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Book lover. Stephen King Fanatic. Will try anything once. General Lover of Fiction. Reviewer Everywhere.  All views my own. Mostly.

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The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Review.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North

Publication Date: Available Now from Orbit

 

Source: Purchased Copy

 

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. “I nearly missed you, Doctor August,” she says. “I need to send a message.”
This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.

 

Read this one in a few short sharp bursts – beautifully written, highly compelling and often very strange, Harry August will steal your heart.

 

He does his best poor chap – but when you live the same life over and over, often falling sooner than you should despite your best efforts to avoid it, it is bound to get wearing. When a young girl tells him that in the future  the world is ending and that he needs to sort it out, Harry has even more on his plate.

 

You are probably thinking Life after Life (an also beautifully written tale) right now but this is very different, just as compelling but for entirely different reasons. Across history there are many like Harry, living out their tiny portions of time over and over again – messages are passed generationally and the world building is stunningly imaginative. Harry himself is a marvel, his thought processes and decision making will keep you hooked into this – despite his best efforts the future world keeps looking bleaker. He has a marvellously brilliant nemesis that he comes up against in each separate life and the interaction between these two is one of the huge strengths of the novel. Loved both of them to be honest really was not sure who I wanted to “win”.

 

Overall then a magnificent read. Loved it. Highly Recommended as is Touch, Claire’s latest novel. I don’t think I’d like to be Harry though. I truly think that once is enough!

 

Happy Reading Folks!