The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell, 2014
609 pages
I don't have a story for checking this out so you can come see me about it on the streets.
What I'd already read of Mitchell enticed me enough to keep diving into the magic. This is (probably) a central work describing the exploits of a "cabal of dangerous mystics and their enemies". It connected the previous two books I read, totally unexpectedly in the case of
Thousand Autumns, and I'm willing to bet his other stuff comes into play as well. This should probably have been read before
Slade House though. That book was good but kinda spindly story wise, and threw concepts around like common knowledge. A lot is explained here in
The Bone Clocks.
Told from several different perspectives and spanning decades,
The Bone Clocks is the story of a girl that gets swept up into some kinda psychic war of extensive background involving carnivorous mind predators and body hopping immortal-esque mystics and rapid fire hand symbols. I'm no expert on all that business (that's what the book is for) but it's quite imaginative and fantastical.
The book itself is engaging as ever and definitive in its personal style. Much more cryptic and magically connected, and just as readable. As ambiguous as all the concepts and themes are, the writing style is totally accessible and often hilarious. Rich in humor and a lot of really nice descriptions, never overly complicated but always textured with intrigue and mystery.
8/10