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Showing posts with label All souls trilogy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label All souls trilogy. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Book Review: Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness + giveaway

Time’s Convert 
by Deborah Harkness
September 18, 2018
Pages: 446

Publisher: Viking
On the battlefields of the American Revolution, Matthew de Clermont meets Marcus MacNeil, a young surgeon from Massachusetts, during a moment of political awakening when it seems that the world is on the brink of a brighter future. When Matthew offers him a chance at immortality and a new life free from the restraints of his puritanical upbringing, Marcus seizes the opportunity to become a vampire. But his transformation is not an easy one and the ancient traditions and responsibilities of the de Clermont family clash with Marcus's deeply held beliefs in liberty, equality, and brotherhood.

Fast-forward to contemporary Paris, where Phoebe Taylor--the young employee at Sotheby's whom Marcus has fallen for--is about to embark on her own journey to immortality. Though the modernized version of the process at first seems uncomplicated, the couple discovers that the challenges facing a human who wishes to be a vampire are no less formidable than they were in the eighteenth century. The shadows that Marcus believed he'd escaped centuries ago may return to haunt them both--forever.

A passionate love story and a fascinating exploration of the power of tradition and the possibilities not just for change but for revolution, Time's Convert channels the supernatural world-building and slow-burning romance that made the All Souls Trilogy instant bestsellers to illuminate a new and vital moment in history, and a love affair that will bridge centuries.


After 4 years, Deborah Harkness returns with a new book; Time’s Convert, which tells the story of Marcus’s life, both before he became a vampire and now. Marcus was born in the 1700’s and grew up in New Haven. Phoebe has decided to become a vampire and Marcus’s mate. The process and challenges that she will face, are no different than what Marcus faced so very long ago.

Harkness’s writing is superb and elegant. The words come to life on the pages, filling your imagination with the next chapter in the world of witches and vampires. Marcus’s life has been complicated from the beginning and to get to learn his story as a solder, then a doctor and so much more was a delight. The process that Phoebe endures to become a vampire and to grow as one was both surprising and interesting.

Diana and Matthew’s children round out this wonderful tale with how children that are born from the mating of a vampire and a witch can surprise even the oldest of creatures. I hope the next story to be told will be the lives of these two wonderful characters who are the same yet different.

Getting 5 sheep






Denise B

About the Author:
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Deborah Harkness is the number one New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. Her publications include works on the history of science, magic, and alchemy. Her most recent scholarly book is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution. She lives in Los Angeles.



GIVEAWAY
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Saturday, August 8, 2015

Deborah Harkness Fan Con AllSoulsCon on 9/12--virtual pass giveaway!

Here is some news about the upcoming AllSoulsCon, a fan-run one-day convention celebrating THE ALL SOULS TRILOGY, taking place September 12th in Los Angeles but available to fans all over the world via livestream.

Deborah is attending, as is audiobook reader Jennifer Ikeda, and it’s going to be an outstanding opportunity to meet them and fellow fans, enjoy AST-inspired food, wine, contests, and a lot more! You can see the schedule here, but highlights include:
· Q&A sessions with Deborah Harkness and Jennifer Ikeda
· A Renaissance Music Workshop, with performances by University of Southern California musicians and featuring original compositions by Isaias Garcia
· A fan panel (details to come)

The fans who are organizing this con are fantastic, and we want to help them get the word out about early bird tickets, which are 20% off for a limited time (through August 13th only). 

GIVEAWAY
AllSoulsCon is offering a virtual ticket for giveaway—one I Smell Sheep winner will be able to attend the Con from anywhere by computer.

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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Book Review: The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy, #3) By Deborah Harkness

The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3)
by Deborah Harkness
Hardcover, 561 pages
July 15th 2014 by Viking Adult
After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters fromA Discovery of Witches--with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

The All Souls Trilogy is the vast and sweeping saga detailing the perilous adventures of centuries-old vampire Matthew Clairmont and Yale professor turned reluctant witch Diana Bishop. The primary element propelling the trilogy is the pair’s pursuit of the ancient, terrible text The Book of Life. The book, coveted by all high-level daemons, witches, and vampires is made of living materials and contains the secret of each species’ origins. The implications are massive and Diana and Matthew place their lives on the line, enduring countless tragedies, to ensure the book lands in righteous hands. Published in 2014, The Book of Life was released in paperback this spring. 
Harkness’s tale is very much the thinking reader’s paranormal text. The author, like her main character, is a scholar and this is abundantly apparent in all three texts. The works are expertly researched and meticulously written. Part historical fiction, part scientific journal, part paranormal romance, All Souls is very much an investment in time and attention, but worth every minute. It’s not the kind of text (and I use “text,” because it’s so much more than a set of simple novels) upon which you need to truly focus. It took me a long time to complete The Book of Life because everyday life would easily disrupt the trajectory of the reading experience.

I don’t want to reveal too much about The Book of Life so as to avoid ruining the experience to readers new to the trilogy. Suffice it to say, the third installment of All Souls is very much soul-satisfying. I cried. Twice. At times I felt the book was written just for me with references to personal favourites Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac as well as Abstract Expressionist painter Clyfford Still. I found all three books tenderly and intimately written, abounding in detail. I adored the complete unfurling of Diana’s character as a truly self-possessed and richly talented witch and scholar. The relationship between Matthew and Diana is touching and deep. Although the reader is assured of the passion between the two, their physical romance is tastefully and subtlety written. Theirs is a true partnership. Their pursuit of The Book of Life is largely intellectual and I enjoyed their side-by-side research and scholarly repartee.

Although Diana and Matthew’s tale is largely concluded in this installment, there are definitely hints of works to come, though this may be wishful thinking. One of my favourite characters in the works was Gallowglass, the nephew of Matthew. I’m not sure if his rugged, tattooed, motorcycle-riding appeal is a nod to the typical male leads of the paranormal genre or a hint of a story to come. I hope for the latter. I’m just not sure he has the substance to carry a Harkness work. In addition, there are also the ever-present threats that have yet to be completely vanquished. This, however, instead of being a lead-in to a new series, could be more of a true reading of real-life; nothing is ever truly finished.

In the end, if you’re looking for something more substantive in what can sometimes be a very shallow pool, I suggest All Souls. For me, it ranks among my favourite works. This trilogy satisfies both the entertainment-seeker and literature-lover within me.

5 Sheep





Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:
website-FB-twitter
Deborah Harkness is the number one New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. Her publications include works on the history of science, magic, and alchemy. Her most recent scholarly book is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution. She lives in Los Angeles.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Spotlight: The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3) by Deborah Harkness + giveaway

The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3)
by Deborah Harkness

Hardcover, 561 pages
July 15th 2014
by Viking Adult 
After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters fromA Discovery of Witches--with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.






About the Author:
website-FB-twitter
Deborah Harkness is the number one New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. Her publications include works on the history of science, magic, and alchemy. Her most recent scholarly book is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution. She lives in Los Angeles.