Shadow of Night (All Souls, #2) in Pick-a-Shelf

Jul 16, 2012 Kathy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: time-travel, historical-fiction, vampires, fiction-with-literary-allusions, england, supernatural, series, fantasy, favorite-authors, favorites

Shadow of Night, the much anticipated sequel to Discovery of Witches, picks up from the point of departure of its predecessor, which is itself a point of departure. Oh, how I love a play on words. Diana, the witch, and Matthew, the vampire, who are the latest super couple of fiction, leave the world of the 21st century and time travel back to 1590 and Elizabethan England. There the couple must navigate their way through a history rich with witch hunts, powerful royalty, and fascinating alchemica Shadow of Night, the much anticipated sequel to Discovery of Witches, picks up from the point of departure of its predecessor, which is itself a point of departure. Oh, how I love a play on words. Diana, the witch, and Matthew, the vampire, who are the latest super couple of fiction, leave the world of the 21st century and time travel back to 1590 and Elizabethan England. There the couple must navigate their way through a history rich with witch hunts, powerful royalty, and fascinating alchemical pursuits. Many new characters are introduced, including Matthew's close-knit group of friends called the "school of night." This group consists of the intellectually and free-thinking elite--Sir Walter Raleigh, Henry Percy,Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Harriot, and George Chapman. "The School of Night held heretical opinions, sneered at the corrupt court of Queen Elizabeth, and scoffed at the intellectual pretensions of church and university." Diana is amazed at the group with which she will become intimately acquainted over the course of their stay in the sixteenth century. She is also to become closely acquainted with a coven of London witches, who do much to help Diana solve the mysteries of her own abilities and history. Matthew's far-reaching connections and roles are revealed, too, as his responsibilities as spy and court favorite of Elizabeth come to light. Matthew's extended vampire family is introduced and plays some pivotal parts in the plot, too. One of the main pursuits of the trip for Diana and Matthew is to locate Ashmole 782, the manuscript Diana called forth in Oxford's Bodleian Library right before she and Matthew met. The much sought after book promised to contain secrets of the supernatural beings that would explain origins and much more. Unable to call back the book in modern day, Diana and Matthew were intent on tracking it down in its pristine state of 1590, with all pages intact. In the wrong hands, it could prove to be an instrument of evil, so the stakes were indeed high.

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip through this particular period of history, and I think Deborah Harkness did an excellent job of describing the people and places of Elizabethan London. Granted, there are a lot of characters to keep up with in Shadow of Night, but they fall naturally into place in the plot, so it didn't prove difficult. The history that was touched upon about witches in this period was not too deep, but it was enough to provide a necessary background for the story. As Diana and Matthew discover more about themselves as a couple, it helps to unravel mysteries of their species, too. The unknown is always lingering, and that helps to keep the whole tale interesting. I look forward to seeing how this odd couple will face their future, while keeping the species from war and destruction. ...more

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Jun 19, 2015 Christa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks-all-vendors

Rereading

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Feb 29, 2020 Joanna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, kindle, rws-2019-winter, 2020-read, pas-readit-2020

Set almost entirely in the 1590s, this book picks up where the first in the trilogy leaves off, with Matthew and Diana headed to the past. This book would not stand alone without the first in the trilogy to set the scene, so you should definitely start with A Discovery of Witches. If you didn鈥檛 like that one, you won鈥檛 like this. If, like me, you found it delishiously readable, and you enjoy the history mixing with vampires and witches, you鈥檒l like this too.

There鈥檚 lots of fun historical detail ...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Tien rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own, net-galley, paranormal, snakes-ladders

Wow, I really don't know what to say about this book. Not because I don't have anything to say but more because I just don't know where to start and if / when I start, I probably wouldn't be able to stop! And then, I would have to placed a red blinking *spoiler* signs all over the post! In saying that, I'd have to note there are minor spoilers (for the first book) below so if you haven't read the first book, please do read my review for A Discovery of Witches intead.

Remember the ending of the fi ...more

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Mar 28, 2020 Stormy added it

Shelves: in-a-place-of-honor, vampires, paranormal, historical-fiction, demons, witches, epic

I'll admit that as much as I enjoyed the first book, I enjoyed the second book more. Deborah Harkness is an artful story teller. She brings history to life. I enjoy the interplay between Matthew and Diana and the whole host of characters both historical and completely fictional. But the richness of the backdrop draws me in. There aren't too many words to describe it, but just enough to give me new pieces to add to the visions I already have in my head about times gone by. The story dips and weav ...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Christa rated it liked it

Shelves: ebook-arc

I love Deborah Harkness' characters, Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont, and was so excited to read their new adventure. While I enjoyed Shadow of Night, I wasn't as enthralled with it as I was with A Discovery of Witches. I liked the storyline and pacing much better in the first book. I felt that this one dragged in places. Although I love historicals, I found that I enjoy Harkness' work more when she writes about contemporary times. I did enjoy seeing the relationship between Diana and Matthew ...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Rachel N. rated it liked it

Second book in a trilogy. Diana Bishop and Matthew de Clermont time walk to the 1500's to look for a mysterious alchemical manuscript aand to help Diana learn how to control her witches powers. I liked the story and definitely want to read the end of the trilogy when it comes out. It just took more than 200 pages for anything to even remotely begin to happen in the story. A lot of the beginning of the story could have been trimmed. ...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Sunflower rated it liked it

Shelves: e-books, fiction-read-2012

More escapism. And more Gabaldon-esque with this second book in the trilogy. Also some of the detail gives away the author's other life as a historian. Not that either of those are bad things. Perfect for reading in front of the fire while the winter carries on outside... ...more

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Apr 02, 2020 Blarneygod rated it liked it · review of another edition

Hahaha I really don鈥檛 like this book series very much, but I love the television series so much that this book provided me with a way to revisit some of my favorite characters. I had to skim over a lot of the history and descriptiveness again, just like I did with the first book. I like the characters and the story, but the parts that I like get buried underneath all the lengthy artful prose.

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