The Revisionaries

by A.R. Moxon

"A modern-day classic."—Ron Charles, Washington Post “A spectacular invention.”—The New York Times "Compulsively readable."—NPR  Things do not bode well for Father Julius. . . A street preacher decked out in denim robes and running shoes, Julius is a source of inspiration for a community that knows nothing of his scandalous origins. But when a nearby mental hospital releases its patients to run amok in his neighborhood, his trusted if bedraggled flock turns expectantly to Julius to find out what’s going on. Amid the descending chaos, Julius encounters a hospital escapee who babbles prophecies of doom, and the growing palpable sense of impending danger intensifies . . . as does the feeling that everyone may be relying on a street preacher just a little too much. Still, Julius decides he must confront the forces that threaten his congregation—including the peculiar followers of a religious cult, the mysterious men and women dressed all in red seen fleetingly amid the bedlam, and an enigmatic smoking figure who seems to know what’s going to happen just before it does. The Revisionaries is a wildly imaginative, masterfully rendered, and suspenseful tale that conjures the bold outlandish stylishness of Thomas Pynchon, Margaret Atwood, and Alan Moore—while being unlike anything that’s come before.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Novels, Literature, Magical Realism

610 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 3, 2019

About the author

Husband. Father. Uncle. Second-cousin. Mango-enjoyer. Runner of many 10Ks. Rhythm-enjoyer but not rhythm-haver. Tall, but not tall-tall. Only somewhat clumsy.

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Reviews

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5, rounded up.

Update 1/10/20: In retrospect, I think my original review below reads somewhat too harshly (although I was THRILLED the author himself 'liked' it!!), and may unfortunately dissuade people from reading this remarkable book, so wanted to add that after finishing and returning my library copy, I went ahead and ordered my own - since I know I will re-read it one day (and I'll wanna make notes next time!)

Original review (slightly revised):

The book has been (favorably) compared to everyone from Vonnegut to Pynchon to Atwood to VanderMeer to David Foster Wallace (footnotes rule!), but the obvious precursor is Tom Robbins (who gets a nifty hidden shoutout to his debut novel on p. 207) ... and whatever happened to him, BTW? Never fear, Moxon has arrived to fill a void you never even knew existed.

There is so much right about this very, VERY unusual book, that it seems somewhat churlish to only award it 4 stars [NB: revised in retrospection to a full 5 stars!] - but there are also large chunks of it that feel like one is wading through pools of molasses, and despairing of ever getting out. In some ways this was inevitable, as the book is SO ambitious and tries to cram virtually everything under the sun into its long 600 pages, that there were bound to be some longueurs ... trudging through a dozen (albeit necessary) pages 'explaining' quantum physics being just one example.

And while much of it is dazzling, sometimes there are leaps that don't QUITE work and often are abandoned almost as soon as they are proffered - e.g., at one point you learn that everything you have been reading up to that point is actually a bastardized version of a long running graphic novel in which all the characters are CATS - one page of which is charmingly rendered for the reader's delectation and amusement on p. 415. But then that conceit is largely disgarded, except for the occasional mention of a character being a 'cool cat' - but then again, that ties into the central concept of the entire book, which is that everything is constantly being 'revised' by some unseen force (the author/s? God?). If a novel in which a major character suddenly becomes a dozen pair of leather sandals sounds off-putting, then this is definitely NOT the book for you. Or if you have no interest in a sci-fi/fantasy/adventure/horror/comic riff on the Book of Jonah - then steer clear.

It is NOT an easy read by any measure - there are over a dozen semi-major characters, who often change both name and identity several times over the course of the work, seemingly willy-nilly, with several plot threads happening in different locales and time frames ... the book utilizes a half dozen different fonts to try to delineate between these, but it would take an Einstein to keep them all straight (hint - don't even attempt the audio version - a print copy would seem to be an absolute necessity! And reading it will count as exercise, while you carry around the hefty tome!) :-)

If it seems I am damning with faint praise, or trying to ward off potential readers, let me say that it is a unique reading experience that is often enthralling and head-spinning - but it may perhaps enrage and ultimately defeat as many people as it enchants - you know who you are. Call it the Infinite Jest for the 2020s. Up for the challenge?

