The Bone Clocks (2014) by David Mitchell is a genre-defying epic that spans six decades, interweaving mundane human drama with a hidden war between immortal factions. The novel unfolds through six interconnected narratives, each narrated by a different character, beginning with Holly Sykes, a rebellious English teenager who runs away from home in 1984 after a breakup—only to stumble into a supernatural conflict that will shape her entire life.
Mitchell’s kaleidoscopic storytelling shifts from Holly’s working-class struggles to the arrogant charm of Cambridge student Hugo Lamb, the war-torn journalism of Ed Brubeck, and the narcissistic downfall of novelist Crispin Hershey. Beneath these human stories simmers a cosmic battle between the Anchorites, soul-devouring immortals, and the Horologists, reincarnated beings who protect humanity.
The novel’s brilliance lies in its layered realism and sudden fantastical leaps, blending literary fiction with sci-fi, horror, and dystopia. Themes of mortality, greed, and ecological collapse crescendo in a 2074 apocalypse, where an aging Holly faces a world ravaged by climate change—and the remnants of the immortal war.
A masterpiece of structural ingenuity, The Bone Clocks rewards Mitchell fans with easter eggs linking to Cloud Atlas and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.
