Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

reviewer: Daphne     August 3rd, 2012     Adult, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Paranormal

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Author: Deborah Harkness
Series: All Souls Trilogy, Book 2
Publisher: Viking USA / Headline Book Publishing (UK)
Published: July 2012
592 pages

Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

After the whirlwind of genres that the first book in the series gave us, I was thrilled to learn the second book would dip into one of my favourites, Historical Fiction. I wasn’t disappointed, as the story took us to Elizabethan England (one of my favourite time periods) and seamlessly incorporated famous historical figures like Christopher Marlowe and Queen Elizabeth I herself. However, as much as I loved being in Diana and Matthew’s historic world, the book moved slowly. While I loved some aspects of the cross-genre writing, the best part of the book for me, the plot, suffered as a result.

What I can say about this book is that it’s smart. Details are meticulously researched. I enjoyed how out-of-place Diana worked hard at speaking, writing, dressing and behaving in correct 16th Century fashion. I loved the flash forwards that showed how Diana and Matthew’s foray into the past left traces on the modern day. Harkness also brings to life into the science of Elizabethan alchemy (a precursor to modern chemistry) and the menace of the witch-hunts going on during that time.

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Teaser Tuesday (18)

reviewer: Daphne     June 19th, 2012     Adult, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  1. Grab your current read
  2. Open to a random page
  3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
    BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is:

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

“I have heard about creatures who could bend time to their will. This is a marvelous day, is it not, Kit? Did you ever think to know a time spinner? We must be careful around her, of course, or we might get entangled in her web and lose our way.”

Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy, Book 2)
by Deborah Harkness

 
 
I was thrilled to be able to get an advanced copy from Viking Press via NetGalley and started reading it immediately. I really enjoyed the early chapters, where Matthew’s friends from the School of Night (the Kit referred to above is Christopher Marlowe). The book then seems to make a bit of a strange detour, which is great from a character development perspective, but I felt like the plot has moved forward at a snail’s pace. Still, I’ve been enjoying the book so far and I really hope the next half of the book focus more on finding out more about the lost manuscript and Diana’s powers!



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Waiting on Wednesday (26)

reviewer: Daphne     June 13th, 2012     Adult, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine and is where we can talk about books we are looking forward to being released!

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy, Book 2)
Release date: 10 July 2012

The thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestseller A Discovery of Witches.

Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

I read the first book A Discovery of Witches last year when it came out and I enjoyed it a lot. It was a well-written, well-paced read with a lot of interesting history and science mixed into the usual supernatural fare. It was unusual but delightful to read about ancient alchemical texts in the same book as DNA analysis. It almost jumped genres, one minute reading like a vampire romance, then a conspiracy thriller, then a non-fiction history text. I originally picked it up thinking it was a stand alone book, and so was a bit frustrated by the ending, but nevertheless, was enthralled by the cliffhanger it left on.

It’s nearly here! I am really looking forward to this second book. With all the genres the previous book covers, this one delves into historical fiction as well, in one of my favourite periods to boot: the Elizabethan era. Now that the relationships and backstories have been established, I can’t wait for them to find out more about Ashmole 782. Mysterious book, spies, Sir Walter Raleigh as a character? This book ticks so many of the right boxes. I really can’t wait!

Update: Since I wrote this post, I was approved for an advanced copy via NetGalley. Thank you so much to Viking (part of the Penguin Group)!



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