Finally, the author has provided a fascinating history of the book's lineage that is definitely worth reading, should you be vacillating still on whether you want to dive in - or, as I did, to elucidate the process once one's finished: https://tinyletter.com/ARMoxon/letter....

PS... just because he is the BEST, also read my buddy Ron Charles' cogent and hilarious review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

PPS ... how could I resist a book whose main character is named 'Gordy'? (i.e., my last name!)

PPPS: this gets my nomination for coolest cover of 2020 also! (but then, I AM a Cat Daddy!)

PPPPS: Moxon has been publishing some of the most brilliant, cogent and OUTRAGED polemics against a certain deranged world leader on his Facebook page for the past few months and that alone is enough for me to champion him... and for you to offer him a few shekels...

[Ron Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spent 24 hours clawing through the tangled thicket of A.R. Moxon’s gargantuan debut novel, “The Revisionaries.” Throughout that lonely ordeal, I was baffled, dazzled, angered and awed. In between bouts of hating it, I adored it. “The Revisionaries” is a self-indulgent muddle; it’s a modern-day classic.

Can reading a novel trigger a nervous breakdown? Asking for a friend.

I realize this is a fraught enterprise. Picking up any new book is an act of faith; committing to a long, difficult one written by someone you’ve never heard of feels dangerously promiscuous. A brief note below Moxon’s headshot on the jacket flap says only that the author lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., which is neither here nor there, and that he runs a popular Twitter handle, which is such a humiliating distinction that I shall not mention it. In any case, Moxon’s omnivorous mind and acrobatic style shouldn’t be restricted to 280 characters — or even 280 pages. This brilliant writer needs all the. . . .

To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...

[Kristian Svane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the best work of literary fiction to come out of the 2010s. And very last minute at that.

If you claim to have outgrown your fascination with the word ”quantum” but still secretly wonder (not that you'd ever ADMIT to it) if an explanation for all things unexplained can somehow be found in that word, or, even better, in the very insufficiency of its powers – or if you... oh! This is good: If you feel like even the MOST unlikely and wild explanations for it all (life, death, the universe, fate, faith, everything and nothing) still somehow seem to bring you closer to a sense or an outline of the truth, then... this book is right up your alley.

It is a labyrinthine novel of stupefying reach, a knotty problem ever unfurling. Yet: immensely readable and original. Incredibly funny! While... mein Gott... so many layers... DIMENSIONS?! Oo! Yikes. Russian doll kind of thing. Metaphysical. Danielewski. Gravity's Pynch. Lynch? A triumph of the human imagination, above all. All the while revealing the truths about humanity most comfortably ignored - yes, a painfully relevant read, 'cuz guess what: the vilest villain out there is this world we have created, precisely because it allows villains to rise to power.

Bravo Mr. Moxon, and thank you!

"Unraveling of timeless truths
Retracing other writers' roots
The red rope binds in fast embrace
Some knots don't untie
Some knots do not untie."
- Nicole Atkins

[juanito moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading versions of this book since it was only a quarter written, and it has consistently been one of my favorite things to read. I am not a sophisticated reader -- some world class literature flies right over my head -- but I'm literate, and believe I have discriminating taste. I'm more interested in language and character and world than layered plots and complex relationships. But this book has ALL OF THESE! I failed to even understand many of the underlying themes until discussing the book with other readers.

I recommend this book without reservation. But that's not actually true. First I ask people if they read fiction. Then I try to ascertain if they prefer quick shallow reads or deeper material. Then I'll talk about how much I enjoyed this book, try to give a quick synopsis of the first section "...well, see, there's a priest who doesn't believe in God but wants to, and there's a man who is sometimes invisible who claims he talks to God..." and then follow that up with the giant caveat that there is no synopsis that can really do this book justice.

If I haven't lost my audience at this point, I'll mention:

"This book has the line '...concertina of imprecision'."

"There's a character who muses about a rhyme scheme like ABBCBAACBCABDDDDDCDDDDA [that's actually it, I looked it up] and then later there's an epic poem about canned sardines featuring that rhyme scheme."

"I've never heard the dimensions of space/time explained as clearly as it was explained by a man in a powder blue suit in a donut shop."

Then maybe I'll lean on AR Moxon's most widely read work:

"Heard of Julius Goat? He had a viral thread after the Charlottesville Unite The Right rally? Questlove and Hillary Clinton retweeted it?"

