Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ryanpfw 's review for:
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
by Claire North
Not all books can be judged the same. Some intend to be simple and formulaic, and by adding something a little extra and exceeding expectations, you can have an absolute 5 star book. Others might aim high and just miss the swing. It's necessary in reviewing to judge as much by intention as much as by delivery.
I've read several books that involve a principle character living multiple lives with memories of the past. I have to say that FFLOHA handles the timelines masterfully. We don't travel linearly with Harry. We start at the end and bounce around, for reasons which become clear. I found myself taking notes of his progression between multiple timelines. What happened when? One chapter would involve a reference to his killing in self-defense, and then thirty chapters later we see it happening.
The prose was beautiful. I'm a slow reader by choice. If I drift away for a moment I reread the paragraph. I never skim. I want to absorb everything. I almost had to read every sentence here twice because North, Webb...whatever we're calling her... packs meaning into every word.
Some label the middle of the book slow and tedious. I know what they're talking about, but I disagree. I think the concept enough is fascinating enough and the details are important for the conclusion.
I will say that in aiming so high, in crafting such a fascinating world (the young passing messages back in time through the elderly at the moment's of their death is glorious), there are knots that I couldn't untie that did distract me. We're introduced to the story of the first cataclysm, where Victor Hoeness destroyed humanity by the year 1953. If the kalachakra aren't able to be born again once aborted, there should be no kalachakra born after 1953 in future timelines. Or did I miss a bit where aborting the ground zero actor aborts his or her damage? That wouldn't make much sense.
There were a few other editing snafus. Harry describes his 5 year old self in his third life as 97 years old. He died at 70, and then at 7, so should have only been 82. Virgina explains the kalachakra to Harry by using the example that a young kalachakra would tell an old kalachakra at his bedside to go back in time and use her information to create wealth, which in return he would leave her and her descendants. He'd have had the same memories as she would of what would make a good investment, so technically he wouldn't need her. Before deciding Vincent was too mad to work with, Victor and Harry speak of communicating with the future by leaving messages on stone, and having the future generations send messages back in time through the elderly with whatever information they're asking for. They dismiss it as this would take hundreds of generations and thousands of years, but wouldn't it happen instantaneously for them? The future is all happening at once?
I understand the conclusion. I understand who Harry is narrating the book to, and why. I find it foolish. What if Victor had an ally in the future and sent a message in stone before his death directing him or her to send a message to an ally in the past to stop Harry? It sounds ridiculous, but why give Victor, a proven adversary, any opportunity? And while I understand that Victor blinked first, and Harry was able to take advantage of that act of love and respond with complete and overwhelming force, but it just let a bad taste in my mouth. The ending didn't resonate with me.
I've read several books that involve a principle character living multiple lives with memories of the past. I have to say that FFLOHA handles the timelines masterfully. We don't travel linearly with Harry. We start at the end and bounce around, for reasons which become clear. I found myself taking notes of his progression between multiple timelines. What happened when? One chapter would involve a reference to his killing in self-defense, and then thirty chapters later we see it happening.
The prose was beautiful. I'm a slow reader by choice. If I drift away for a moment I reread the paragraph. I never skim. I want to absorb everything. I almost had to read every sentence here twice because North, Webb...whatever we're calling her... packs meaning into every word.
Some label the middle of the book slow and tedious. I know what they're talking about, but I disagree. I think the concept enough is fascinating enough and the details are important for the conclusion.
I will say that in aiming so high, in crafting such a fascinating world (the young passing messages back in time through the elderly at the moment's of their death is glorious), there are knots that I couldn't untie that did distract me. We're introduced to the story of the first cataclysm, where Victor Hoeness destroyed humanity by the year 1953. If the kalachakra aren't able to be born again once aborted, there should be no kalachakra born after 1953 in future timelines. Or did I miss a bit where aborting the ground zero actor aborts his or her damage? That wouldn't make much sense.
There were a few other editing snafus. Harry describes his 5 year old self in his third life as 97 years old. He died at 70, and then at 7, so should have only been 82. Virgina explains the kalachakra to Harry by using the example that a young kalachakra would tell an old kalachakra at his bedside to go back in time and use her information to create wealth, which in return he would leave her and her descendants. He'd have had the same memories as she would of what would make a good investment, so technically he wouldn't need her. Before deciding Vincent was too mad to work with, Victor and Harry speak of communicating with the future by leaving messages on stone, and having the future generations send messages back in time through the elderly with whatever information they're asking for. They dismiss it as this would take hundreds of generations and thousands of years, but wouldn't it happen instantaneously for them? The future is all happening at once?
I understand the conclusion. I understand who Harry is narrating the book to, and why. I find it foolish. What if Victor had an ally in the future and sent a message in stone before his death directing him or her to send a message to an ally in the past to stop Harry? It sounds ridiculous, but why give Victor, a proven adversary, any opportunity? And while I understand that Victor blinked first, and Harry was able to take advantage of that act of love and respond with complete and overwhelming force, but it just let a bad taste in my mouth. The ending didn't resonate with me.