I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence or serendipity that I’ve found myself reading quite a few books featuring rebellions and revolutions so close to the United States’ Independence Day. Either way, these books have set me to thinking about how differently revolutions are portrayed in fiction from how they are in our collective historical record. Now that I think about it, revolutions are a staple in fantasy literature. How many times have we seen plucky youths stand up against hated regimes? It’s practically a trope at this point.
Last September, I read Anthony Beevor’s horrific account of the Russian Revolution and the subsequent Civil War and still feel a little scarred by the experience of merely listening to the audiobook. Compared to so many fantasy revolutions, real history is chaotic, arbitrarily violent, and takes far longer than one might think for peace to be restored. Authors have to tidy things up for their readers. The cast of players is whittled down. Violence serves a narrative purpose. The goals are much clearer and we can generally get everything wrapped up in a trilogy.
So if the point of fictional revolution isn’t necessarily to copy reality, what are we getting out of these stories? Adventure, certainly, but there are plenty of adventure stories (including my beloved Treasure Island, by R.L. Stevenson) that don’t involve overthrowing a government. I think I have to agree with G.K. Chesterton here and say that stories about revolution offer hope that even pervasive, seemingly immovable evil can be defeated. A better future can start small, sure, but determination and cleverness and whatever else the protagonists have in their metaphorical quivers can win.
For my own part, I like a revolutionary tale that complicates who the heroes and the villains are. One of my favorite examples, the Mistborn Saga by Brandon Sanderson, forces the seemingly triumphant heroes to wonder if they haven’t made things worse by getting rid of the Big Bad. Another favorite, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, portrays some of the revolutionaries as worse than the people they’re revolting against. I am fascinated by questions of perspective because, when you think about it, no matter which side someone is on, they believe that side is the right one. Thankfully, these stories allow us to have our food for thought without any casualties other than fictional ones.
Some more revolutionary and rebellious novels I recommend:
- The City of Last Chances, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Look to the Sun, by Emmy Mears
- A Conspiracy of Truths, by Alexandra Rowland
- She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan
- The Once and Future Witches, by Alix E. Harrow