If you're interested in a massively rewarding book with outrageously broad themes and gorgeous writing, complex multilayered plots that reward astute reading without being necessary to the enjoyment of the book, and deeply compassionate writing depicting tragedy without ever being cruel, check this one out!

[Jason Pettus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently made the decision to start accepting advance review copies (or ARCs) of soon-to-be-published novels again, for the first time in three years; and then almost immediately I started regretting the decision, in that the first four ARCs in a row I read were fucking crap, the exact kind of dismal middlebrow bullshit aggressively promoted by shrill freelance publicists that made me quit accepting ARCs three years ago in the first place. So that makes me doubly glad to have had a chance to recently finish A.R. Moxon's remarkable debut novel, The Revisionaries, which is arriving in bookstores the exact week I'm posting this; because it wasn't just a crackingly great weirdo saga marking the arrival of a major new literary talent, but it was also a reminder of why it's worth taking a chance on unknown new writers in the first place, a reminder I definitely needed here in a 2019 that was mostly defined by my ever-increasing dive back into the great classics of the past.

The Revisionaries is in a genre known by its fans as "bizarro," although it's less of the David Lynch variety (weird shit thrown at you randomly for no particular reason) and more the Tim Powers kind (weird shit thrown at you randomly but with the sense that it'll all come together by the end). Or put another way, the marketing material for this book compares it often to Thomas Pynchon, as shorthand for "it's long and strange," but would be better described as "Haruki Murakami meets The Wire," in that its long page count and endless strange details take on a curious kind of logic as you're making your way through it, even as this weirdness takes place within the usually gritty social-realist milieu of competing street gangs in a poor section of an unnamed city, and the liberal religious organization that services this community. That's an act-one feint to be sure, but as good a tip of an iceberg as any for a novel that's over 600 pages long, contains four small books worth of plot, details the secret evil history of Dollywood, and oh yes, features a sewer tunnel that may or may not traverse the entire planet and perhaps even pierce the fabric of the space-time continuum itself.

To reveal any more of the plot would be to spoil the fun of this endlessly inventive novel; but I can say that this will be equally up the alley of both convention-going fanboys and ivory tower MFAers, because the main subject driving this gonzo storyline is that of "metafiction" -- that is, stories about storytellers who are writing stories about storytellers, in which some characters of the book suddenly realize that they're characters in a book, and are able to have a confrontation with the author who created them, who then somehow becomes a character in his own book, only it's not his book anymore because one of his characters has usurped him and become the author himself. If you get a headache just thinking about this, it would be best to skip The Revisionaries altogether; but if you get excited about a synopsis like that, you'll want to rush to the bookstore right away, in that this gets Postmodernism right in a way that a thousand hippy-dippy novels in the '70s tried and failed at. It's not perfect, which is why it's getting four stars from me instead of five -- its chief sin being that Moxon forgot the first rule of bizarro lit, that less is always better than more, making this a book he could've realistically cut in half and still convincingly make his point -- but in general I have to admit that I was surprised, pleased and delighted by how great a story this actually turned out to be, one of those emotionally weighty barn-burners that makes you feel like you legitimately accomplished something important once you finally finish it several weeks after you began. It comes strongly recommended in this spirit, a book that you need to commit to and occasionally forgive, but that is well worth your time and energy when all is said and done.

[Enjoy my writing? Get a lot more of it at patreon.com/jasonpettus.]

[Adam Wing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, man. What do I even say about this book? Whoof. How do I describe it?

…A.R. Moxon’s debut novel, The Revisionaries isn’t a time travel story, yet reading it is undoubtedly what it feels like to get hopelessly lost while travelling through time.

…A.R. Moxon’s debut novel, The Revisionaries is Infinite Jest, if Infinite Jest were actually good and had a compelling story.

…A.R. Moxon’s debut novel, The Revisionaries offers a classical narrative … exploded into a metamodern fever dream, in which no individual piece makes any sense at all … but by the end, you realize the story had been wholly accessible all along.

…A.R. Moxon’s debut novel—well, you get the point.

