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A review by daffodilcherry
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Oh my goodness if you are going to read this book I would 100% recommend the audiobook. Peter Kelley's narration absolutely brings Claire North's excellent prose and story to life, and I'm so glad I gave this long term denizen of my tbr a chance!
Harry August lives an ordinary life, only to find that when he dies, he is instead born again, with all his memories of his past life intact. Centuries of his lifelong timeloop later, he is warned that the world is ending faster, and sets about trying to find out why and to maybe stop it.
I loved so much about this book, the plot, the fucked up timeloop ethics, the quantum physics, the various settings and scenes, the characters, and as I said, Peter Kelley turned this into an absolute amazing piece of art. This is what happens when you hire crazy talented voice over actors for your epic historical sci-fi audiobooks!!! Do NOT adjust the speed and instead revel in Kelly's mastery!
I was absolutely hooked from the get go on this book, and the final third was so hard to put down (to sleep or like work lol). Definitely a top book for the year.
Wheelhouse items: fucked up timeloop ethics!!!, large cast, quantum physics but explained in a way that you can actually understand, my friend my enemy, secret societies.
Triggers (it's a very dark book at times): lots of torture, like there's quite a lot, medical institutionalisation, suicide, dying, murder, cancer, AIDS, electroshock, opiate use,radiation poisoning in depth, discussing killing children/pregnant people.
Harry August lives an ordinary life, only to find that when he dies, he is instead born again, with all his memories of his past life intact. Centuries of his lifelong timeloop later, he is warned that the world is ending faster, and sets about trying to find out why and to maybe stop it.
I loved so much about this book, the plot, the fucked up timeloop ethics, the quantum physics, the various settings and scenes, the characters, and as I said, Peter Kelley turned this into an absolute amazing piece of art. This is what happens when you hire crazy talented voice over actors for your epic historical sci-fi audiobooks!!! Do NOT adjust the speed and instead revel in Kelly's mastery!
I was absolutely hooked from the get go on this book, and the final third was so hard to put down (to sleep or like work lol). Definitely a top book for the year.
Wheelhouse items: fucked up timeloop ethics!!!, large cast, quantum physics but explained in a way that you can actually understand, my friend my enemy, secret societies.
Triggers (it's a very dark book at times): lots of torture, like there's quite a lot, medical institutionalisation, suicide, dying, murder, cancer, AIDS, electroshock, opiate use,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Addiction, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Child death