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Julian Comstock #0.5
Julian: A Christmas Story
Julian is told from the perspective of teenager Adam Hazzard, who lives in the rural town of Williams Ford, in the state of Athabaska (today a region in Canada, but in the story, a part of the greater United States) in 2172, at a time when technology has regressed to 19th century levels. The story deals with his relationship with his friend Julian Comstock (later in life called Julian Conqueror or Julian the Agnostic), an aristocratic boy of his age with radical beliefs about God, science, and evolution, notably his beliefs in DNA and the Moon Landings, in defiance of the omnipresent and theocratic Church of the Dominion of Jesus Christ on Earth, which came about as a result of the end of oil in the 21st century, a time which was later interpreted as a Biblical Tribulation.
86 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2006
1 person is currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
Robert Charles Wilson
95 books1,686 followersI've been writing science fiction professionally since my first novel A Hidden Place was published in 1986. My books include Darwinia, Blind Lake, and the Hugo Award-winning Spin. My newest novel is The Affinities (April 2015).
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 17, 2022
Q:
... if he had a gospel, it was BE PREPARED; also, SHOOT FIRST; and probably, DAMN THE CONSEQUENCES. (c)
Q:
a household amanuensis (c)
Q:
I thought of the ideas I had so casually imbibed from Julian and (indirectly) from Sam, some of which I had even begun to believe: Einsteinism, Darwinism, space travel . . . had I been seduced by the outrunners of some New Yorkish paganism? Had I been duped by Philosophy?
...
Had I been a party to treason as well as atheism? (c)
Q:
"I'm sorry if you think I'm joking, for there are at least a dozen snakes advancing from the shadows, and one of them[10] is about to achieve intimacy with your right boot." (c)
Q:
My mind was a confusion of ideas and anxieties, but I found myself recalling what Julian had said, long ago it now seemed, about DNA, and how it aspired to perfect replication but progressed by remembering itself imperfectly. It might be true, I thought, because our lives were like that—time itself was like that, every moment dying and pregnant with its own distorted reflection.
...
But that was all Philosophy, and not much use, and I kept quiet about it as we spurred our horses in the direction of the railroad, toward the rude and squalling infant Future. (c)
... if he had a gospel, it was BE PREPARED; also, SHOOT FIRST; and probably, DAMN THE CONSEQUENCES. (c)
Q:
a household amanuensis (c)
Q:
I thought of the ideas I had so casually imbibed from Julian and (indirectly) from Sam, some of which I had even begun to believe: Einsteinism, Darwinism, space travel . . . had I been seduced by the outrunners of some New Yorkish paganism? Had I been duped by Philosophy?
...
Had I been a party to treason as well as atheism? (c)
Q:
"I'm sorry if you think I'm joking, for there are at least a dozen snakes advancing from the shadows, and one of them[10] is about to achieve intimacy with your right boot." (c)
Q:
My mind was a confusion of ideas and anxieties, but I found myself recalling what Julian had said, long ago it now seemed, about DNA, and how it aspired to perfect replication but progressed by remembering itself imperfectly. It might be true, I thought, because our lives were like that—time itself was like that, every moment dying and pregnant with its own distorted reflection.
...
But that was all Philosophy, and not much use, and I kept quiet about it as we spurred our horses in the direction of the railroad, toward the rude and squalling infant Future. (c)
December 29, 2017
Adam Hazzard is Julian Comstock's closest friend. Who is Julian Comstock? An aristocrat; a feminine young man with a love for reading and a dislike for killing; a boy who would later be known as Julian the Agnostic, and Julian Conqueror. "Julian: A Christmas Story" is, despite its title, much more about Adam and his gradual understanding that the person he was yesterday will not be the person he is tomorrow.
Robert Charles Wilson's novella is a post-apocalyptic pastoral, taking place in a small town as a politically motivated conscription threatens to take both Adam and Julian to some faraway European battlefront. The story feels as if it were set during the Civil War era, and the portentous, often ostentatiously formal (and even footnoted) writing style does give it a distinctly antique air. It's a pleasant enough affair, reminiscent of classics such as A Canticle for Leibowitz and Davy. A quiet and thoughtful tale that reads as if it were a story told by an older, wiser version of Adam, as he recounts the impact a mover of history like Julian had on his simpler, more innocent younger self.
Read this story for free! Right here:
http://www.kith.org/RCW/Julian_Christ...
The novella is a prequel to the celebrated Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America.
