All Souls Trilogy, Almost (2 down 1 to go)

~post by Marie

I choose a book to read for many different reasons.  Sometimes I’m in the mood for something intellectual, a cerebral story that makes me bust out the dictionary app on my phone every five pages and re-read a sentence thrice to savor the complex syntax and erudite overtones.  Other times, I want something really serious, that looks into the blackest parts of the human soul and teases out the fatal flaws through incredible tribulation and leaves me feeling wrung out and grateful that wasn’t my life I just read.  Then there’s what I call the “brain candy” that I turn to when I want something really fun, something quick and breezy that’s a delight to read and moves along at a lovely clip.  It does need something more than that to be enjoyable; I need some good character development, and an intriguing, ever-evolving plotline.

Deborah Harkness’s All Souls Trilogy delightfully satisfies these requirements.  Or at least the first two installments do, which leaves me again faced with that terrible dilemma that strikes the sci fi fantasy world so often.  There have been many, many moments in my reading life when I have just finished a really riveting and involved book, and when I close the last page I suddenly realize that I have a long stretch of months, sometimes years, between the next installment of the series.  Ugh.  Deborah says it’s in the works.

Harkness, a historian by trade, has dexterously applied her extensive knowledge about the history of magic and science (in particular between 1500 and 1700), fine wine, and Shakespearean history to craft a tale about vampires and witches – which many of us have certainly encountered before, but this particular rendition is different.

The series begins with A Discovery of Witches.  Diana Bishop is doing research in Oxford’s Bodlein Library for her studies when she accidentally calls a rare manuscript, Ashmole 782, out of the depths of the library and with it a whole host of supernatural creatures who are drawn to the book and the mystery it holds.  Diana herself is a witch, an orphan of two very powerful witches from old families, a reality about herself she refuses to acknowledge.  Instead she represses her strong and unusual powers and seeks to distance herself from her community of fellow witches.  Added to the mix is one Matthew Clairmont, a tall, dark and handsome geneticist, as well as a 1500 year old vampire.  Despite her efforts to resist, Diana finds herself falling for the broody Matthew, and embarks with him on the quest for the mysterious book, and perhaps the ultimate answer to the question of where supernatural beings – witches, vampires and daemons – truly came from.

Of course the journey to find this book is fraught with danger and foes, and near death experiences that lead to revelations and character insight.  There is also a great forbidden love story that develops between Matthew and Diana, and since Matthew is 1500 years old, he certainly has quite a lot of baggage and ex’s.  At the end of Discovery of Witches is a pretty steep cliff hanger.  Fortunately, Shadows of Night, the second installment, kicks of right away with Diana and Matthew traveling back in time to 1600s Europe, and here is where Harkness really shines.

Our protagonists are still hunting for the elusive and mysterious Ashmole 782, which on this leg of the journey that takes them through England, France, and Prague.  All of the little historical details, descriptions, and attention to world creation is beautiful and usually well done.  While the imagery is great, it does get a little heavy handed at times.  The plot moves along, and Diana and Matthew each continue to develop in their own way, as individuals and as a couple.  Both Diana and Matthew are unique characters, with flaws and strengths, and Harkness does a convincing job of consistently portraying her characters while still allowing them to grow and change throughout the course of the story.

I won’t give too much away, but I will say that the end of Shadow of Night has a somewhat conclusive ending that opens up new doors to possible conclusions to this trilogy.  While there is no set date for its release, the third installment is certainly much anticipated, and will finally solve the elusive mystery of what is contained in Ashmole 782, and provide readers with another enjoyable installment of good ol’ fantasy.

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Copies of Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night are available on our shelves and via bookpeople.com.

Sci Friday is a weekly post focusing on all things Sci Fi. Booksellers Tommy and Marie are you intrepid leaders on this journey through awesome new books; the best and worst of what’s come before; Sci Fi film adaptations and more. Check back next Friday for more!