Book Review: Shadow of Night

Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2)

By: Deborah Harkness

Published By: Viking Adult

Publication Date: July 2012

Page Count: 584

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: Purchased by Reviewer

Adult - Fantasy, Paranormal

Review of Book #1: A Discovery of Witches

Shadow of Night got off to a bit of a slow start for me; it follows on immediately after the events of A Discovery of Witches, as the main characters Diana and Matthew travel back in time to Elizabethan London, in search of the missing manuscript, Ashmole 782, and help with Diana’s magical powers. They jumped into a cast of characters that took a little while to grow on me, in part due to their innate chauvinism. It was pretty cool to be witness to the likes of Thomas Marlowe and Walter Raleigh chatting in the School of Night brotherhood. 

 However once Diana and Matthew got going, and specifically, once they make a move towards the historic Sept Tours, I was absolutely hooked. I simply adored meeting Philippe De Clermont. He is a foreboding character and very demanding, but I loved how Diana rose to the challenge. Philippe was as larger than life as described in A Discovery of Witches and I felt genuine sadness at what I knew would happen to him. I also very much enjoyed the well researched streets of London that Diana and Matthew lived in; the prose was so rich – I felt like I could smell and hear all the hubbub. I also loved Diana’s lessons in magic and the revelations about her. 

 So often, a middle book in a trilogy is a disappointment, that only serves to tread water. This is as far from that disappointment as a middle book could get. It was unique and yet familiar, richly written and the characters full of life and warmth. I think this is one of my very favourite books I have read all year. A brilliant addition to the trilogy.

Summary:

J. K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Anne Rice—only a few writers capture the imagination the way that Deborah Harkness has with her New York Times–bestselling All Souls trilogy. A Discovery of Witches introduces reluctant witch Diana Bishop, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and the battle for a lost, enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782. 

 Picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night takes Diana and Matthew on a trip through time to Elizabethan London, where they are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the School of Night. As the search for Ashmole 782 deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew’s past tightens around them, and they embark on a very different—and vastly more dangerous—journey.