Monday, May 20, 2013

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness


I'm not a fan of the witch/vampire/werewolf genre.  But I love a good story.  I was given a Dean Koontz book (Odd Apocalypse...other worldly creatures) and enjoyed every minute of it.  Historical fiction is a personal weakness...however...

What to make of Shadow of Night?  It's a witch story in which (sorry) the main character goes back to late 16th century England for a bunch of reasons, including looking for a lost manuscript.  She goes with a vampire geneticist.  Oh, and I also love time travel books.  Are we starting to see the cliches and genres piling up?  No matter, Harkness makes them work.

I wasn't a fan of the name dropping early on and got a little lost in the first - too many - pages of the book.  But slogging through that yielded a fun story that kept me reading.  After that the pace picks up and I love this kind of peek into history with a few crazy turns along the way.

This book sold really well in hard copy and is now coming out in paperback ....just in time for summer reading!!!!  Worth it?  Absolutely.  I find it hard to believe that this book will be anyone's favorite but it's just so enjoyable.  I'm so glad I read this book!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I can't imagine reading this series and not loving it! I believe this book can appeal to lovers of a wide range of genres - romance, history, fantasy, etc. Professor Harkness masterfully weaves in mythology, religion, history, and geography - I challenge anyone to investigate a name or place referenced in the book and not find some interesting tidbit behind it.

I have my fingers crossed that this will make it to the screen, as it has been optioned by Warner Brothers. I can only see Richard Armitage as Matthew Clairmont...as does this group: www.armitage4clairmont.com

Megan Lisa Jones said...

I would love to see this series as a movie!

Unknown said...

I definitely recommend checking out the website then. There are some amazing videos depicting Armitage as Clairmont. You might also like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/armitage4clairmont

Megan Lisa Jones said...

I will check it out. I've started book one...and I really love it ...so far. Expect that to continue. I will review when done...but need to finish a few other books so this is a side pleasure. Luckily I read fast!
But...to update the review..do read in order. But if you don't, as I'm doing...you lose little. And, indeed, I think I appreciate book one more...
Thanks for the comment!