Archer: On the River of Time (292)

by Carl Hare

Fictional three years in the life of Ray Archer. Archer portrays three years in the life of Ray Archer, a fictional Canadian actor/director dedicated to exploring performance styles with his diverse company. Following a Canada-wide tour of King Lear performed in mask, Archer takes his new epic history of Canada across the country and to Ireland, where a strange encounter changes his life in ways he could not imagine. Written in both modern and traditional poetic styles, Archer is Book Three of the epic trilogy On the River of Time, which examines three figures―one mythical (Odysseus), one historical (Edmund Spenser), and one fictional (Archer)―and the links between them across 3,000 years

648 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2022

Reviews

[Literary Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poetic style used by Carl Hare in Archer: On the River of Time is not only appealing to read, but also striking. The author’s sophistication when writing, and the flow of the narration display a different level of literary writing. As a lover of poems, I was amazed by how exceptional Carl Hare is when linking narratives and arranging the words. Every poetic line gets one to appreciate literature and gets the reader deeply immersed in the book.

We follow the life of Ray Archer, who is a fictional Canadian actor and director. His life revolves around overseeing productions, analyzing performances, giving directives and seeing through acting projects among other things. As Archer follows the King Lear tour across Canada, he experiences a variety of curious events that will inspire the readers imagination and keep you coming back to see what could possibly happen next (I suppose much like Odysseus’s story). Things get progressively more interesting as he tours Ireland where Archer must face the changes taking place in his life. His life changes dramatically and that transition is something I was enthralled with; and was certainly something that called me back to this book again and again. The author uses both modern and traditional poetic styles in this spellbinding story, which was a great concept that was executed well, as this made the reading more colorful. The vibrancy in the authors words, tender narration and composure can be felt from the first page.

I enjoyed reading Archer’s story as much as I loved Odysseus and Spenser. It is incredible how Carl Hare managed to intertwine stories from the three characters while still being able to give each character their individual story.

Archer: On the River of Time is an entertaining novel that will get readers to appreciate poetry, mythical stories, and historical fiction as well. The phrases, literary stylistic devices, diction and engrossing tales make this book a must read. This brings a fitting end to an epic trilogy that I found to be eloquent and insightful. With an enchanting writing style and intriguing characters this is easily a book, and series, I would recommend to fans of epic, or ancient, poetry.