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Shadow of Night A Novel All Souls Trilogy Deborah Harkness Books

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Shadow of Night A Novel All Souls Trilogy Deborah Harkness Books

FINAL DECISION: A fine continuation of the story of a witch, a vampire and their search which takes them back in time. I loved how this book developed their relationship and challenged their characters through resurrection of their pasts.

THE STORY: Diana Bishop, a witch, and Matthew Clairmont, a vampire, have broken the law of creatures by having a romantic relationship. Jumping off from the events in book one, Diana and Matthew have traveled back in time to Elizabethan England in order to find a teacher to help Diana learn about and control her powers. Although the two seek safety in the past, they find that a whole new host of dangers threatens them and their relationship.

OPINION: A long and meandering journey through Elizabeth's England where the fictional characters mix with real historical figures, this book develops both the mythology of the trilogy and also the relationship between Diana and Matthew.

I enjoyed seeing these characters approach the challenges that face them. The book, which like the others in the series is over 550 pages, asks for a commitment from its readers. Everything is slow and deliberate -- not boring, not pointless -- and takes its time developing both the characters and the plot. At times during the book, I wondered whether the destination would be worth it. While the conclusion excited me about the finale book in the series, the entirety of the development of the relationship between Diana and Matthew and their own working out of their own challenges from their past snagged me for every page.

The book doesn't always go in the way that I expected it to and it is certainly an epic read. It does suffer somewhat from being part of the trilogy and the middle book at that. At the end of the book there is no real conclusion -- because there is one more book. Thus, this book doesn't truly stand on its own and requires reading both the first and third books in the series.

WORTH MENTIONING: The historical expertise of the author is put to good use here. The past feels authentic and I enjoyed using this book as a springboard to learn more about the real historical figures depicted in the book.

CONNECTED BOOKS: SHADOW OF NIGHT is the second book in the All Souls Trilogy. The book should be read as part of the trilogy.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.


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Shadow of Night A Novel All Souls Trilogy Deborah Harkness Books Reviews

Shadow of Night follows on the heels of A Discovery of Witches. In some ways Shadow of Night is the better book–the text flows more smoothly, not every single character is cranky all the time, and the pacing has improved. However, it has a few flaws of its own.

First, the time-walking; I have a few problems with how this was carried out. For instance, the historical Matthew conveniently vanishes with future Matthew visiting. I can see how this was the only way Harkness could have the story she wanted, but it’s such a bald-faced deus ex machina. Matthew of course knows the famous historical figures of the time, including queens and emperors, which seems awfully stupid for a creature whose very existence relies on everyone else not noticing that he isn’t aging. Matthew and Diana also seem to have picked a very unstable and dangerous time to visit; I never really figured out why they thought that was a good idea. They’re supposed to not make changes to the past, but how could they possibly not when they’re dealing with such powerful people? And yet of course they don’t end up changing too much despite everything they’re doing that the time-appropriate Matthew wouldn’t have. There’s also the inevitable historical trope of the headstrong woman vs. the overprotective man in her life.

Diana is still a Mary Sue, right down to taking in a street urchin on a whim who then becomes a treasured member of the family. The unique familiar. The need for a highly unusual set of teachers. The jealousy or adoration that everyone feels for her. (Yes, even the relevant emperor becomes besotted with Diana. Don’t tell me you’re surprised.) She’s also still ridiculously easy for people to manipulate; she does a lot of stupid stuff–but of course since she’s a Mary Sue, these things don’t come back to haunt her.

What I really want to know is how on earth Matthew-from-the-future and Diana could possibly expect historical Matthew to not notice (after modern Matthew goes back to the future) that he’s been out of commission for ages. I don’t care how much his friends are determined to shield him from that knowledge, it’s going to be really hard to avoid people, say, asking him where his wife is, given that they got to know everyone. It just doesn’t add up. Again, it’s a hand-waved deus ex machina.
FINAL DECISION A fine continuation of the story of a witch, a vampire and their search which takes them back in time. I loved how this book developed their relationship and challenged their characters through resurrection of their pasts.

THE STORY Diana Bishop, a witch, and Matthew Clairmont, a vampire, have broken the law of creatures by having a romantic relationship. Jumping off from the events in book one, Diana and Matthew have traveled back in time to Elizabethan England in order to find a teacher to help Diana learn about and control her powers. Although the two seek safety in the past, they find that a whole new host of dangers threatens them and their relationship.

OPINION A long and meandering journey through Elizabeth's England where the fictional characters mix with real historical figures, this book develops both the mythology of the trilogy and also the relationship between Diana and Matthew.

I enjoyed seeing these characters approach the challenges that face them. The book, which like the others in the series is over 550 pages, asks for a commitment from its readers. Everything is slow and deliberate -- not boring, not pointless -- and takes its time developing both the characters and the plot. At times during the book, I wondered whether the destination would be worth it. While the conclusion excited me about the finale book in the series, the entirety of the development of the relationship between Diana and Matthew and their own working out of their own challenges from their past snagged me for every page.

The book doesn't always go in the way that I expected it to and it is certainly an epic read. It does suffer somewhat from being part of the trilogy and the middle book at that. At the end of the book there is no real conclusion -- because there is one more book. Thus, this book doesn't truly stand on its own and requires reading both the first and third books in the series.

WORTH MENTIONING The historical expertise of the author is put to good use here. The past feels authentic and I enjoyed using this book as a springboard to learn more about the real historical figures depicted in the book.

CONNECTED BOOKS SHADOW OF NIGHT is the second book in the All Souls Trilogy. The book should be read as part of the trilogy.

STAR RATING I give this book 4.5 stars.