Robert Charles Wilson's novella is a post-apocalyptic pastoral, taking place in a small town as a politically motivated conscription threatens to take both Adam and Julian to some faraway European battlefront. The story feels as if it were set during the Civil War era, and the portentous, often ostentatiously formal (and even footnoted) writing style does give it a distinctly antique air. It's a pleasant enough affair, reminiscent of classics such as A Canticle for Leibowitz and Davy. A quiet and thoughtful tale that reads as if it were a story told by an older, wiser version of Adam, as he recounts the impact a mover of history like Julian had on his simpler, more innocent younger self.
Read this story for free! Right here:
http://www.kith.org/RCW/Julian_Christ...
The novella is a prequel to the celebrated Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America.
December 12, 2018
Este prima carte pe care o citesc, scrisa de acest autor si pot spune ca m-a captivat încă din primele pagini. Nu stiu sa fi citit vreodata vreo distopie care sa ma intrige atât de mult. Povestea, este un fel de prolog in ceea ce urmează a fi un roman de sine stătător, dar care bineinteles la noi nu este tradus. Probabil că îl voi citi in engleza,pt ca acum curiozitatea este mare. Acțiunea se petrece în preajma Crăciunului, intr o lume altfel de cum o stim noi acum. A dispărut petrolul si odata cu el omenirea a căpătat o altă înfățișare. Julian si Adam sunt doi tineri, care deși diametral opusi(unul aristo si celălat provenind din clasa de jos) împart aceleași hobbyuri. Le plac cărțile si le place sa dezbată lucrurile petrecute cu mult înainte ca ei sa se nasca. Povestea se termina chiar atunci când cei doi, împreună cu profesorul lor, scapă de recrutare si pornesc la drum intr o nouă aventură... aventura pe care o putem descoperi in continuarea acestei povești, cartea de sine stătătoare julian century 22.
May 24, 2016
Ci sono ottimi spunti in questo libro, che, lavorandoci molto sopra, sarebbe potuto diventare un classico del postcatastrofismo.Julian, e il suo cantore Adam, sono personaggi interessanti, e l'eresia di Julian, che è costituita dalla fede nella scienza, permette spunti interessanti.Il problema è che il libro è una enorme delusione, abbozzato, mal scritto, confuso e decisamente mal tradotto. Peccato.
March 14, 2022
Aceasta este o poveste despre Julian Comstock, cunoscut mai bine drept Julian Agnosticul sau (după unchiul său) drept Julian Cuceritorul. Dar nu este vorba despre cuceririle lui, aşa cum au fost, sau despre trădările lui, sau despre războiul din Labrador, sau despre disputele cu Biserica Dominionului. Am fost martor la multe dintre aceste evenimente – şi, până la urmă, voi scrie fără îndoială despre ele – dar această istorisire se referă la Julian când era tânăr, şi eu eram tânăr, şi niciunul dintre noi nu era celebru.
La sfârşitul lunii octombrie a anului 2172 – un an electoral – eu şi Julian am mers călare, împreună cu Sam Godwin, mentorul lui, către Margine, la est de localitatea Williams Ford, unde eu am intrat în posesia unei cărţi, iar el m-a iniţiat într-una dintre ereziile lui.
Era o zi înviorătoare, însorită. În vremurile acelea, în Athabaska exista o anumită promptitudine fermă a anotimpurilor. Verile noastre erau lungi, molatice şi fierbinţi. Primăvara şi toamna treceau repede, având un simplu rol de protecţie între extremele vremii. Iernile erau scurte, dar aspre. Zăpada cădea către sfârşitul lunii decembrie, şi râul Pine se dezgheţa, de obicei, la sfârşit de martie.
Ziua aceea ar fi putut fi cea mai bună pe care avea să ne-o ofere toamna. Era o zi pe care trebuia să o petrecem sub îndrumarea lui Sam Godwin, poate antrenându-ne la box sau trăgând la ţintă, sau citind capitole din istoria Uniunii în Viziunea Dominionului. Dar Sam nu era un supraveghetor fără inimă, şi blândeţea vremii îi sugerase posibilitatea unei excursii, aşa că ne-am dus la grajduri, unde lucra tata, ne-am luat cai şi am ieşit călare în afara Domeniului, având în saci, drept prânz, pâine neagră şi şuncă sărată.