The fact is, I really liked this book. I can’t say, I’d recommend it to everyone. You see, The Revisionaries drops you into a world that doesn’t quite seem right—not as in -something’s wrong and our heroes must fix it- but more along the lines of -these characters, these events, this setting, don’t quite line up with how stories are usually told. The obstacles as they appear don’t make a lot of sense, random-seeming and out of place. But the writing is crisp and smart and sharp, the characters are complex and interesting, and an elegant narrative pulls forward faster than you’d believe.

The novel begins in this way, and you think, ‘Yeah, I could see getting into this.’ But this only the beginning, not the book you’re reading at all. You don’t even know yet.

Because A.R. Moxon’s debut novel, The Revisionaries offers a narrative that begins in the middle. Not the middle of the story, mind you; the middle of the book. An ontological paradox splinters its structure, reaching way back to the first page, and all the way forward to the last. As a reader, you’re compelled to be aware of, not just what’s happening in any given scene, but what’s ACTUALLY happening, and not just what’s actually happening, but what’s REALLY actually happening. It gets pretty messy.

Yet through it all, the story doesn’t fail you. As much as you want to know what’s happening you desperately want to know what’s GOING to happen. In the end both questions satisfy.

A.R. Moxon’s debut novel, The Revisionaries is a book I’d recommend if you’re a patient reader, if you don’t mind not always knowing what’s going on, if you’re looking for a narrative that will challenge you as much as it surprises you, and will probably surprise you more times than you can count.

If that’s the sort of reader you are, you should probably read this book. You might even decide it’s a masterpiece.

[Chris Brude · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this one.

Unfortunately I found the overwritten, self-indulgent prose so distracting that it kicked me out of the flow of the novel. Therefore, I found myself detached from the plot. This is probably a clever novel but it’s told in a blatant clever way that feels unnecessary.

This aspires to be like Thomas Pynchon, or maybe Tom Robbins—but unlike those authors who create clever, slightly-off worlds, the cleverness in this novel seemed unnecessary.

[Paul Dembina · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a solid 3.5

An intriguing setup where it takes a little while to sort out what's going on then moves onto a metafictional curveball that adds some extra interest. But for me this development starts adding complications that aren't really resolved and I found the ending a little disappointing.

Also. What's with the cats? That never really went anywhere.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not gonna lie: I read this book because I follow its author on Twitter. Under the handle @JuliusGoat, he opines about politics with a cutting-edge wit and insight. This is his first novel, but I doubt it will be his last. I certainly hope not.

The Revisionaries is difficult to pin down. It’s a story which is clearly inspired by Thomas Pynchon, although far more readable; but there are also hints of Alan Moore, Mark Danielewski and even the later Dark Tower novels. It asks a number of tough questions about writing and the relationship of an author to her work, and while not answering many of them, gives a reader a lot to ponder. This makes it sound dull, which it isn’t. It’s highly entertaining, funny, sometimes frightening, often puzzling. Even though it’s not overtly political, some sly commentary on our current society does make its way into the mix.

No, it’s not perfect. I think it should have been trimmed by at least fifty pages, although not losing entire scenes; just cutting some of the repetition. I would also give Moxon’s female characters more action. While they are highly developed and have interesting backstories and thoughts, they don’t advance the plot compared to the male characters. How much more fun it would have been, for instance, if the villain had been a woman.

Overall, I loved this book, enjoyed it thoroughly, and hope to hear more from Julius. Excuse me; A. R. Moxon. Who is not a moron. (Twitter joke.)

[N · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book that seemed like hilariously dark satire of a dystopian world full of chaos and anarchy. Set in Loony Island, the plot centers on a bunch of red robed misfits from the mental hospital who are determined to abduct Gordy, a young patient. But this plan goes awry when Father Julius realizes what they are up to and is determined to save Gordy from the loonies.

But Mr. Moxon’s book is a tad too long, 600 pages of what could have been edited in half. It has its funny parts that were equally disturbing and brimmed with bitter sweetness, but overall an overrated and really annoying book.

[Alyssa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stumbled through this novel for about 5 days and only made it 30% through. I hate to give this book a poor review because I really was interested the whole “let the looneys go” thing and the conspiracies evolving, however, I didn’t make it far enough into the book for any of it to make sense. The narration was not my style. I found myself rereading passages and losing my place because the sentence structure and storytelling just left me confused. Maybe I’m not as intelligent as I think I am or maybe it’s intended that the reader is confused. Regardless, after 5 days of attempting to work my way through this story, I decided that this novel is just not for me. I wish it was because the plot seems interesting. Maybe one day I’ll pick this book up again and give it another try.

