Shadow of Night
Deborah Harkness
July 2012
588 pages on the nook app
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As this is the sequel to A Discovery of Witches, I’m not gonna rehash the plot. Partly because it’s a sequel, but mostly because there isn’t much of one.
As I mentioned on twitter, I loved this book…even if I consider it mostly irrelevant. Which is a weird way to feel about a book, I know, but Harkness can really bring the past to life.
As far as setting and characters go, this book kicks some serious ass. I loved reading about everyone (both new and returning characters), and I especially loved reading about them as they gallivanted around Elizabethan London, and France, and Prague. It was fun getting to know most of the secondary characters (even if a certain someone with the initials C. (“K.”) M. was a complete and total dick), and getting Harkness’s spin on a good many real-life historical characters (well, not that they’re real now…but they were real then). Philippe and Gallowglass were special favorites. And Queen Elizabeth, although I wouldn’t want to be BFFs and hang with her.
But. In terms of plot progression? Not a whole lot was happening here, people. In fact, almost nothing of any significance happens, other than some witch training (that took ages to get to) and the finding of a certain book. So while it was entertaining as hell, and interesting to boot, it was also a bit of a head-scratcher. Diana and Matthew spend seven freakin’ months in the past, and they spend most of those seven months socializing. And getting dressed to go socializing. Seriously. Ruffs got some major print time.
Also (you know I’m not happy when I toss out the Also.). Not that I wish to dwell on the unpleasantness of 16th century life, but you can’t live 500 pages of life in the past and NOT mention the inconvenience of life without modern plumbing. You can’t tell me Diana didn’t find it hard to adjust to a sudden lack of toilets and hot showers. Because if I landed in the past, as fascinating as I would find it, you can damn well bet that I’d be bitching my head off about the lack of a toilet and hot shower.
I didn’t read the first one and probably won’t read this one but my sister’s really looking forward to it.
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It will be interesting to see what I think about this one after having loved the first book. I have heard mixed things, but since I love historical fiction, I am sure that some of the stuff that may have bothered others might not bother me. I just want more Matthew and Diana…oh, but without the controlling behavior!
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I juuuuust finished A Discovery of Witches last night, so I am excited to see the sequel up and about the blogging world! I really enjoy history, so I’m thinking the lack of plot will be bearable. The lack of complaining about plumbing, however, might cause some problems.
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I’d be right there with you bemoaning indoor plumbing and hot water and decent restaurants. I’d be a major pain. It would be fun to read a time travel book where the main charater bitches non-stop. Well, maybe not … a short story perhaps. Curious to hear that not much happens … I’m on the fence about reading this but I suspect I’ll give it a go at one point. Didn’t love the first one.
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Amen and right on. I want Gallowglass and/or Phillipe to have a spinoff series.
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I am glad you enjoyed reading Shadow of Night despite its flaws. I felt very similarly about the book. I wondered about the plumbing issue too–especially someone like Diana.
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Actually, wealthy Elizabethans did have indoor plumbing… if you consider servants plumbing. :p Anyway, there were Elizabethan “bathrooms” that looked a lot like modern bathrooms.
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I loved this book — and yes, the plot didn’t advance much, but I didn’t care!
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I am really not a historical fiction person, which may explain why I didn’t like this one nearly so much as the first. For me the plot really dragged, and while I appreciated that it finally picked up in the last 100 pages or so, I really could have done with a bit of a brisker plot and a little less “scene setting”. I think that I wasn’t fully expecting the book to spend its entirety in the 16th century, so that required some mental recalibration on my part as well.
Still looking very much forward to Book 3, but for me, this one was a bit of a letdown (again, probably due to my own reading proclivities).
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