Halcyon

A novel

By: Elliot Ackerman

Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen

A daring new novel, at once timely and timeless, set around an American family and the ever-shifting sands of history and memory and legacy that define them (“An expert juggling act.” —Stephen Markley, New York Times Book Review)

Martin Neumann, recently divorced, is living at Halcyon, the Virginia estate of renowned lawyer, family patriarch, and World War II hero Robert Ableson. It’s 2004, and Gore is entering his second term as president, when news breaks that scientists have discovered a cure for death. Suddenly, Martin is forced to question everything he thought he understood about the world around him. Who is Ableson, really? Why has Martin been drawn into the Ablesons’ most closely guarded family secrets? Is this new science a miraculous good or an insidious evil?

From pivotal elections to crumbling marriages, from the Civil War to the Battle of Saipan, Halcyon is a profound and probing novel that grapples with what history means, who is affected by it, and how the complexities of our shared future rest on the dual foundations of remembering and forgetting.

Critic reviews

“An expert juggling act . . . Idiosyncratic and engrossing throughout.” —Stephen Markley, New York Times Book Review

“Halcyon is an entertaining thought experiment, and Ackerman writes with a gentle, graceful style . . . Ackerman delivers a potent critique of the what-if nature of talking about history . . . Ackerman, as much as any working novelist today, is invested in getting the facts of war and history right.” —Mark Athitakis, Washington Post

“A blend of counterfactual history and futurism and a way to think about some of our thorniest social and cultural issues today.” —Jeffery Gedmin, American Purpose

“Frightening, funny, and thought-provoking.” —Mark Braude, The Octavian Report

“Ingenious . . . Elliot Ackerman prefers challenging questions over convenient answers, leaving ample room for readers to engage in leaps of imagination as bold as the ones he’s undertaken . . . Blending alternative history with science fiction, Ackerman artfully explores several provocative issues that have become flash points in contemporary America.” —Bookpage

“Thought-provoking . . . Visionary.” —Publishers Weekly

“A novel of ideas in an age of opinions.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A thoughtful and fascinating thought experiment, one that explores mortality, fate, and the malleability of historical memory.” —Booklist

Couldn’t put it down

Elliot Ackerman’s Halcyon causes you to contemplate the deeper questions of life and gives you a fresh perspective on the world around you and how the smallest things can shape our lives. Highly recommend!

The Blueridge!

I lived in DC for 41 years and know ALL of the places and cities the narrator mentions. Accurate completely. A really good story.

Enjoyable, but heavy handed.

I made it all the way through and mostly enjoyed the audiobook, but I wish the author had focused more on creating a great novel and less on forcing a lesson on the listener.

Ponderous and Preachy

I failed to get the point of this story. There wasn’t a single likable character nor did the story line have a point. The narration was ponderous and off putting.