[Jack Darida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I really enjoyed this wandering, disjointed tour de force. But mostly I felt obligated to finish it and plugged away until the final page. If you like having your brain bent for over 600 pages, this is the one for you. But, reader beware. You may end the book scratching your head, saying, "What on earth was that?"

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a little-known law in literature: If all the blurbs on a book jacket are attributed to "Author of...," that book will kind of suck.

And I do mean "kind of." It won't be TERRIBLE. It will be...tolerable. Probably adequate in execution. It may even be fairly all right for a holiday read when there are lots of distractions and you don't necessarily need something wholly absorbing. But mostly it'll faintly remind you of other writers you REALLY like so that when you're reading this book you'll often be thinking how you'd maybe rather be rereading one of those other writers' books.

That's where the suck factor kicks in. It's not even really the book you're reading's fault. But when you can too blatantly feel the influences, you'll be fighting the whole time the gravitational pull toward them. You'll be constantly reminded of how this material might've been worked by them.

Anyhow. Despite noting that all the blurbs for The Revisionaries come from "Author of," I decided to buy A.R. Moxon's book in brand new hardcover because I adore Moxon. As Julius Goat, Moxon is my very favorite presence on Twitter. I'm not even ON Twitter but I read his feed almost daily. I would absolutely read 600 pages of Julius Goat posts. I'm sure, actually, that I already have. That's why I took the risk of a full-price hardcover purchase: Moxon is, singlehandedly, a civic service that has already more than earned full livable support.

And his book is...not terrible. I'm fumbling for a way to best describe it. Some segments are absolutely fantastic. Some are irritatingly precious. Some show way too much longing to be a Vonnegut or a Pynchon or a David F. Wallace.

It doesn't help that a lot of this feels like ground we've traveled before. The grizzled, doubting preacher. The street toughs with finer ethics than your average bougie. The purportedly crazy who turn out to be the most sane. The women who don't seem to have much purpose other than to further the journeys of -- i.e., emotionally educate -- the lead male characters. There's a circus and an asylum and some post-post-modern Barth/Borges stuff that fails to cohere or truly satisfy.

On the other hand, it's engaging. There are several deep, thoughtful passages. There are some solid gold laughs -- intentional ones so deftly played that they filled me with glee. And when Moxon goes quiet, simple, with one of those perfect parables he uses so well as Julius Goat, he's absolutely splendid. There's an extended flashback so exquisitely fashioned that it could be its own novella and still be worth the price of admission.

Ultimately, this isn't the book one hopes it would be. It's not, I believe, the best Moxon is capable of. But I'm glad I bought it. I hope you will buy it. His next novel is gonna slay.

[Ryan Winfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a huuuge book, but it makes great use of every page. You need to focus to read this book, it’s not for skimming, and if you try, you’ll find yourself going back to re-read what you hurried through. But if you take the time to digest it, you’ll fall in love with this book, and at least a few of the characters.

[Greg Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

First appeared at https://www.thenewdorkreviewofbooks.c...

This freakin' beautiful mess of a novel is likely what would happen if David Foster Wallace, Thomas Pynchon, and Tom Robbins got together and tested the limits of how much a reader can stand before giving up and throwing the novel against the wall. But then Kurt Vonnegut showed up halfway through and goes, "But my dudes, we have to make it entertaining as well." And so they did.
I think I understood about two-thirds of what A.J. Moxon is up to here in his long, post-modern, super-meta novel, The Revisionaries. And I consider that a win. It's certainly a novel you need to read more than once, which is a tough ask at 600 pages. But also, in the moment, you're so dazzled by Moxon's language and sentences, you almost don't notice, that a) you're aggravated, because b) you only have a passing sense of what is happening and why. That's especially true in the last 100 pages or so as it's supposed to all becoming together, but it's told in a fractured, multi-perspective way that frankly drove me nuts.

So what's going on here? This is a novel about God, but it's sure not religious. It's a novel about the role of fiction, the author's authority, the reader's power, and where all those might intersect...but sometimes don't? That's my best guess anyway.

