourselves feel better about how tiny and insignificant we are.” p. 254

“Had I been wrong to tell them to release him and right to have him targeted initially? Because he was really bad all along? And I’d set free a man who would kill forty people and maim dozens more? Or had he been a good person before, until my people go their hands on him and turned him against us because of my mistakes?” p. 308

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Feb 29, 2012 Andrew Neal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Right before this, I read 11/22/63 by Stephen King, which was about a dude who went back in time to change the world for the better, and then I read this thing, which is about a dude who is sent back in time to keep people from changing the world. Wowzers.

I enjoyed the subtext way more than I enjoyed the story itself. The subtext ain't that sub. Racial issues, government issues, privacy issues, mental health issues, self-identity issues: it's all pretty obvious. I thought the ideas were interest...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Worth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Can utopia be established in a world where memories have veracity? Why do we cling to our memories when they are so effective in undermining security and happiness? Is everything bad in the world really leading civilization to the "perfect present?"

Amidst all the talking heads blabbering about the "real" intentions of Occupy Wall Street, this is a book guaranteed to unsettle for its reader the lazy political distinctions that the corporatist play by play news analysts bandy about these days.

A r...more

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Oct 23, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Revisionists is pretty good - Mullen has compelling characters in the 21st century, and a small number of time travelers from the future who are basically attempting to make sure that all of the awful things that led up to the future the travelers' know about will take place (and thwart the efforts of other activists who want to change history).

Mullen does a better job with the 21st century plots than with the time travel plot - the book morphs into a pretty good spy novel about halfway thro...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Belle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: political-fun

Wow. This randomly chosen book I got off the shelf from a $5 bookshop was a change of pace and a change of genre for me, and well worth my time. I always forget how much I enjoy a good thriller, especially with a healthy dose of politics. I'm not even normally a big follower of politics in the real world (though, seriously, go check out Julia Gillard's recent tear-down of the Australian opposition leader on YouTube. Bloody brilliant) but books like this open my eyes - and, more importantly, make...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“All the conspiracy theories are true, Zed.”

This one starts out like gangbusters. Zed is from the future. He comes from a “Perfect Society” and his job is to maintain this utopia, by returning to the past and making sure nothing disrupts his idyllic world. This is not a simple mission, due to the fact that “hags” are also being sent back from the future, to alter history, in what they think will “help” their own future. So this becomes a spy thriller and a time travel adventure with conspiracies...more

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Dec 10, 2011 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

This is an interesting time-travel story in that it is less concerned about the future, from whence the time-traveler comes, than with the present we live in. A "protector," an operative of some future government's security services, is sent back to present-day Washington DC to ensure that various calamitous events leading to a worldwide conflagration occur on schedule, thereby ensuring that the future is unaltered. You see, other forces in the future society are also sending operatives back to...more This is an interesting time-travel story in that it is less concerned about the future, from whence the time-traveler comes, than with the present we live in. A "protector," an operative of some future government's security services, is sent back to present-day Washington DC to ensure that various calamitous events leading to a worldwide conflagration occur on schedule, thereby ensuring that the future is unaltered. You see, other forces in the future society are also sending operatives back to our time, but these operatives are trying to undo key events, prevent the conflagration, and make a different future. The glimpses we get of the future society are disturbing, and it is hard to believe anyone living in it wouldn't want to see it changed, even if it meant their grandparents had never met and they no longer existed ... it sounds something like present-day North Korea. But our operative, Z, is determined to do his job and do it well ... until he begins to get involved with the contemps.

The story is told by Z and three present-day inhabitants of Washington DC. The three contemps are important if unknowing actors in the key events the future government wants to protect. As Z gets more and more involved with them, he begins to doubt the importance of what he's doing, and to understand why others from his time time want to change the past.

We never find out what happens to the future, and that's okay. The interesting action is what's happening today, with a burgeoning number of essentially uncontrolled and lawless clandestine contractor security firms operating in American society, spying on domestic citizens with impunity, all under the guise of the Patriot Act and the "war on terror." Really, the novel is about what's going on now, and its grim hints of a totalitarian future are a warning that if we don't stop these security excesses we are going to get exactly that future, because power loves nothing more than looking out for itself, and, as George Carlin would say, it doesn't give a shit about you, or me, or life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

That's not to say the science fiction angle to the story is slighted. In fact, the more you realize the pickle Z is in, the more you begin to suspect his future masters sent him back in order to be part of the events leading to the conflagration that makes their future totalitarian society possible ... he's meant to be expendable, but damn it takes him hella long to figure that out!