Am călărit către est, îndepărtându-ne de dealuri şi de oraş. Eu şi Julian mergeam înainte; Sam călărea în urma noastră, o prezenţă vigilentă, cu puşca Pittsburgh gata de tragere alături de el, în coburul şeii. Nu ne aflam în nici un pericol imediat, dar Sam Godwin credea în pregătirea perpetuă; dacă ar fi avut un principiu, aceasta ar fi fost Fii Pregătit; precum şi Trage Primul; şi, probabil, La naiba cu consecinţele. Sam, care era bătrân (de aproape cincizeci de ani), avea o barbă castanie deasă, punctată cu fire sârmoase de păr alb, şi purta componentele încă prezentabile ale uniformei sale cafeniu cu verde, de soldat al Armatei Californiene, şi o mantie care să-l apere de vânt. Era ca un părinte pentru Julian, al cărui tată adevărat dansase în laţul spânzurătorii cu câţiva ani mai înainte. În ultima vreme, devenise mai vigilent ca niciodată, din motive pe care nu le discuta, cel puţin nu cu mine.
La sfârşitul lunii octombrie a anului 2172 – un an electoral – eu şi Julian am mers călare, împreună cu Sam Godwin, mentorul lui, către Margine, la est de localitatea Williams Ford, unde eu am intrat în posesia unei cărţi, iar el m-a iniţiat într-una dintre ereziile lui.
Era o zi înviorătoare, însorită. În vremurile acelea, în Athabaska exista o anumită promptitudine fermă a anotimpurilor. Verile noastre erau lungi, molatice şi fierbinţi. Primăvara şi toamna treceau repede, având un simplu rol de protecţie între extremele vremii. Iernile erau scurte, dar aspre. Zăpada cădea către sfârşitul lunii decembrie, şi râul Pine se dezgheţa, de obicei, la sfârşit de martie.
Ziua aceea ar fi putut fi cea mai bună pe care avea să ne-o ofere toamna. Era o zi pe care trebuia să o petrecem sub îndrumarea lui Sam Godwin, poate antrenându-ne la box sau trăgând la ţintă, sau citind capitole din istoria Uniunii în Viziunea Dominionului. Dar Sam nu era un supraveghetor fără inimă, şi blândeţea vremii îi sugerase posibilitatea unei excursii, aşa că ne-am dus la grajduri, unde lucra tata, ne-am luat cai şi am ieşit călare în afara Domeniului, având în saci, drept prânz, pâine neagră şi şuncă sărată.
Am călărit către est, îndepărtându-ne de dealuri şi de oraş. Eu şi Julian mergeam înainte; Sam călărea în urma noastră, o prezenţă vigilentă, cu puşca Pittsburgh gata de tragere alături de el, în coburul şeii. Nu ne aflam în nici un pericol imediat, dar Sam Godwin credea în pregătirea perpetuă; dacă ar fi avut un principiu, aceasta ar fi fost Fii Pregătit; precum şi Trage Primul; şi, probabil, La naiba cu consecinţele. Sam, care era bătrân (de aproape cincizeci de ani), avea o barbă castanie deasă, punctată cu fire sârmoase de păr alb, şi purta componentele încă prezentabile ale uniformei sale cafeniu cu verde, de soldat al Armatei Californiene, şi o mantie care să-l apere de vânt. Era ca un părinte pentru Julian, al cărui tată adevărat dansase în laţul spânzurătorii cu câţiva ani mai înainte. În ultima vreme, devenise mai vigilent ca niciodată, din motive pe care nu le discuta, cel puţin nu cu mine.
December 3, 2023
Secolul XX si inceputul de secol XXI au reprezentat “o perioada de prosperitate imensa, fara suport real, dedicata cultului placerii, datorata arderii rezervelor efemere de petrol ale Pamantului si care a culminat cu Falsa Napastuire, cu razboaie, cu molime si cu dureroasa reducere a populatiei exagerat de numeroase la un numar mai rezonabil.”
In anul 2172, in orasul Williams Ford existau trei clase sociale: aristo, care erau proprietarii, clasa concesionarilor alcatuita din diversi meseriasi care isi plateau darile prin prestarea serviciilor pe care erau specializati, si clasa cea mai de jos alcatuita din lucratorii angajati cu contract care primeau mancare in schimbul muncii lor. Julian Comstock era aristo iar Adam facea parte din cea de a treia clasa sociala. Baietii aveau 17 ani si s-au imprietenit datorita cartilor si dorintei de a invata.