The plot, which is important, but so zany it's almost beside the point here, is about a bearded acrobat woman, a preacher who performs a miracle in a place called Loony Island (so named because of it being home to an insane asylum) and builds a new church, a kid who flickers in and out of existence, a cult of weirdos dressed up as cardinals, and a guy who discovers a magical fountain and uses it to erase people's memories and recreate them as he sees fit.

Are you with me? IT'S SO WEIRD! But in a strangely good way.

Again, I can't claim to fully understand this, but part of the point is how the author is God, but the reader still has veto power, even over God, because of how s/he interprets, understands, derives meaning from, feels about, etc., the text. And this is because each reader brings to bear a unique experience, education, philosophy on life, philosophy on reading books, politics, mood, etc. on every book s/he reads. I think?

Would I recommend that you read this? Yes, but with a bunch of caveats. If you like to be challenged, if you are okay with not completely understanding why or how or even what is going on all the time, and if you like something that's truly creative, inventive, and probably unlike anything else you've really ever read before, pick this novel up. Moxon is smart enough (you should absolutely follow him on Twitter, by the way — that is one of main reasons I bought this novel and read it), that someday soon, he's going to publish a novel that absolutely dazzles us. I can't wait for that, but I'm glad I read this one now.

[Alex Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wacky and weird in all the best ways. Mind bending. Incredibly satisfying to make the connections as you go and understand things from earlier in the book that made no sense at the time. Wonderfully creative writing style. Each of the four parts reads a little differently and keeps the entire thing engaging and fresh.

[conor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This won't be for everyone, but it was certainly for me!

[Rees · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was no way I was letting this book escape into 2020, into my pile of ever-exceeding novels to read. And—the treasure trove it is—I’m glad I did. There isn’t a better way to end off the decade than to find something that inspires you to search deeper for the meanings of life’s lessons and reach out towards them.

Patterns, coincidences, conspiracies, opinions: all of these thoughts are interpretative and subjective. Reading this, I’ve realized it is impossible to live one-hundred percent objectively. There will always be a focus on the self as long as the self is alive, and the self has its own consciousness filled with its own individual thoughts, which branch out into opinions, conspiracies, patterns, and coincidences. If the self is the only one speaking, the self will never develop or learn any of its life lessons, which is why the self has to listen to other selves: for while there is the self to look after, there are other selves around that could use support or a lesson.

I’m gonna stop before I get too deep and actually move onto what I can muster up of a review (seriously, this book feels like something to write a 25-page essay on, like it’s part of a college course).

Moxon is a rather charming devil with the power to bend form in the slightest ways that make you want to knock on your head.

The first part reminded me of THE GODFATHER, except more psychedelic—if, say, Hunter S. Thompson took the wheel for Puzo during his writer’s blocks—and the eschatological feel of all Joyce Carol Oates’s villains and anti-heroes escaping to/from an island.

Part two exudes vibes I get from Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s CEMETERY OF FORGOTTEN BOOKS, with an historical prose reminiscent to works by David Mitchell, like the first and last few chapters of CLOUD ATLAS or THE THOUSAND SUMMERS OF JACOB DE ZOET.

The third part starts to boast the more descriptiveness some authors like David Foster Wallace and Jonathan Franzen showcase(d) extremely well, but manages to retain its own unique style that reminds me of Icelandic fiction.

And then the final part, which I am still now (and will for years to come be) pondering over its sublime scope. When the book jacket compared the novel to the likes of Pynchon, I got a little suspicious (especially with cats being such heavy...thought in this story), but the last part, which is as unconventional and fun to peruse through as Mark Z. Danielewski’s HOUSE OF LEAVES, reminded me heavily of the ending of Thomas Pynchon’s debut novel, V.
(And DEFINITELY comparable to Alan Moore, especially the third book in his JERUSALEM trilogy)

So: I coerced myself to read this book and in the process have stumbled upon a new burning star; realized what I’ve stumbled upon is something magnificently grand and promising, and a hell of a lot more than I was hoping for/expecting. This book, like the prisoners within, encages you, intoxicates you like sangria to keep reading, to turn the next page until there aren’t any left to turn, and then flip them back in reverse order to make sure you didn’t miss a single brick in the walls of pages, and once you’re snapped out of the spell of whatever was dosed in that sangria you drank while you were, only then will you realize it’s best you start over from the first page, with a new pitcher of sangria.