The Revisionists is an involving and exciting read, right up to the last few pages, where it inexplicably begins to drag ... the death of one of the contemps, Leo, goes on for several maudlin pages, and for some reason the author insists on giving us romantic closure between Z and another contemp, Tasha. Frankly, I thought the romance between Z and Tasha detracted from the story, as did Tasha's quest to find out more about her brother, killed in action in Afghanistan (his story, when Tasha finally learns it, is even more distracting and unsatisfying ... you wonder why Mullen even bothered to include it in the novel).

But these are minor quibbles. I quite enjoyed the book, and if Mullen's intent was to make readers sit up and take notice of the out-of-control growth of the domestic American security apparatus, he succeeds in a most gripping way.(less)

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Dec 26, 2011 Jonathan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, audiobook, blog-reviews

I wanted to like The Revisionists. Great premise: an agent from a dystopian future (known as the Perfect Present) is sent back in history to stop agitators from stopping events that change the course of history, such as 9-11 or the JFK assassination. In our story, the protagonist Z (pronounced as the English Zed) is sent to protect a terrible war known as The Conflagration. This sets off my first bone with the story, so I'll just get it out of the way: we're told that Z has to make sure this war...more I wanted to like The Revisionists. Great premise: an agent from a dystopian future (known as the Perfect Present) is sent back in history to stop agitators from stopping events that change the course of history, such as 9-11 or the JFK assassination. In our story, the protagonist Z (pronounced as the English Zed) is sent to protect a terrible war known as The Conflagration. This sets off my first bone with the story, so I'll just get it out of the way: we're told that Z has to make sure this war happens within a deadline, giving the story the urgency that a thriller needs. I mentally counted down the days as Z stayed in our present, waiting for the Conflagration to begin, or to at least start building...
And got nothing. It seems as if halfway through the book, Mullen decided that Z was really there to ensure a series of events that would sort of touch off the Conflagration. I won't spoil it, but the steps that lead to the war in this book are flimsy. If I wanted to prevent the war, there would seem to be a dozen more likely targets in that distant somewhere future in which he set the war. This drains the story of its urgency right before the important third act. I think this decision doomed the story to a fizzle of an ending. I don't know why he decided to do this, but it's disappointing.

Pacing is this story's greatest enemy, but other problems creep in, as well.

Some reviews said that the characters are indistinguishable at the front of the book. I don't agree. They all seem to have their reasons for doing what they do, along with emotional landscapes. The problem is that almost all are entirely unlikable, such as the moronic former CIA agent Leo, who stumbles his way through the story doing selfish, stupid things and never learns from his - or others' - suffering. I didn't buy Z's "redemption" either, but I think that's partially because of another problem with the story: too many POV characters. We jump between the heads of four characters, some of which are only tenuously connected. I found myself frustrated as I settled into one POV only to be ripped into another, possibly in a different part of the story, making us catch up with events from which he cut away. In the case of Z, we never see the actual events that lead to his redemption, just a few hints when we're in his POV.

Again, the plot had potential, but it seemed like he had trouble deciding which elements should rule: political thriller or romance? Combining the two is very tricky, but it can work. Unfortunately, it doesn't work here. The romantic elements drag away the urgency as soon as they hit, and in the end the thriller elements feel sacrificed to those parts. The ending itself provides a big hint of what knocked the plot down a few pegs, as it focuses on the character at the center of the romance subplot...or plot. It's never clear which is which.

But it's not all bad. Good premise, at least one intriguing character, another character who has a complete arc and grows, and some interesting sci-fi elements. It desperately needed a rewrite. If you like dystopian fantasy it's worth checking out, but with the caveat of all of the issues mentioned above.(less)

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Mar 19, 2012 Ron Arden rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book took a long time to read, partly because parts of it were ponderous and partly because some of the character stories didn't hold my interest.

The premise of the story is there are people from the future, Protectors, who return to the 21st century to ensure that certain events happen. These events have already happened, but there are people from the future, called Historical Activists (hags), who want to change them. The hags want to prevent events that caused horrible suffrage and deat...more This book took a long time to read, partly because parts of it were ponderous and partly because some of the character stories didn't hold my interest.