Vremurile erau in punctul de a izbucni razboiul cu olandezii pentru recucerirea Labradorului si Julian, a carui tata a fost tradat si ucis de catre fratele sau, incearca sa scape de recrutare convins fiind ca acest razboi e pus la cale de unchiul sau pentru a scapa de el intr-un mod onorabil. Toate aceste aventuri se intamplau la Craciun si reprezinta povestea inceputului transformarii baietilor in barbati.
Cartea se continua cu “Julian Comstock: a story of 22nd century America”, roman care nu este inca tradus in romana, dar pe care abia astept sa-l citesc pentru ca povestea de fata promite o continuare distopica de calitate.
In anul 2172, in orasul Williams Ford existau trei clase sociale: aristo, care erau proprietarii, clasa concesionarilor alcatuita din diversi meseriasi care isi plateau darile prin prestarea serviciilor pe care erau specializati, si clasa cea mai de jos alcatuita din lucratorii angajati cu contract care primeau mancare in schimbul muncii lor. Julian Comstock era aristo iar Adam facea parte din cea de a treia clasa sociala. Baietii aveau 17 ani si s-au imprietenit datorita cartilor si dorintei de a invata.
Vremurile erau in punctul de a izbucni razboiul cu olandezii pentru recucerirea Labradorului si Julian, a carui tata a fost tradat si ucis de catre fratele sau, incearca sa scape de recrutare convins fiind ca acest razboi e pus la cale de unchiul sau pentru a scapa de el intr-un mod onorabil. Toate aceste aventuri se intamplau la Craciun si reprezinta povestea inceputului transformarii baietilor in barbati.
Cartea se continua cu “Julian Comstock: a story of 22nd century America”, roman care nu este inca tradus in romana, dar pe care abia astept sa-l citesc pentru ca povestea de fata promite o continuare distopica de calitate.
November 17, 2019
Deși nu e o poveste science-fiction hard, spre deosebire de Turbion, felul în care este scrisă te face să o citești cu plăcere. După cum spune și titlul, lectura ei într-o toamnă târzie, iarna sau chiar în ziua de Crăciun amplifică efectul. E chiar genul acela de narațiune potrivită pentru un public larg. Fără prea multe chestii tehnice, fără prea multă violență. Un post apocaliptic care cred că ar fi meritat să fie roman. Chiar mi-ar fi plăcut să descopăr mai multe detalii despre lumea nouă din Julian: A...
Consider că este o poveste reușită, care merită recomandată tuturor celor care sunt la început de drum în ale SF-ului post apocaliptic. În special adolescenților.
Consider că este o poveste reușită, care merită recomandată tuturor celor care sunt la început de drum în ale SF-ului post apocaliptic. În special adolescenților.
November 10, 2017
An interesting story concept, just a little overburdened with symbolism and attempts to marry the individual story metanarrative, the wider Julian Cornstock narrative, and the worldbuilding associated with Julian Cornstock. This verbosity extended the story to much longer than it needed to be.
January 18, 2010
A novella published in one of those impossible numbered hardcovers with a tiny print run. But luckily, the text is also available right here, and I recommend it.
RCW is one of my favorite science fiction authors, full stop. (Well, for his work starting around 2003 – things before that are a bit iffy). This is the story of two seventeen-year-old boys and the draft of Christmas 2172. It turns out I have a narrative kink for science fiction that plausibly turns the future into a social mirror of our past. I bet I can thank Lois McMaster Bujold and Neal Stephenson for that. Wilson's tense, fundamentalist, warring America is a fractured reflection of the nineteenth century, but this is also a highly personal story of two young people on the brink of new lives. And it's Wilson, so the writing soars, more than once.
This is a prequel to a novel, which I have just now procured. Yes, please.
RCW is one of my favorite science fiction authors, full stop. (Well, for his work starting around 2003 – things before that are a bit iffy). This is the story of two seventeen-year-old boys and the draft of Christmas 2172. It turns out I have a narrative kink for science fiction that plausibly turns the future into a social mirror of our past. I bet I can thank Lois McMaster Bujold and Neal Stephenson for that. Wilson's tense, fundamentalist, warring America is a fractured reflection of the nineteenth century, but this is also a highly personal story of two young people on the brink of new lives. And it's Wilson, so the writing soars, more than once.
This is a prequel to a novel, which I have just now procured. Yes, please.
December 25, 2018
Story 24 in my 24 Days of Shorts!
This was very good, and longer than most of the short stories I've read - it's more of a novella than a short story, really. But for all it's depth and richness of description, it did not feel complete, but instead more like a prologue for a longer book.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.kith.org/RCW/Julian_Chris...
