The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

In The Darkest Minds, the first installment of The Darkest Minds Trilogy, we are introduced to a world afflicted by the IAAN disease, short for Idiopathic Adolescent Acute Neurodegeneration.  Only affecting children in the early stages of puberty, this disease results in the death of nearly every child in America.  Those that manage to survivor find themselves with one of five strange psychokinetic powers: hyper-intelligence (labeled a Green), telekinesis (Blue), electrokinesis (Yellow), pyrokinesis (Red), and mind control (Orange).  Under the guise of rehabilitation, all children who managed to survive IAAN, now labeled as “psi,” are rounded up and placed into camps, where they are kept under strict control and prevented from using their abilities.  It’s on Ruby’s tenth birthday that she inadvertently uses her new found abilities as an Orange and is soon taken to one such camp.  She manages to remain undetected by masquerading as a Green for six years but is forced to flee with the help of an anti-governmental group, The Children’s League.  It isn’t long until she realizes they aren’t what they seem and is on the run again, managing to escape with a small group of renegade kids off in search of a safe haven for all those labeled as psi.  But is the sanctuary everything it seems, or is it merely a staging area for greater forces?

There’s no denying that this is an exciting YA trilogy.  In today’s market dystopian fiction and superpowers are an immensely popular combination that, if written well, are sure to find a thrilled audience.  Sadly, The Darkest Minds doesn’t really hold much under the surface.  There’s a story being told and the coming-of-age lessons that are trying to be told are clear, but the manner in which both are delivered leaves a lot to be desired.

Before delving into some of its problems, I want to say I don’t think that this is an awful book.  It’s well-written and, if you don’t think too much, the story is consistent within its own reality. Plus, some of the mutations/powers are fairly interesting.  I can also see the appeal to a reader audience who want either a) some story to encompass a romance and are just interested in the struggle of those involved with said romance or b) a coming-of-age story that, though fictitious, has qualities relatable to the real world.  In that regard, this story is better than a number of series on the market, thus far at least.

At the same time, this story does seem rather formulaic.  There is a clear-cut bad person/organization.  There is an opposing person/organization that seems good but, surprise, is actually just as bad.  There is another person/organization that is less powerful but is, ultimately, good.  Or is it?  [Insert ominously foreboding soundtrack here]  Then there is the main character who finds a small group of friends, all of whom just want to survive, free of the games of those who wish to use them as pawns or do them harm.  Ultimately, through a progression of events, the main character(s) grow and realize they can’t just run from the fight but must throw themselves into the fray for the greater good.

In any good story there will be complex characters who undergo some development – at least to some small degree in a story that’s part of a series. That being the case no character should be perfect, much less start out perfect.  That’s definitely not the case here, with a main character, Ruby, who is most definitely not perfect in a multitude of ways.  While there is some character growth, at the end of this trilogy’s first installment, Ruby has only grown into a likeable character.  This means that for the majority of the story, Ruby was altogether unbearable.  Given the scenario (which I’ll get into in a moment) Ruby acting the way she does is believable.  However, believable doesn’t mean good.  It’s one thing to write a character who is believable and another thing entirely to write a believable character that people are actually interested in reading about, following, and cheering on.

The scenario for this world is difficult to swallow.  Simply put, bad guys are bad because bad guys have to be bad.  There isn’t a lot of legitimate reasoning behind why the villains are acting like villains other than the story needs an antagonistic force for the reader to be aware of. The reasoning behind the main conflict, locking up all the children because they are powerful (which goes into the whole ‘fearing what you don’t understand’), only makes sense if you don’t actually think about it.  When all your country’s children are infected with something, locking them all up in prison camps without looking for a way to cure them seems like a good way to effectively set an expiration date on your country.  Plus, too much of the story is a road trip.  It’s interspersed by some moments of actions and exposition, but it’s too drawn out and makes it difficult to stay with the story without hoping for something else to happen already.

Now, maybe Ruby gets more complex and bearable in the following story.  Maybe the villains become more complex.  Maybe the reasoning becomes more apparent.  I have strong doubts about that last point, but the first two are possible.  However, there has to be a reason to want to read more and look for that explanation.  A good assessment of something should encompass the whole of its part but, while I am curious, there’s no incentive that’s provided to actually keep the reader going.  It’s out of sheer curiosity about why this series has the popularity it does that I’ll read the second novel, and nothing more.

