Only Time Will Tell

Only Time Will Tell
By Jeffrey Archer (386 pages)
Published by St. Martin's Press
Bookish rating: 3.75

In this first vaguely titled book of Jeffrey Archer's wildly popular Clifton chronicles, we're introduced to Harry Clifton, our hero, and lots and lots of drama.

Brinking on commercial lit, this is not the greatest book ever. However, it IS a fun, engrossing story. Archer is not the greatest writer ever. However, he IS a good storyteller. And really, isn't that what we really read for? Stories?

The plot pacing is fast (in fact, at times it seems rushed), the stakes are always high, and the characters are fundamentally good or evil, making it easy to love the heroes and hate the villains.

One beef I had was Archer's treatment of point of view. Although each chapter opener tells us precisely which character we are now following, the narrator pops into various characters heads within a single scene. An omniscient narrator just doesn't seem to work for this book or its set-up. It reads clumsily and can be jolting. You've got to be a damn good writer--not just storyteller--to pull off simultaneous points of view, and I just don't think Archer is at that level.

But these are quibbles, really, because I did indeed enjoy the story and I've already started the second book. So I guess I recommend it?