The premise of the story is there are people from the future, Protectors, who return to the 21st century to ensure that certain events happen. These events have already happened, but there are people from the future, called Historical Activists (hags), who want to change them. The hags want to prevent events that caused horrible suffrage and death. The Protectors know these events were horrible, but they lead to a future that is practically perfect.

This is a question that has been asked throughout history. Would you prevent the birth of Genghis Khan, Hitler or Pol Pot, if you could? Doing so might prevent horrible death and tragedy, but who knows what this person's life and actions might have done that is positive.

Zed, one the of Protectors, impersonates real people as he does his job, so as not to arouse suspicion. These are people who recently died or went missing, but have yet to be reported. He is supposed to track various people and either prevent or ensure their deaths. He kills hags as he finds them to ensure he is successful.

Zed gets involved with a woman attorney, because he needs companionship in this lonely existence. His wife and daughter were killed in a car crash and now he is all alone. The woman also gets mixed up with an ex-CIA agent who wants information on one of her acquaintances. The ex-CIA agent gets involved with a woman from Jakarta who is working as a nanny and housekeeper for a Korean diplomat. It's not as confusing as it sounds.

As all these people interact, a common thread emerges. Do you believe the government is honest in its dealings with everyone or do the ends justify the means? Is the agency that Zed works for being truthful about his Perfect Present or is the government just trying to stay in power by eliminating all obstacles? Was the ex-CIA agent railroaded into leaving the agency? Is the attorney's attempt at righting wrongs worth her going to jail and putting her life in jeopardy?

The power struggles inside and outside of the government are at the center of this story. One line in particular stood out to me as a warning to us all. Zed comments that in the US of the 21st century, many of the functions reserved for the military are being outsourced to private contractors. This includes logistics, supplying weapons, supplying protective clothing, training and all kinds of equipment. These contractors essentially have limited or no oversight - think Blackwater. Many of them are run by ex-military and intelligence agency personnel. Even though the story is fiction, a lot of it rings true today. (less)

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Feb 07, 2012 Laura Stone Johnson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, thriller

The idea of time travel seems to be endlessly intriguing. From Einstein to Madeline l’Engle to Audrey Niffenegger to Ursula Le Guin to The Terminator, writers have played with the idea of alternate time paths, changed histories, forced futures, and the consequences of playing God.

In The Revisionists, Thomas Mullen gives us Zed who’s come back to post 9/11 Washington, D.C. from a future he believes to be perfect. In order to protect that perfectness, Zed’s job is to make sure that history unfolds...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, thriller, sci-fi

Wow, it took me a long time to get through this! In fairness, I’ve been working a lot and it is a bit longer than the average book. Still, though, for a thriller I expected it to be a lot faster paced. Some parts are but there are definitely parts that drag. At some point it felt more ideological than thrilling.

I liked the setup – man from the future is in charge of going back to historical events and maintaining their integrity. It’s all about ensuring “the Perfect Present.” Conversely, there a...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book twice- and I still can't figure out just who the main character really is. You think you know who he is, until nearly the end, and then a big curveball comes along. I found myself going through an internal debate- either he's really Zed from the future borrowing Troy Jones' identity, or he's really Troy Jones, from Philadelphia, who think that he's Zed from the future.

The premise of the story is that the main character, Zed, has been tasked with making sure the future really hap...more

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About Thomas Mullen

Thomas Mullen is the author of "The Last Town on Earth," which was named Best Debut Novel of 2006 by USA Today and was awarded the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for excellence in historical fiction, and "The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers." His books have been named Best of the Year by such publications as The Chicago Tribune, USA Today, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Onion, and Amazon.c...more

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“Because here was what none of them wanted to admit, Leo thought, the thing they were simply too blind or angry or spoiled to realize: this life was the best it could possibly be.” — 1 person liked it

“Maybe you could drive yourself crazy trying to chart backward all the causes and effects, all the ends and means, tracing everything to some original sin that may or may not have actually occurred but that people accepted as true, or true enough. Maybe staring into the eyes of all that history was a dangerous thing to do, as her mother had calmly warned her. Maybe you were supposed to move forward armed with just enough history to help you figure out the present without obsessing over the past. But how much was enough? Where was the gray area between ignorance and obsession?” — 1 person liked it

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