Only Time Will Tell (Clifton Chronicles Book 1)

This is an enjoyable novel, part of three and soon to be five of the Clifton Chronicles. Harry Clifton may be the illegitimate son of Lord Hugo Barrington, and his extraordinary singing voice as a treble (boy soprano) lands him in a posh school and out of his dire poverty as the (putative) son of a missing or murdered man and his mother, Maisie, who works as a waitress. The entanglement of the Barringtons, who are aristocracy and the Cliftons, who live near the docks of Bristol is rather like a mix of Downton Abbey and Harry Potter. There is a lot of the Harry Potter in Harry Clifton. He has talent. He is good, honest and true. He is picked on for his family background. He goes to a special school. While the characters can be either saintly or devilish and nothing in between, the characters are drawn well and you fall into this story with the ease of jumping into a feather bed. You don't want to get out and the surprise at the end sets up the next volume in the serial--as is the way of novels these days.

Only Time Will Tell by. Jeffrey Archer Rating: **** (4 stars) Book Size: 400 pages Genre: Historical Fiction When I picked up this book I had no idea what to expect. I originally obtained the book up from free from Amazon and it sat on my to be read shelf for a while. I decided to read it for a challenge to read something with green lettering on the cover. Historical fiction is not really my thing, so it was a pleasant surprise that I enjoyed the greater majority of the book. The novel takes place in Bristol London in-between the end of the first world war and the start of the second. It chronicles the life of Harry Clifton from his birth to his late teenage years. The unique aspect of the book is how Jeffry Archer stitches the plot together. He tells it in sections from several different characters. Each section reviews the previous section from a different point of view and then continues the story. The sections always end on a sort of a cliff hanger. The end of the book is perhaps the biggest cliff hanger of them all - since it is, of course, a series. In a way I enjoyed the unique style of writing. It was written so it was easy to follow, but was intriguing all the same. Only certain people had pieces of the story line, and those pieces were not introduced until it was the character's turn to narrate. The downside was that each section was more showing what was already known, it was literally a condensed summary, rather than an intricate weaving of the plot that may have happened if the chapters alternated points of views. The end of the novel also seemed to loose the in depth writing that captivated throughout most of the novel and left with more of a rushed summary. While I am interested in Harry's tale it is not enough of an interest to make an effort to actually continue. As published on The Book Recluse Review

Very impressive story line with characters you hope will succeed in toppling the many challenges they encounter. I was rooting for Harry every page of the way!

Great start to a (so far) great series. I'm on book 3 at the moment and still gripped by this well paced, well plotted tale. I love the structure, whereby the characters are given their own chapters, running parallel, in the same time lines. Okay, so coincidence and one-in-a-million chances rule but such is the quality of writing and storyline, that you easily bypass the 'unlikely' and accept that though not probable they are possible...this IS fiction after all. I should state that I am a Archer fan. Many moons ago, I read Kane & Abel and have since, read just a out everything the man has written. There is something Kane & Abel(ish) about this tale and that suits me perfectly because I still think of that as Mr. Archer's best to date, or maybe 'my favourite', would be more accurate given that it is very much subjective. I think that this series is probably going to take the top spot in my own personal 'Archer list'. I'm fairly confident that it will continue to hold my attention to the end - seven books - if it continues, as it started. Above all else, Mr. Archer is a storyteller and a bloody good one! Existing fans will have already started reading this series, maybe even finished it. To those, who have never picked up a book by this master storyteller, this book/series would be a great place to start, while bearing in mind that he is a more diverse writer than this. I bought the first three books on amazon.co.uk for my kindle at 99p each...how is it NOT worth taking a chance, with offers like that? Go ahead, try it, I'm confident that you'll like it

In my rating system, 4 stars (or higher) indicates that I will definitely read other books by the same author. 3-1/2 stars means I enjoyed the book enough to complete it, but probably won't read the author again. Anything under 3-1/2 stars places the author in the dustbin of my reading history - and ratings below 3 stars are rare, since I usually don't finish such selections. I mention this because I vacillated between 3-1/2 and 4 stars for this book. A couple of times, I almost stopped reading, but then there would be enough of interest to keep me going. In "Only Time Will Tell," all the characters are either totally flawless, without a single blemish on their personalities, or very, very evil. There's no mistaking which category people fall into, from the moment they are introduced. Normally this is a downer for me. But now and then, it's pleasant simply to relax into a comfort book, in which the reader can feel highly superior for being able to identify the good from the bad at the very beginning and predict the outcome of plot twists almost before they occur. In this book, the comfort aspect is not even gussied up (e.g., Gouda with pasta) but instead is presented as plain old mac 'n cheese. For example, the characters are either extremely rich or piteously poor. But it was rather nice relaxing with such upright characters as Maisie (who will do anything - anything! - for her son), and the son himself, Harry, who has a beautiful boy voice and a charming, naïve personality to match. Miss Monday, Deakins, and Old Jack Tarr are also 110% good guy/gals - and there are only two main characters (to remain nameless, so you'll have the joy of meeting them with no advance notice) who qualify for Darth Vader status. What's to like? The storyline, for example, flows nicely and gives the reader insightful vignettes into English life during the pre-World War II period. Also, one can believe that major events in the novel might very well have occurred in real life - no blatant coincidences or outlandish developments which could occur only in fantasy fiction. If only the characters could have had a bit more depth and a few more flaws. "Only Time Will Tell" is the first of three in the Clifton Chronicles. And I can anticipate a time, when I'm in need of comfort, that I'll reach for CC II, despite CC I's shaky 4/star rating.

