The Book of Life: A Novel (All Souls Series)

I waited patiently (or maybe not so patiently) for Deborah Harkness’s The Book of Life, the last book in her All Souls Trilogy. And it was well worth the wait. Harkness does a great job of finishing off this trilogy, which is wonderful. In the first two books, we watched witch Diana Bishop discover the depth and breadth of her powers with the help of her husband, vampire Matthew Clermont. Together with a large retinue of family and friends, the two of them work to discover the secret in Ashmole 782, also known as the Book of Life, before other, nefarious ‘creatures’ can discover what is written in its elusive pages. Harkness does a fantastic job of involving almost every character brought to light in this book. It’s enthralling reading; just as you’ve started to wonder what happened to a witch, or a vampire. or a daemon, Harkness brings them back into the story in a way that doesn’t seem contrived. Another wonderful bonus of this trilogy is that this story is finished, and finished well, but there are many other stories left to be told. I don’t know if it was intentional, but I was left hoping that Harkness would take the time to write a book about some of the other characters. What will happen to Marcus and Phoebe? How about Gerbert? Agatha Wilson? What is Jack’s story? And Father Hubbard would be a book of his own. There are stories and stories of witches and vampires just waiting to be told. But, if Harkness never told another story about any of these creatures, I would be okay. The trilogy had a definite ending, one that satisfied me. Thank you Deborah Harkness for creating such an intelligent book about a fantastical world. I didn’t feel like a I needed to check my brain at the door to read about witches or vampires. Thank you for weaving a wonderful story that involves magic, history, adventure, and history. Thank you for giving me a place to lose myself, at least for awhile.

Back in their present, Matthew and Diana must deal with grief, the realities of becoming parents, and the complex and dangerous dynamics of creature politics and vampire families; Diana must embrace her weaver magic, and Matthew must deal with his blood rage. (Though reviews are inherently subjective, I prefer to provide some organization to my opinions through the use of a personal rubric. The following notes may contain spoilers.) Plot and Setting: 4.8 -- Plot is engaging from start to finish. Has many unique elements, no major holes, and a sense of focus. Setting is clear and believable. Timeline may be a bit hard to follow. Again, a story with many facets, tied together by Diana and Matthew's relationship and the difficult things they each must learn to accept about themselves, particularly as they become parents and as they navigate the dangerous waters of creature politics. True love, danger, sacrifice, and all that good stuff. Good landmarks to keep track of time passing, but quite a few larger leaps through time, which is a bit disorienting. Characters: 5 -- Relatable, realistic, interesting, dynamic characters. Even minor characters have depth, as do the relationships between characters. All the characters continue to be complex and brilliant. They grow and develop and challenge and help each other, and it's great. Diana is interesting in this one: her unusual, supernatural characteristics take over in more and more ways, and yet she is still very much herself most of the time. And of course there are babies, and people relating to babies, which is always a chance for adorableness and deep emotion. Mechanics and Writing: 5 -- Few, if any, typos, punctuation issues, or word errors. (<3/100pgs) Intelligent use of POV. Skillful writing that adds to the story. I actually only spotted one error in the entire book, and it was a trivial one. POV is mainly 1st-person Diana, with some scenes (mostly when Diana is not present to narrate, but not always) in a sort of universal 3rd-person narrative, dipping into the thoughts of whoever is needed to tell the important details. The POV in this one did start out a little strangely, as it took a little while to get back to Diana's familiar narration, and sometimes we are shown Diana from someone else's perspective, which was a bit disconcerting. Redeeming Value: 3.2 -- Partially focused uplifting themes or lessons. Drugs, alcohol, violence, etc, are not glorified, though there is definitely shaky ground. Several mildly explicit sex scenes. Implied moral guidelines for behavior. This one feels darker and more violent; Benjamin is truly evil and depraved, using rape, torture, and murder to further his own agenda, or just for the fun of it. And Peter Knox is right up there with him. Several sex scenes between Matthew and Diana, but again, they may be fairly explicit, but not gratuitous. Strong themes of honesty and acceptance, bravery and love. Personal Enjoyment: 4.5 -- I loved it. Highly enjoyable and very entertaining, with perhaps an issue or two that tempered my pleasure. I’d enjoy reading it again.

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I found the entire series thoroughly gripping. I initially bought it on Kindle, but now decided that I wanted the actual books and give it a third read. I loved the story, the characters and the lore, especially when mixed with actual historical figures and facts. I even bought the TV series on DVD's and have watched them more than once. If you like stories involving witches, vampires and daemons, you will enjoy this series.

このシリーズの前編、日本語版の「魔女の目覚め」と「魔女の契り」は、とても面白く一気に読んでしまい、読み終わった後、すぐに最初から読み直しをしてしまいました。初読では酌み取れなかったところの表現や機微に触れることができ、何度も楽しむことができました。小説で、読み終わった後直ぐに最初から全てを読み返すようなことは初めてで、それだけこの小説にハマっています。日本語版の完結編を待っていたのですが、待てずにUSのAmazonでは英語版を読むことにしました。英語はあまり得意ではないので、読むよりは聴く方が挫折しないだろうと思い、Audio版を購入しました。CDで19枚でしたが、自分の期待とは異なる筋書きの意外な展開もあり、面白く一気に2日で聴いてしまいました。筋書きは、自分で実際に読んで楽しんでください。このシリーズの先の２つを楽しめたのでしたら、きっと同様に楽しめると思います。 今この本を読むためにKindleを購入したところです。Auditoを再度最初から聴きながら本も同時に読んでいます。 何度も楽しめています。

Loved this trilogy, it’s vampires and witches for adults!!

Het engelse boek hoort tot mijn favorieten, aan de nederlandse vertaling heb ik me vaak geërgerd niet best gedaan. Niet zo best dus.