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A review by hadeanstars
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
3.0
Ostensibly there is absolutely nothing wrong with this novel. It's easy-reading, with a scientific bent, and full of those rather thought-provoking paradoxes that occur every time you watch a time travel movie like T2 and realise that everything is somehow illogical. Actually this book does a good job of avoiding the classic pitfalls, and it turns out to be a clever take on the whole reincarnation jolly.
But there we have it. Clever. I'm not a big fan of clever books. I prefer wisdom and heart, and this does neither particularly well. My major gripe is that for all his many lifetimes, and thus his abundance of life experience, our eponymous hero, Harry August is, well, a bit of an insipid character. I'd hesitate to call him two dimensional, but he's very far from spectacular. Mild mannered and rather mediocre is my impression.
So, all good fun, but not a classic in any shape or form.
But there we have it. Clever. I'm not a big fan of clever books. I prefer wisdom and heart, and this does neither particularly well. My major gripe is that for all his many lifetimes, and thus his abundance of life experience, our eponymous hero, Harry August is, well, a bit of an insipid character. I'd hesitate to call him two dimensional, but he's very far from spectacular. Mild mannered and rather mediocre is my impression.
So, all good fun, but not a classic in any shape or form.