Book: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
Reviewed by: Marie
Being a bookseller has a few lovely perks. Sometimes, you happen to get your hands on a hotly anticipated book way before anyone else does. And sometimes it happens that you are just finishing the first book of what is shaping up to be an entertaining trilogy when the second installment falls in your lap. And even sometimes you happen to be having knee surgery and won’t be able to do anything but sit and read for three days, uninterrupted. That last one doesn’t have anything to do with being a bookseller, but that’s what happened to me, and I was glad to have such a great read to keep me company through the long healing process.
Shadow of Night is the second in the All Souls trilogy, written by author and historian Deborah Harkness. Already an academic writer, focusing on Elizabethan history and the history of Alchemy, A Discovery of Witches was Harkness’s first foray into fiction, which was published to high acclaim in early 2011. The story features many familiar themes: magic, witches, vampires, time travel, but presents them in a new way and with fresh twists, making it more than just another fantasy trilogy. Our heroine is the strong willed and extremely talented witch Diana, living an academic life in denial of her heritage. She discovers a magical tome, Ashmole 782, and attracts the attention of every creature in the vicinity, including the handsome Matthew Clairmont, a devastatingly handsome and mysterious vampire. Adventures ensue, revolving around attempts to discover more about Ashmole 782, and relocate it as Diana has accidentally sent it back to the archives of the Bodleian library at Oxford and cannot call it back out.
Discovery of Witches ends on a huge cliffhanger, and Shadow of Night wastes no time in jumping right into the story. I was quite pleased not to have to wait for more than a year to find out what happened next when I turned the last page of Discovery. And quite a bit happens! Shadow is also quite hefty, but it has a large story to tell, and a lot of interesting history to reveal. Harkness is at her best imagining life in Elizabethan London, drawing from her own extensive knowledge and work about the times, and imbuing her story with interesting historic details. The story moves along, Diana and Matthew both develop as characters in interesting ways as more and more of their shrouded histories are unveiled, and new characters are introduced to the plot that add to the story’s depth and intrigue. All of this is told in Harkness’s descriptive prose, which paints a vivid image of her characters and the world she creates for them.
This story is great fun and very entertaining, a good build on the story and a good set up to resolve. It is an enjoyable summer literary vacation (it’s certainly much colder in Elizabethan London than Austin in July). I look forward to finding out what happens to Diana and Matthew and Ashmole 782, but as of right now, not even Harkness’s website has any information about what their fate might be…
Copies of Shadow of Night are available in-store and from www.bookpeople.com.
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