The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
Harry August is on his deathbed. Again. No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes. Until now. 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.
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13recommend
19mentions
13people
2017–2026years
100% recommend
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Fiction I recently enjoyed: The Ana and Din series by Robert Jackson Bennett. Sherlock Holmes vibes, with Kaiju. Also The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North.
Currently reading and enjoying: Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel.
Next to Read: Hollywood, Ending by John Green.
- Well, since nobody has mentioned it yet, I recently read The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander and quite enjoyed it. It's an architecture book but the concepts are universal.
The most impactful book I've read recently has been The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North, which deals with a man in a reincarnation loop.
Since I was going through a bit of a reincarnation phase I also quite enjoyed Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore, although it's a bit jumpy and all over place.
- My reading is largely split between Sci-Fi and Australian crime fiction. So far this year I consumed 16 audiobooks and 68 ebooks. Given the Oz fiction would be a bit more unique to this audience, here are the highlights:
The Fall Between and Burning Mountain by Darcy Tindale recount the investigations of main character Rebecca Giles.
The Survivors by Jane Harper. Seriously, get any book or a shopping list written by Jane and you'll not be able to put it down.
Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth. Another author who's complete catalogue is well worth your time.
Black River and Broke Road by Matthew Spencer.
Unbury the Dead by Fiona Hardy.
Other authors worth noting are Margaret Hickey, Chris Hammer and Christian White.
On the sci-fi side of things, I found Infinite Archive by Mur Lafferty quite cozy. Also the Lady Astronauth Universe series by Mary Robinette Kowal, that starts with The Calculating Starts. Flybot by Dennis Taylor (of Bobbi-verse fame).
I was less enamoured with A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine than others are, and don't feel the need to tackle the second in the series.
I also revisited the John Cleaver horror series by Dan Wells that starts with the excellent I Am Not a Serial Killer.
I've just started Slow Gods by Claire North. I find her books a bit hit and miss for me but so far, so good. I absolutely love The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, and Touch was also quite good, but some of her others I could not finish or didn't event start as they were just not for me.
- Gideon the Ninth - this was a huge surprise to me and lots of fun. I've never read anything else quite like it.
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - This is usually my go-to book recommendation for "whats your favorite book"
Mortal Engines - The first book of a surprisingly poignant YA series which is not only fun throughout, but has one of the greatest and most thought provoking endings of all time.
Cloud Atlas - A beautifuly written story that somehow manages to intertwine separate narratives across time.
Children of Time - A wonderful story about time, evolution, survival and what it means to be human.
- The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
This cleverly written sci-fi novel might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a thought-provoking exploration of a life that repeats.
- Hmm. Instead of answering, you might read a book called The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August.
