Book Review: “The Ancients” by John Larison
Justified and Ancient
John Larison’s The Ancients is a tremendous novel. It’s one of those books that could be a masterpiece, for — as I’ve said on these pages before — masterpieces are books that teach you how to read them. To that end, The Ancients is an ambitious read, taking place in many different areas of the earth and hopscotching over various characters whose lives will all intersect at some point. It’s a book that invites readers to linger over it, even though, at times, the bounty of characters threatens to tip the work onto its side. Still, this is a remarkable novel, a work of speculative fiction set long ago in a galaxy far, far away. Or maybe I should say that it is set in the future in a world not unlike ours. Whatever the case, this is one of my favorite books of 2024. It’s not without faults, but they can be overlooked as the storytelling here is generally first-rate. The Ancients is not an old story but a new envisioning of a world ravaged by climate change. This is the tale of a land that is becoming barren and the efforts humanity has put in motion to escape its debilitating effects. This book is for the here and now, with an eye to the horizon.
The book follows three groups of characters throughout. The first narrative is about two sisters and a brother who have been separated from their family and are looking to reunite with them across a dystopian wasteland. The siblings believe their mother and other relatives have abandoned them. This could be further from the truth: their mother has been kidnapped by “Barbarians” and is put to work as forced labor in a camp near a city that deals with processing sheep wool. The third story is about a man of some pedigree named Cyrus who is struggling to come to terms with his sexual identity while hoping to add more wools to his coffers to be given to an Emperor who savagely demands tithes. Cyrus’s father has just died of cancer — meaning that he has inherited his father’s business and its debts — and his relationship with a medical doctor is on the rocks. At specific points, the lives of all of these characters will come together, as disparate as they may seem.
Thus, The Ancients is a book about the bonds of family and the lengths some people will go to to keep the family unit together. It’s also a coming-of-age tale in many respects, with its various characters grappling to become sexual beings. It’s additionally a tale about the current climate crisis we’re facing and the resilience of humans to survive past crises, which can be applied to the present day. However, most of all, it’s a good, crackling adventure tale — though one that takes some time to warm up to. I found the first quarter of the book to be relatively dry. That’s not all that’s deficient here. Characters reunite with each other through the flimsiest of plot devices: coincidence. In addition, the book seemingly has multiple endings, making it feel a little overlong. However, don’t let those factors deter you from a primarily superlative read. The Ancients is commanding in its ambition and rivals the best in literary fiction in its experimental style and succulent quality.
So, what more can be said about this terrific work of art? Well, this book works best when you slowly savor it and pay close attention to it — don’t let your mind wander when reading this, as you may miss the subtlest clues as to what will happen next. Ultimately, this is a book about hope — that even the most broken of people deserve a shot at redemption, even if society has, by and large, cast them away. You will think about this book and let marinade in your mind, and you may be a bit saddened when you reach its final page. Even if the characters tend to blur — the children’s mother becomes a surrogate to other children in her care in slavery, which is a tad bit confusing at times as the book treats them like her real children — this is a fine read. This dystopian fantasy novel, masquerading as other things, is richly rewarding and well worth the sticker price. I don’t know if something more needs to be said about that. Do yourself a favor, run to your nearest bookstore or library, and take the time it will take to get to know The Ancients. In the end, it’ll be a decision you won’t regret. A whole brave new world is waiting for you here, so be sure to dive right in!
John Larison’s The Ancients will be published by Viking on October 15, 2024.
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