BOOK REVIEW: "Shadow of Night," by Deborah Harkness

BE WARNED: SPOILERS TO COME. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Shadow of Night, the second book in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, is a fairly good follow-up to the first book. The book functions well as the second act in a three-act narrative, which is fairly important for a trilogy.

A brief summary:

Diana and Matthew go back to 1590 England (and Prague, and France) to learn more about the mysterious Ashmole book and to teach Diana more about her magic. While there, Matthew's backstory unfolds and they get clues to the future of their relationship.

As a standalone narrative, Shadow of Night is a pretty good book. As a sequel to Discovery of Witches, it's even better. Matthew and Diana develop more character, independently and together, and they handle threats to their relationship in ways that reflect their character development. This includes one part where Matthew will not sit down and have a much-needed Big Boy Relationship Talk, so Diana finds a way to make him have the much-needed talk without resorting to anything too dangerous.

Now I'm going to do something that I've never done in a book review: Making a List of Favorites/ Least Favorites.

spoilers ahead

new character

Favorite: Gallowglass or Jack Blackfriars. Though Henry Percy, Walter Raleigh, Rudolf II, William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and a number of other historical figures make appearances, these two fictional ones are my favorites. Gallowglass is Matthew's nephew (in vampire lineage), and, once he gets used to the idea that Matthew is married to a witch, is a very fun character. Though I always imagined him at around the same age as Diana, he always calls her "auntie," which is funny in contrast to his description (tall, Scottish, and burly). If this were a movie, I would probably ask Chris Hemsworth to style his hair like he does when playing Thor and learn a Scottish accent.

STOP LOOKING SO SERIOUS, GALLOWGLASS.

Source: screenrant.com

Jack is a street rat. I wasn't sure about his function at times, but he allowed Matthew to show his paternal side occasionally. For the record, "Matthew" and "Paternal Side" are things that I didn't think would go together, but it happened and it was adorable.

Least Favorite: Diana's father. Though Diana and her father meeting by chance in 1590 was an interesting chapter, it felt thrown in at the end. He did make a few important points to help his daughter's marriage and magic, they all seemed like things that could have been said by someone else. William Shakespeare could have sent them on their first real date, and the coven that Diana learns from could have pushed her a little bit farther without the help of her father. It was interesting to read Diana's encounters with the father she lost at age 7, but it felt unnecessary somehow.

scene in the book

Favorite: okay, I've narrowed it down to two.

First, there was when Philippe, Matthew's vampire father, finally accepted Diana into the family. The entire chapter was intense for a number of reasons, but when he finally accepts her into the family, every interaction he has with her makes much more sense. There is one final test, which results in perhaps my favorite line in the book: "I just killed a man! Now is not the time to discuss our marriage." (Philippe throws Matthew and Diana a Real and Proper Wedding after that, which is a pretty good scene in itself.)

Second is when Diana and Matthew somehow get on the topic of vampire romance novels. It's only a brief exchange and I'm not sure I should include it, but whatever. It's very funny because, in the context of a vampire romance thread, it calls out basically every vampire romance novel ever. It concludes with my second-favorite line in the novel: "Help! I think I married a vampire!"

Least Favorite: It's hard to say. As a whole, the novel stands out as a fairly cohesive work. The final scene is good for showing how each artifact from Matthew's modern-day life winds back up at his home 420 years later, but I would rather the work end on more of a cliffhanger to race through to the third book.

Some of the flash-forward scenes are somewhat weak as well, but help to introduce at least a few new people. It does make more sense to show these connections rather than have someone say "hi, this is _________ we met when we were searching for you" or something.

overall impressions

this is one rollicking ride. If you like vampire romances where vampire romance is only half the point, definitely pick up this series.

BOOK HAUL!

I love books. My reading list is long, and I really should not be adding to it when I have a bunch of other books I need to finish first.
My actions do not wish to comply. I only bought four books today, and only one of them is a sit-down-and-read-this-thoroughly book.

First, I bought Beowulf, an edition translated by Michael Alexander. This edition is part of a Penguin Classics series about "Classics that Inspired The Hobbit."
Beowulf is one of the oldest works in the English language, and was originally composed as a tale to be sung, as The Iliad and The Odyssey were. Like those works, Beowulf is, most simply, about a man who kicks mythical butt and takes mythical names, until he is defeated. A lot more than that happens, but you should go find the summary for yourself.
I studied Beowulf briefly in the first half of British Literary Traditions when I was a freshman. This was one of the first clues that I think really old things are really cool. I didn't read it very thoroughly then, so I'm going back to read it properly now. (My next goal is to read it in Old English, but that probably won't happen for many years. I need to learn Old English first.)

I also bought Grace's Guide: the art of pretending to be a grown-up by Grace Helbig. This is basically what it sounds like: a guidebook on How To Do Adult Things, but funnier and more relatable than a wikiHow article on How To Apply For A Job. I follow Grace on YouTube, and I've wanted to get this book since it came out last year. I've been trying to limit my book purchases, but now I regret not buying it sooner. It provides Actual Life Advice similar to what my mom always tells me, but it's written like someone closer to my age than my mom. (This is nothing against my mother. It's just that Grace Helbig is closer to me in age.)

Next up is Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and David King. This is the only one I haven't opened yet, but is probably the one I most need to open. I'm in the process of editing my 2011 NaNoWriMo novel, and I need all the help I can get in editing this and future novels.

Last, I got a jokey sort of book: Pengin Classics Mad Libs. If you don't know what Mad Libs are, you need to find your preferred search engine and look it up. Penguin Classics Mad Libs is just what it sounds: Mad Libs and Classic Literature. Excerpts from Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet, Jane Eyre, and The Portrait of Dorian Gray all make appearances. I'm excited.