The trailer is out for the highly anticipated Sky 1 drama A Discovery of Witches so it must be time to delve into a series of books I love and are on my forever shelf with endless revisits – the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.
The All Souls Trilogy
The trilogy consists of
- A Discovery of Witches
- Shadow of Night
- The Book of Life
I will review them in separate posts to avoid any unintended spoilers for the previous books.
The series follows Diana Bishop, a witch and scholar of Alchemy as she inadvertently finds a lost manuscript hunted for centuries by the three paranormal species – witches, vampires and daemons. One of those searching is a vampire, Matthew Clairmont and as their relationship grows so does the danger and the plot thickens.
The detailed descriptions of the Bodleian library, many fully developed characters to fall in love with entwined with the paranormal and history drew me in. Her love for history shines through. Like Harry Potter and Pottermore, The All Souls trilogy is no longer just three books; Deborah Harkness has created a world for fans to explore. A community of like-minded people has grown from it with discussion groups, websites for fans and podcasts. A complete guide of the books, The World of All Souls, was released this year – it is on my Christmas list. There is even a yearly convention to attend in person or online. I have been an online attendee and they are worth a look. With insights to the characters, book readings, competitions and music it adds a new dimension to the reading experience. If you love the books, you can immerse yourself in their magic. The growth and popularity of the All Souls world is helped by Deborah being active and involved on social media sharing insights and updates into the characters and world they live.
When the programme is released I predict a sharp increase in the interest in these books and I can’t wait for the discussions that will follow. With the release of her new book Times Convert in September 2018 it is a busy year Deborah Harkness.
Want to find out more:
Deborah Harkness website
Follow her on Twitter and Facebook
Website for fans:
Have you read the books or been to the convention? Let me know below. This is a series I could talk about for hours.
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Kate Kenzie Writes 