My 24 Days of Shorts
1. Yiwu by Lavie Tidhar
2. The Night Cyclist by Stephen Graham Jones
3. AI and the Trolley Problem by Pat Cadigan
4. Sleeper by Jo Walton
5. She Commands Me and I Obey by Ann Leckie
6. Your Orisons May Be Recorded by Laurie Penny
7. This World is Full of Monsters by Jeff VanderMeer
8. The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal
9. Triquetra by Kirstyn McDermott
10. A Human Stain by Kelly Robson
11. Our King and His Court by Rich Larson
12. Errata by Jeff VanderMeer
13. Night's Slow Poison by Ann Leckie
14. A Kiss With Teeth by Max Gladstone
15. God Product by Alyssa Wong
16. Our Faces, Radiant Sisters, Our Faces Full of Light! by Kameron Hurley
17. The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo by Zen Cho
18. The Devil in America by Kai Ashante Wilson
19. Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light by Sarah McCarry
20. The Too-Clever Fox by Leigh Bardugo - not available
20. The Future of Work: Compulsory by Martha Wells
21. Daughter of Necessity by Marie Brennan
22. Red as Blood and White as Bone by Theodora Goss
23. 'Tis the Season by China Miéville
24. Julian: A Christmas Story by Robert Charles Wilson
"This blackberry, for example. Has it always looked like this? ... Once it was a tiny green bud of a thing, and before that it was part of the substance of the bramble, which before that was a seed inside a blackberry—”
“And round and round for all eternity.”
“But no, Adam, that’s the point. The bramble, and that tree over there, and the gourds in the field, and the crow circling over them—they’re all descended from ancestors that didn’t quite resemble them. A blackberry or a crow is a form, and forms change over time, the way clouds change shape as they travel across the sky.”
“Forms of what?”
“Of DNA,” Julian said earnestly. (The BIOLOGY he had picked out of the Tip was not the first BIOLOGY he had read.)
“Julian,” Sam warned, “I once promised this boy’s parents you wouldn’t corrupt him.”
I said, “I’ve heard of DNA. It’s the life force of the secular ancients. And it’s a myth.”
“Like men walking on the moon?”
"Exactly."
This was very good, and longer than most of the short stories I've read - it's more of a novella than a short story, really. But for all it's depth and richness of description, it did not feel complete, but instead more like a prologue for a longer book.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.kith.org/RCW/Julian_Chris...
My 24 Days of Shorts
1. Yiwu by Lavie Tidhar
2. The Night Cyclist by Stephen Graham Jones
3. AI and the Trolley Problem by Pat Cadigan
4. Sleeper by Jo Walton
5. She Commands Me and I Obey by Ann Leckie
6. Your Orisons May Be Recorded by Laurie Penny
7. This World is Full of Monsters by Jeff VanderMeer
8. The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal
9. Triquetra by Kirstyn McDermott
10. A Human Stain by Kelly Robson
11. Our King and His Court by Rich Larson
12. Errata by Jeff VanderMeer
13. Night's Slow Poison by Ann Leckie
14. A Kiss With Teeth by Max Gladstone
15. God Product by Alyssa Wong
16. Our Faces, Radiant Sisters, Our Faces Full of Light! by Kameron Hurley
17. The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo by Zen Cho
18. The Devil in America by Kai Ashante Wilson
19. Blue is a Darkness Weakened by Light by Sarah McCarry
20. The Future of Work: Compulsory by Martha Wells
21. Daughter of Necessity by Marie Brennan
22. Red as Blood and White as Bone by Theodora Goss
23. 'Tis the Season by China Miéville
24. Julian: A Christmas Story by Robert Charles Wilson
August 1, 2025
Post-apocalittico. Artificioso. Freddo.
December 9, 2007
I don't own this signed hard cover edition, but I couldn't find any other listings. This was one of the stories in the year's best sci fi short stories. I'm reading one short story in between each novel I read. This one was good. I may be tempted to pick up a novel by this writer if there is one that takes place in this same world. It would be interesting I think.
June 22, 2008
good but not one of his best
December 26, 2014
Short and bittersweet post-apocalyptic Christmas story. I liked how the 19th-century-style prose mirrored a return to that form of society.
May 28, 2016
I read this short book because it serves as a prequel for the longer one "Julian Comstock" which my local library has on hold for me. I like the premise.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews