A Discovery of Witches was hailed by Entertainment Weekly's 2011 preview as "Twilight for the tweedy set," and I would have to agree. Full of all the action, the romance, and the mystery of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, Harkness' trilogy is so much more. As told by leading magazines, A Discovery of Witches is: ". . . romantic, erudite, and suspenseful. . . . Harkness attends to every scholarly and emotional detail with whimsy, sensuality, and humor."
Now the greatness continues with book two, an entirely new adventure for the magic-spinning historian and her vampire scientist.
What is Shadow of Night About
A Discovery of Witches introduced us to Diana Bishop, a reluctant witch who delved into the humanity of history instead of her magical abilities, and Matthew Clairmont, a voracious vampiric scientist interested in not only blood but the evolution of all species and its meaning for the future of his race. Book one left off with the two characters preparing to travel back in time in search of an unknown manuscript and safety for the recently-powerful Bishop witch.
Book two picks up at that crucial time-traveling moment, setting the action-packed pace for the novel and establishing the setting in Elizabethan England. Here, readers follow along as Diana and Matthew search for the Ashmole 782 manuscript, work at evading the Council and new enemies, try not to draw attention to themselves, look for a witch to train Diana in the midst of witch trials, meet long-dead persons and avoid changing the past so as not to change the future.
That, in a nutshell, is what Shadow of Night is all about, but it is about the relationships more than anything else. Matthew gets to see friends and family that he lost along time ago, Diana meets the people she has only ever just read about, and they learn together the deeply resonating impact of goodbye.
For Matthew it is a bittersweet time of seeing the long-since deceased, but goodbye is not any easier for him the second time around.
For Diana these goodbyes give her a glimpse into the sadness of immortality for a vampire like Matthew, not only with the goodbyes, but with the necessary identity recreations too.
My Thoughts on Deborah Harkness' Shadow of Night
I finished reading this book almost two weeks ago and have delayed my review in hopes that I could develop better objectivity, with no such luck. My biased opinion is that I loved this novel. Having read the first story in the All Souls trilogy, I was overly-excited to get my hands on book two for review purposes. I was not disappointed, in fact I am left even more eager for the final installment. It is easy to invest in this trilogy, to grow anxious for what the future holds and find that the next page, and the next after that, are all too irresistible. Deborah Harkness is a word-smith extraordinaire who brings a light to her writing, a very unique voice, that draws readers like moths to a flame.
Shadow of Night was an emotional novel, full of detailed scenes encompassing loss, fear and pain at it's most bitterness. On more than one occasion I shed a tear for the characters, but I did smile a lot too. This book contained adequately used erotic scenes that the first novel didn't have as well. They weren't used to simply add a little romance, but were necessary to progress the story along, specifically where Matthew and Diana's relationship was concerned.
The sub-characters really made the story come to life too. Meeting Matthew's father was crucial for plot purposes, but crucial in getting to know the depth of Matthew's character. We see deeply into what made Matthew into the vampire he is, getting a rare glance into his back-story that was not inappropriately thrown in at all. We also meet his friends, both famous and secretive alike.
Reading about real-life folks like Sir Walter Raleigh, or Queen Elizabeth the first, were entertaining, but it was the unknown characters that made the book as wonderful as it is. Characters like Gallowglass, Goody Alsup, and Annie, made Shadow of Night a novel worth reading more than once. Gallowglass, especially, is a character I want to see over and over again, someone easy to like and unforgettable.
Obviously this novel is one I highly recommend and plan on reading again. My only complaint being the lack of depth shown on a particular event about a baby. I wanted more emotion from those scenes, but it hardly deterred me from the story. The third installment in the trilogy has yet to have a release date, but you can bet I will be anxiously awaiting its release.
BOOK DETAILS
Title: Shadow of Night
Author: Harkness, Deborah
ISBN: 978-0-670-02348-6
Image Credits: Deborah Harkness