Time's Fool

My thanks to Unbound Digital for an ebook edition via NetGalley of this contemporary Gothic novel. I did also buy a copy on Kindle.

The opening chapter’s title, ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’, could easily serve as a subtitle for this novel. ‘Time’s Fool’ is set in Barchester, the fictional town created by Anthony Trollope, and features three friends: Sophia, Steven, and Lucy with Sophia’s fiancé John also present (though he can barely tolerate her friends and vice versa). For on Halloween they visit a local crumbling manor reputed to be haunted. However, they find it isn’t deserted as expected and encounter its enigmatic owner, Julian, who quickly befriends Sophia and Steven.

He appears to be strongly attracted to both yet holds back. Meanwhile, there are reports of missing persons and gruesome murders taking place in the town but this doesn’t particularly attract the attention of the young protagonists.

Enthusiasts of Gothic horror wait for these Millennials to start making some connections regarding their new friend. It serves to demonstrate that even those drawn to the Gothic tradition and horror films can still be quite clueless when faced with what they consider irrational and this provides an interesting contrast to other novels in this genre.

I felt the characters were well realised and ultimately cared about their fates. There is quite a focus on the interpersonal relationships and coming to terms with adulthood, which again is rarely explored in supernatural novels. Likewise Julian’s very different relationship with time is explored, often through flashbacks.

Earl’s prose is elegant and lyrical evoking the style of classic Gothic novels yet remaining fresh and contemporary in tone. The novel has many literary and popular culture references throughout

I would certainly recommend it to those seeking an intriguing novel that explores gothic/horror tropes with intelligence and flare. The final chapters blew me away. Powerful and deeply moving.

They gave my ratings a boost to 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars.

3.5 stars.

This hooked me from the start, with the opening scene where Steven is being obnoxious and philosophical. College students having pretentious but passionate debates about their area of study? Sign me up. (And it's a recurring theme throughout the novel, which I found delightful!) There's geeking out and bullshitting your way out of the corner you've talked yourself into, and genuine contemplation on the nature of life and love and what have you.

The second great strength of this was the interpersonal relationships which made the aforementioned arguments enjoyable and made the plot in general work. I love the mix of banter and tender moments between Steven, Sophia, and Lucy — even the romantic entanglements worked for me, for the most part — a bond which not even Julian or John could derail. I also loved how matter-of-factly character's non-heterosexuality is presented, and that it generally subverts stereotypes and tropes.

The writing itself was terrific. Enough details to picture the scene, but not so many that it bogged down the action; and each of the POV characters was distinct. The narrative didn't hinge on big reveals and instead was upfront about what was going on, which was refreshing since I've guessed all the twists I've come across lately and been underwhelmed by the subsequent lack of tension. I did cringe a little at the sexual parts (nothing overtly explicit, but flirting with the boundary of PG-13), but I'm not sure there would've been a non-cringey way to convey the scenes that Earl did.

What didn't work so well for me was the ending. It seemed a little abrupt, especially the fairly cliched ending which was pretty disappointing considering all the great buildup.

All in all, this is a fascinating modern homage to Dracula, Frankenstein, and other scifi/paranormal/Gothic classics, well-told with charismatic characters and an exciting plot.