The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have always been fond of time travel stories and warped (but plausible) viewpoints on this and other worlds. This book was a revelation, a stand out giant of a story. The premise, quite simple, as a "kalachakra", Harry August the hero reincarnations resets his life back to zero but he keeps memories to build on previous experience. Other such souls exist some working for timeline stability others have a dark selfish agenda seeking to dominate world via accelerated technological advancement. The conflict works out over the 15 lives of Harry in which he comes to terms with his illegitimate birth origins and circles around with his deepest friend/enemy both working for and against the world breaking cause. The paradoxes of time manipulation are not over exaggerated serving to move the narrative along without over complication. Lives are long and not always exciting adding to the genuine autobiographical feel of the book.
A really great read that evolves over the course of Harrys personal development. Once hooked in I could not put this one down and has left me with a confirmed impression that humanity is often not ready for the technology we have developed
Was read just after "The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O" By Neal Stevenson which is in the same time manipulation fiction sub-sub-genre but that's another review.

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