Book Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

I broke one of my rules in reading this book (and the book that precedes it).

Never read a book that is part of a series or trilogy until all the books are done and you can read them one after the other.  

I think that my biggest criticism of the book would not be an issue if I had read A Discovery of Witches  recently and hadn't read 40,000 other things in between the two books.  As I writer, I know that one of the hardest things to do when writing a sequel is to remind readers of all the important information from the first book without sounding like you are trying to remind them.  Harkness does get the reminders in there, but like I said, it's been awhile since I've read the first book, so those little hints weren't enough to bring back all the detail from the first book that I wanted and needed.

Overall, I found the book fascinating.  How could it not be?  It has all the elements of my favorite stories--spies, history, magic, even a little science.  Diana (a historian and witch who doesn't know how to use her powers) and her husband Matthew(a vampire and geneticist) go back in time to Elizabethan London in search of a book that holds the secrets of the creatures (vampires, witches, daemons) and may be the key to discovering how they were created and why they are now dying out.  In addition to the dangers of the possibility of changing the past and thereby changing the future, they must deal with dangers from other creatures and the fact that in both times, their marriage is a violation of an ancient agreement.

But they are not without allies.  They travel to a time and place where Matthew lived, so his friends and associates (all the big names of the Elizabethan era, and in this book, many of them vampires or daemons as well) form a circle of trusted companions.  I was excited to see John Dee in this, but disappointed that he didn't have a larger role.  Shakespeare's role is also minor, but he does get the last scene of the book.

The author, a professor of history herself, weaves an intricate tale, leaving the reader (or at least this nerdy reader) wondering how much is history and how much is fiction.  Luckily, at the end of the book is a list of all the characters with the names marked that have been acknowledged by historians.  It tells you who was real, but not how much of what they did in this book is actual history.  I guess that is what google is for.

My favorite part of the book is when Diana is meeting with the witches of the city and learning about her magic and witchcraft.  I found it interesting that Diana noticed that although she had been taught that the craft was more important than inherent magic, these women focused on the elemental magic within them. I also loved that Diana's familiar is a fire drake.  I also found familiars to be different in this book that what I had encountered in other books.  Another thing to look up more information on.

My second favorite part was when Diana was spending time with Mary Sidney working in her alchemy lab.  I love these portrayals of strong women from a time when many women were not allowed much freedom.

Was this an absolutely amazing, can't put it down book?  No.  Was it good enough that I'm annoyed that I can't just jump right into the next book.  Yes, especially since we're back in the present time and DNA will be playing a big part again, I hope.