My next tattoo: ‘I did not run away with the circus. The circus ran away with me.’

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book engrossing and entertaining but also full of food for thought.
The plot is well crafted, the world building is amazing and the characters are fleshed out.
An excellent read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A priest, an author and a reluctant superhero walk into a donut shop.

This was a great book. Or maybe books; depending on how you look at it. Emphasis very much on “you,” the reader, since one of the many ongoing editorial conversations revolves around the roles, rights and powers of creators and their audiences. Not to mention Creators and their audiences.

That plot is hard to summarize; it’s probably best to let it wash over you, and allow the various strands to unwind, entangle and thwart each other. In very general terms, it involves the hunt for an all-powerful lottery ticket, and the lengths various characters will go to get it, or get away from it. But there’s no way that will prepare you for what’s in store. It’s 600 pages in hardback after all.

I haven’t mentioned, for instance, the time travel and dimension travel and body swapping and doors that open onto beaches as big as the world and the mysterious dark water that erases the mind of anyone who drinks it and the tunnel that runs for hundreds of miles underground from Pigeon Forge to Loony Island to a far land. And, as hinted at above, the question of who’s in charge of this whole damn(ed) narrative.

Beyond those and many other building blocks, the novel touches fascinatingly on a range of topics: Free will. Biblical prophecy and human intransigency. The prison-industrial complex. Man’s inhumanity to man. The absolute corruption of absolute power. Intentional societal structures that slice, dice and house difficult humans like sardines. Also, too, sardines. Running: away, toward, from, after. Leaping without looking. Donuts. Doughnuts. Birds. Cats. Cartoons. Some really nasty torture – don’t worry, it’s all in service of teaching Important Lessons.

But it’s not (just) a polemic; it’s also a great read. It’s definitely worth taking slowly to savor both the fun the author has with language and the sharp social insights sprinkled liberally throughout, adding extra flavor to a story that can be intentionally puzzling but never boring.

Plus, there are the characters that really do sort of leap off the page. Some, multiple times. Among them are the priest who’s not a priest and doesn’t really believe in God; the man who’s there and not there and tasked with a potentially world-ending responsibility; the mob lieutenant with an unquenchable thirst for vengeance; the mob enforcer who runs a donut shop; the bearded lady/aerial artist who serves as a de facto prison warden; the messianic cult leader who’s convinced the universe isn’t just all about him, but is him. And the blue-suited guy who folds himself in half multiple times before he disappears.

It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world. And amen to that.

[Roxanne S · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the author is the disruptor

This is a helluva book. I feel somewhat guilty only giving it 4 stars, because it is such an interesting creation.
And there's the fact that one character, who was many authors, expresses frustration with having to endure interpretation by readers.
But I'll venture this far. Instead of creating a world that nicely organizes the chaos around us, Moxon continuously exposes the "fiction" it is.
I think there is one quote that it may be helpful to readers of Revisionaries
"t may seem brave to abrogate this notion, to face squarely the inevitable realization: There is no pattern to be found in the universe, no sense, no meaning, only dust. Yet if we are braver still, we may come through this realization to a further realization. Of course there is meaning, of course there is pattern, of course there is sense. We created it ourselves: first by imagining it, and then by naming it. And, in naming, causing others to imagine it, too."

I want to add to my review something i found critical while reading. I do mix of paper and ebooks and, while paper books rule supreme, i actually recommend the e book for this one because
1. I looked up SO MANY words. Moxon's vocabulary is .. what's the word? Moxon knows.
2. ebooks makes footnotes so easy!

[Yossi]

The Revisionaries is a challenging book. It is an investment of time and patience. Does this investment payout? Mostly, but not fully. This book is a meta journey through realities as perceived by the mind of a scientist-turned-author on psychedelics. It is the ultimate breaking of the barriers between reality and fiction. It could have been an amazing mind-f@ck. But, while containing beautifully written prose, the story gets tangled in itself, the pace is too uneven, and it is difficult to follow in which layer of the onion you are at every given moment.
A.R. Moxon channels Alan Moore and Warren Ellis as well as comic books such as Omaha the Dancing Cat to intertwine comic book tropes in his meta-fiction. It can be very interesting, fast-paced, and mind-blowing at times and boring, repetitive, and frustrating at others.

