Stats:
#2 in All Souls Trilogy
592 Pages
Published 10 July 2012
ASIN: B006WEZ9TK
Amazon//Barnes&Noble
Synopsis:
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.
My Thoughts:
Shadow of Night takes off right where Discovery of Witches ended. Diana & Matthew have time traveled back to 1590. In particular, time travel can be a difficult thing to portray. Harkness executes it insanely well. You have The Butterfly Effect going on - and you notice little things that didn't really make much sense in the first book, now make sense with the time travel. I ended up finding a forum that discusses many different layers of the story relating to history and mythology. I will definitely be rereading both books soon and taking vigorous notes. I enjoy a book that can invoke deep thinking and a lot of detective work :)
In this installment, more of Matthew's past comes up - events, friends, and family. It is a much more emotional tale and I found myself angry and sad - there were definitely some bittersweet moments too. I especially like Matthew's father, Philippe. It was hard to really get a feel for his true character at first, but after a few chapters, I couldn't help but really like him. Even if he's a little on the cunning, conniving side! Diana was much more enjoyable in this book - she seemed like more the scholar instead of a little ditsy love drunk girl.
The third and final book is bound to be a killer ending and I am painfully awaiting for the reveal of all my question's answers! :)
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group USA for the galley!
Previous Review:
Beyond the Wall [here]
Linked up at...
