Thomas Mullen

After two historical novels, Decatur author Thomas Mullen takes an extraordinary trip to the near future in a thriller called The Revisionists (Little, Brown/Mulholland Books). In Washington, D.C., after a game-changing disaster known only as the “Great Conflagration,” Agent Zed from the U.S. Department of Historical Integrity travels back in time to make sure nothing interferes with the unfolding of horrific events such as the Holocaust, the 9/11 attacks, and the mysterious conflagration. All are necessary evils, in the government’s wisdom, to bring about “the Perfect Present”—a time of no war, no poverty, and no disease. Zed and his fellow agents are pitted against time-traveling historical agitators (aka hags), who are hell-bent on stopping the big tragedies. Though this is not a historical novel, the plot concerns the nature of history itself. “There’s a saying that dates back even before this time: History is written by the winners,” Mullen writes. “But what happens when everyone has lost?” Questions of fate versus free will, utopia versus reality, and the implications of a world without obvious racial and ethnic lines add terrific human depth to the whiz-bang gadgetry of Mullen’s imagined world. Just as he played with genre elements of noir and magical realism in last year’s The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers, Mullen now puts a very highbrow spin on the spy novel and science fiction.Also new THE CHESHIRE CHEESE CAT: A Dickens of a Tale (Peachtree Publishers) (For ages eight to twelve) Inspired by London’s Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a sixteenth-century inn with a rich literary history, authors Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright concocted this howler of a tale about a well-educated mouse named Pip and his feline, cheese-loving ally, Skilley: “He was the best of toms. He was the worst of toms.” Adults and children alike will find something to love about this playful romp, featuring cameos by Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, and Queen Victoria—all beautifully illustrated by Barry Moser. Deedy, a native of Cuba who grew up in Decatur, is a national treasure and a world-class storyteller. She’ll read from her new book at Decatur’s Little Shop of Stories (littleshopofstories.com) on October 1.DRIFTING INTO DARIEN: A Personal and Natural History of the Altamaha River (University of Georgia Press) “Other rivers are as wide, and as dark, and as long, and as deep, and as bendy,” Janisse Ray writes. “Others are as well loved. Others are as wild. But the Altamaha is mine, its water my blood, its history my own.” The author of the critically acclaimed Ecology of a Cracker Childhood paddles the southeast Georgia river and creates a book that is part natural history, part earth-mother meditation.UNKNOWN FEMALE (Pill Hill Press) Marietta native Brian Ray’s second novel is a love story screaming to be made into a Tim Burton movie—brilliant and unsettling. Marx Thoreau, the deeply haunted son of a serial k
Gucci Mane

What we learned from Gucci Mane’s new autobiography

In The Autobiography of Gucci Mane, published this month, the 37-year-old Atlanta trap rap crossover act revisits his rise to rap stardom; his struggle with a codeine cocktail called “lean;” and becoming a mentor to Future and Migos.

Jagged Edge Makes a Comeback

Known for smooth ballads and mellow love songs, such as 2000’s chart-topper “Let’s Get Married” and 2001’s “Promise,” multiplatinum R&B group Jagged Edge has returned from a three-year break with a new album on a new label. The Grammy-nominated quartet’s seventh studio a
The Freeze - Atlanta Braves

Try as you might, you can’t beat The Freeze

In his sky blue bodysuit, Nigel Talton can outrun almost everyone in “RaceTrac’s Beat The Freeze,” at the Atlanta Braves' SunTrust Park. We interview the 28-year-old former track star about his history, Olympic dreams, and his time volunteering.

Why are pedestrian and bicyclist deaths increasing in metro Atlanta?

Across the country, deaths of pedestrians are nearing historic highs, and Georgia and metro Atlanta are no different. According to the Atlanta Regional Commission, the number of collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists in the 20-county metro region has risen sharply, from nearly 1,700 in 2006 to more than 2,500 in 2015—a 53 percent increase.
Little Women: Atlanta

On screen, Little Women: Atlanta is all drama all the time. Off camera? Not so much.

Little Women: Atlanta launched in January 2016, and now 1.3 million viewers tune in per episode. Is the drama provoked or organic? “The story is the story,” coexecutive producer Mark Scheibal says. “Obviously, we have to produce it, put them in situations that allow it to happen or amplify it.”
Decatur High School students ensure their city’s monuments are on the right side of history

Decatur High School students ensure their city’s monuments are on the right side of history

The members of the Black Student Union at Decatur High School are barely old enough to vote, but they have already had an impact on local politics—helping a city with a progressive reputation confront its own racial history.
Paradise Garden Howard Finster

A drone’s eye view of Paradise Garden

Starting in the mid-’70s on a quiet street on the outskirts of Summerville, the late Howard Finster—a former Baptist minister and self-proclaimed “man of visions”—created 46,991 individually numbered outsider artworks dedicated to God on a four-acre compound dubbed Paradise Garden.

Q&A: Melissa Fay Greene

In her family's longtime home near Emory Village, Melissa Fay Greene, fifty-eight, reflected on her new book, No Biking in the House without a Helmet, and talked about the joys and pitfalls of parenting—and writing about it.
Eric Carle

Eric Carle’s vibrant world comes to the High Museum

For nearly 50 years, Eric Carle’s distinctive hand-painted paper collages have been among the first works of art that young children encounter. This month more than 80 original creations from some of Carle’s most popular books (Brown Bear, Brown Bear; The Very Hungry Caterpillar) will be on view at the High Museum.

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