When I picked up Discovery of Witches, the drive
behind reading it was to see what all the hype was about.
After finishing the book (very quickly may I add) I was in
fan girl mode. Being a lover of all things history, I loved
the dedication to detail and plainly evident research
Deborah Harkness used to create a magnificent rich
adventure. When I was given the opportunity to read the
second installment in the trilogy, I couldn't get my hands
on SHADOW OF NIGHT fast enough.
Since this novel is the second in a Trilogy, it is
difficult
to give a summary without giving spoilers of the first
book.
Diana and Mathew do go back to Elizabethan England with
hopes of finding the Ashmole 782 manuscript. What they
discover is how difficult it is to exist in a time where
you
cannot leave a personal mark without jeopardizing the
future
that you came from.
There are many things to love about SHADOW OF NIGHT. One of
my favorite aspects of the novel is the characterizations
of
famous people in the Elizabethan time period. Being able to
see a fresh outlook on how Queen Bess, Kit Marlow, William
Shakespeare and many more would act, talk, and react to
situations was amazing. I truly enjoyed the fact that not
all the infamous characters of history were agreeable
people. Harkness showed the flaws each of them might have
possessed including jealousy and being bad tempered.
Just because a person was famous does not mean you would
like them as a person.
Another of my favorite things was how difficult it was for
Diana to blend in to her foreign surroundings. Every time
one of the Elizabethan characters commented on her posture,
speech, and accent, it made me giggle. Many people forget
that even though historical figures spoke English, their
speech would sound like a foreign language compared to
modern translations. I love that Harkness thought about
this
and made it a serious issue within the story.
There are so many reasons to love the story that Deborah
Harkness has created. To write about them all would create
a
review probably as long as the books themselves. SHADOW OF
NIGHT is a detail driven adventure that will bring you back
in time. The circumstances the characters find themselves
in will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting more.
As a
Tudor enthusiast, I was thrilled by the way Harkness
portrayed Elizabethan England and the infamous people who
made the time so interesting. I am placing SHADOW OF NIGHT
immediately on my favorites shelf where it belongs.
"Together we lifted our feet and stepped into the
unknown"—the thrilling sequel to the New York Times
bestseller A Discovery of Witches
Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her
debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the
magical All Souls Trilogy and an international
publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop,
Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome
geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they
found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over
an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.
Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’
cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and
Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies,
subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the
mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe
and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor
her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he
thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782
deepens.
Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a
world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries,
delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the
season.
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