[Missy MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Revisionaries starts out fairly straightforward for fiction/fantasy…odd street preacher, abruptly released mental patients, organized crime, samurai in red robes, flickering main character…and then things get weird. The first half was excellent, the next quarter was good, but the final quarter seemed more an exercise in cleverness than wrapping up the plot. Though, to be fair, I’m not 100% sure what really happened on the final page or to Boyd. A good read for people comfortable with multiple, non-linear plots and ambiguity. Not recommended for point A to point Z readers.

[Al · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. A chaotic, kaleidoscopic book about.....what? A rundown, gangster-managed neighborhood of an unnamed city, populated by people with strange powers; a time-shifting, magical portal; a Jonestown-like Pigeon Forge? Parts of it well-written and exciting, but all too confusing and pointless for me; I just couldn't see working through another 500 pages. Sorry; so many books, so little time.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would be absolutely impossible to describe this book.Its a mix of science fiction,weird fantasy, time travel,and comedy.Going to try to break it down in part as to how i felt about each section.

part 1- The Island- I absolutely devoured this section of the book.It was action packed,hilarious,mysterious,and a million other adjectives.I immediately started telling co-workers it could easily move into my top ten of favorite fantasy novels ever.In 161 pages i absolutely loved and hated some of these characters.I was def captivated by this story.

part 2-Pigeon Forge-Very slow moving but necessary to set the stage for all of the mystery going on.It was interesting not really so much entertaining.

part 3-The Revisionaires- Back to the meat of the story things moving fast and the emotional ties to the participants in the story is back.This may be heading to a hell of a finish.

part 4-Subject To Infinite Change-IT ALL FELL APART.So much jumping around and unnecessary blather.I gotta admit im not sure what happened to some characters and others i just stopped caring about. They became more cardboard cutouts then anything else.The ending was tremendously anti climatic.

So overall im left with a sense of what could have been.However im giving it three stars because when the story was good it was damn good.

[Sean Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really had a little bit of everything! All of the characters felt so fleshed out that I could picture them without description. The locations and main city streets felt so familiar that I was running alongside Father Julius. When the plot took a turn toward magical realism, I was interested. When the fourth and possibly fifth wall were broken down and things got really weird, I was hooked. And then cats?!?! C'mon! What more can you ask for?

I imagine some people would say this book was too weird, too "all-over-the-place", too hard to follow, but as a fan of Douglas Adams, this felt right up my bizarre alley. I don't want to spoil anything, so I can only elude to the big twists. I can praise the experimental writing style in the back half that reminded me a bit of House of Leaves but easier to digest. The plot pacing was slow at first, like a quiet symphony, but as the plot twisted and turned, lost shape and reformed, weird piled on top of unique, and finally everything culminated in a cacophonious crescendo!

Highly recommend, if that sort of thing purrs your cat.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no idea how you get a book published like this, much less how you write it. It's as if you put Borges, Pynchon, de la Pava, and Ray Bradbury (trust me on this) in a blender, cut it with LSD, and then took a massive hit of your concoction. It's part horror story, part dark comedy, part wrestling with god, and part an exploration of the creative process (that last part gives me perhaps the most insanely clever, mindbending meta moments I've had with a book since reading Pale Fire).

It's fucking great--read it.

[Peter Hollo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a remarkable book. Buying a book online because you follow the author on Twitter isn't necessarily a great strategy, but it sounded interesting, and interesting it was! I didn't quite believe that it would be as radical in its structure and referentiality as it has been suggested, but it really is. It's very carefully constructed, and each reveal is wonderfully performed. It's ridiculously thick and dense, but I was gripped all the way through, and its deep humanity is reliably warming throughout.
What a joy.

[Brock Mclaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute triumph. From front to back I was hooked. Few books are this fun and creative in their storytelling. It’s really not as complicated as people seem to make it out to be. The secret to it is right in the title. I’m shocked there’s not more of a cult following around it. It’s everything from Inherent Vice to Series of Unfortune Events to House of Leaves. It’s absolutely mind blowing how it pulls everything off. Focus and you’ll love it. This is something truly special.

[Emily Fortuna · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I just couldn’t read about the mental hospital and the views of those in it