Firstly I must say this was a pretty good easy read that kept me interested until the end. BTW, I loved the final paragraph. But there were problems with the depth of the story, with so much missing detail. I will list some below - SPOILERS MIGHT BE HERE. 1. When Harry is going to BGS Maisie worries about Harry sharing a room with Stan and the impact it will have on his work, but this is never covered, so did he continue sharing, or not? 2. When Maisie is hit in the face you never have any reference back to how this impacted on her livlihood. Surely as she works in the hospitality industry it would be a problem, not only because of her face, but also revenue. And how do her family react to it? 3. Emma and Harry's relationship. I cannot beleive that with Maisie/Hugo/and Old Jack beleiving they could be related, they would allow the relationship to continue until the day of the wedding. It's beyond silly how this part played out. 4. Old Jack's emergnece back into society. Again this is hardly covered and surely this would have been a major event for so many people to welcome him back, or be angry with him. And how did he managed to get his job with the governement and the refugees. these are just some of my problems, anybody got any others?

Jeffrey Archer has long been a favorite author of mine and this book did not let me down. He is a master of words and storytelling. Every character is developed to the point that you know them. This story flows easily and you are finished and left wanting more. Luckily, there IS more as it is a series. These sagas are Archer at his best. This first book is set for the most part in England around 1920's up until WWII. Archer easily takes you back to the feel of that time period. There are many characters and each has their own story to tell and yet they are also deeply intertwined, although some do not know it until late in the book. I don't want to tell the story, will leave that to you to discover but I will say that I recommend this book to all who want a good story, great and individual characters, different settings and just great writing style. The ending is a twist that may leave you with your mouth hanging open but that's ok because there is a next exciting book just waiting for you.

The first book in Archer’s seven-book Clifton Chronicles series follows protagonist Harry Clifton from his childhood years in a single-parent home in Bristol, England in the post–World War I era through his grammar-school days and into young adulthood. Hindered by poverty and haunted by the mystery surrounding his dead father, Harry fights to escape his circumstances and find a better life for himself and his mother. Along the way he makes some unlikely friends, some predictable enemies, and some life-changing choices that take him from the streets of Bristol to the halls of Oxford to the bridge of a merchant ship in the opening days of World War II. For fans of Archer’s previous epics (KANE AND ABEL, THE FOURTH ESTATE, SONS OF FORTUNE), the story will have a familiar feel. The rags-to-riches storyline and sparse storytelling technique have served the author well for many years, and ONLY TIME WILL TELL is cut from the same cloth. It’s not exactly ground-breaking fiction; on the other hand, the writing is good enough that the story feels comfortable if not particularly gripping. The author employs a mixture of first-person and third-person narrative, breaking the book into eight distinct parts retelling the same events from different characters’ points of view. The resulting gradual revelation of motivations and backstory creates a satisfying depth that for the most part overcomes some heavy-handedness in the description of events. The author also weaves in enough references to real-life people and events to give an authentic historical feel, and the book ends on a cliffhanger that leaves the reader ready to begin volume two (SINS OF THE FATHER, 2012). ONLY TIME WILL TELL is not Jeffrey Archer’s finest work, but it is nevertheless a welcome start to a lengthy series by one of the world’s best modern storytellers.

all downhill from here. not the fault of the seller, fault of the author

Great storytelling with unusual twists woven in just when it seems the story might be predictable. Good book for a reader bored with typical mass produced whodunnits wanting another experience. Story neither filled with violence nor unrealistically sweet. Made me want to read more. My favourite author.

Einwandfreie und schnelle Lieferung

The indefatigable Jeffrey Archer has the rare and happy knack of creating characters with whom the reader instantly bonds and feels concern for. As soon as we are introduced to young Harry Clifton we are on his side and warm feelings follow when life goes his way. The first of the Clifton Chronicles is a satisfyingly fat read, reminiscent of The Forsyte Saga. 'Only Time Will Tell' was a treat that I frequently looked forward to getting back to, thinking about it often. That was until I gave up the struggle and read the book all day long. Helpful, sometimes surprisingly placed supporters gather around Harold Clifton's childhood and, like fairy godmothers at a christening, bless the boy with fortune beyond expectation. Alas, there are also darker forces at work... The first section, the education of Harry, is written in a friendly positive style, a school story of impeccable pedigree, a mixture of literary schoolboy memories, and very easy to get involved with. I felt a sense of frustration when this appeared to come to an end, as I was more than anxious to see what happened next. The change in typeface announces that the Clifton Chronicles are moving along with their next strand. I pressed greedily on and found that the story of Harry was being fleshed out from a different perspective, his mother's, Maisie. Some little details that had been touched lightly on earlier become clearer, rewarding the attention given. And so on throughout the cast, Jeffrey Archer generously and deftly dots the i's and crosses the t's, each narrator/subject bringing more to the feast. Some reviewers have found that this laboured the point but it also builds robust foundations. So far it is set in the 'days before DNA' but hopefully not the 'days before fingerprints'! Of course it is tantalising that we will have to patiently wait for the next edition. This is a tease that was shared by Dickens with his chapters and other soap opera style cliff hangers and so, well, hunger is the best sauce; our openhanded host Jeffrey Archer is no doubt cooking up future excitements and yes, that is something very much to look forward to. And almost certainly that patience will be rewarded, although..Only Time Will Tell...

The plot, natural flow of words and fine intricacies with which Jeffrey Archer tells his stories is unparalleled. Really inspiring.