Only Time Will Tell - Jeffrey Archer

"The Clifton Chronicles is Jeffrey Archer's most ambitious work in four decades as an international best seller" says the cover of the novel. I disagree. There are much better novels than the current one by Sir Archer.

It so seems that the author has tried to cash in on one of the plots of his previous novel "As the Crow Flies". The sub-plot is the previous novel tends to become the primary story in the current novel. You will also not be surprised to see that the narrative of the new novel is very identical to this novel. These "issues" need not be considered as complaints as they are good for the novel but you get the déjà vu feeling. Comparing the volume of "As the Crow Flies" with the new book, I can safely assume that the volume is cut short to bring it out as a series. I would always love to read a "huge" novel.

Coming back to "Only Time Will Tell", if you just read it as an independent work without comparing it with others, you definitely will like it. Though it is a slow starter, it grips its readers as it progresses. The story encompasses the life of Harry Clifton, the central character who is made to believe stories about father's death. The author deftly takes you through the lives of characters related to Harry in their own perspective. You "enjoy" the feelings going through the characters' mind during the same events.

Incomplete blog...