As I said before, this story has merits when not examined too deeply, and I can see the appeal it might have to specific audiences (ones I personally don’t fall into).  While I might not recommend this story as heartily as other YA series, this isn’t a book that I’d outright dissuade someone from reading.  Fair warning though, don’t expect too much.

Rating: 2/5

The Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy

Amidst the now dead United States—humanity and other forms of life nearly wiped out 150 years ago by a deadly pandemic and nuclear fallout—sits a small town, the Sanctuary, located in what was formerly known as St. Louis. From this desolate wasteland, a lone female rider appears from the land beyond its walls, land which, up to this point, has been described as holding nothing but death.  The people of the Sanctuary have been ruled by fear, under the thumb of the corrupt leader, Thomas Lancer.  With the appearance of this rider, Gawea, comes her promise of a better world, a promise that Thomas tries to silence in order to maintain his power, forcing Lewis Meriweather and Mina Clark, among others, to save her and find salvation for their town on their own, outside the walls, crossing 2000 miles/3200 kilometres by horse and foot.  With the possibility of water, of a way to save the people of the Sanctuary from the drought and famine, they have no choice but to follow this mysterious girl to Oregon.  And after all that time and radiation, both from the fallout and UV exposure due to the vanished ozone…things have changed.

I can honestly say that when I first picked up this book, I didn’t know what to expect from it. It seemed like it had promise, the title of The Dead Lands alone caught my interest, though that is definitely more a personal interest than anything else.  When I saw that it had a quote from Stephen King's review that was definitely not a negative factor in its favour, but I can’t say it swayed my decision too much [so…good job for the editor and publishing company there].  However, I have to say I’m very glad I picked it up.  The book started out leaving me slightly unsure, a little bit confused as to how it would go, but interested nonetheless.  It’s also a story told from numerous perspectives and, while it wasn’t something I’d expected, anything told from at least three viewpoints, three well-written viewpoints, always wins points in my book.  This is your atypically typical dystopian fiction story.  When I read the brief description of the book I was expecting a much different kind of dystopian fiction novel.  I won’t get into how it differed, because I don’t want to ruin the surprise that I received when I read it.  What I can say is that it was enjoyable, it was fresh, and that the slight difference from typical dystopian fiction novels kept me highly interested.

There are several key characters in this story, resulting in several points of view that the reader is able to see from, and I would have trouble determining who I thought the best one was.  Each had minor flaws (not personality flaws, but flaws in how they were constructed), some of the slightly less important ones bordering stereotypical and boring at points, but the very least I can say is that none of the characters were bad (morally, yes, but not in the way they were written).  They were nicely crafted, had their share of character flaws, and felt more real than placeholders.  I should probably address the fact that the two most central main character were named Lewis and Clark.  Yes, this is essentially a retelling of their exploration.  At the same time, I’m fairly certain nothing would’ve been lost by given them different names (among other details of the story that closely tied into the real life Lewis and Clark).  I mean, it’s definitely a fun detail, to say the least, but at the same time I can’t tell if it seems a bit too forced.  A bit too on the nose.

BEWARE, SOME SPOILERS BELOW BUT THESE ARE SOME POINTS I’D LIKE TO ADDRESS.  I’LL MAKE IT EASY TO SKIP PAST IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE.
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Magic and Wizardry.  Essentially, this book combines dystopian fiction and, what I saw as, Arthurian fantasy.  So for anyone out there, anyone out there who has wondered at the possibility of human kind being able to develop magical abilities, this book, by means of using a hundred and fifty years, radiation, a mysterious illness, evolution, or some bizarre combination of these things, has allowed for that world to be created.  The world has ended, society has collapsed, pockets of humanity have managed to come together and stay alive, preventing the eradication of the human race, and in that time wizards are born.  Two of the main protagonists, Lewis and Gawea have what can only be described as magic powers, and they’re not the only ones.  They’re explained as effects of evolution/mutation, so maybe that’d be a bit more accurate way to describe their abilities, but I’m sticking with magic.

Alright, that might be a bit of a stretch, but it was my first reaction to the story. 

While there’s the obvious Lewis and Clark retelling in this story (Re-imaginings of Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, John Colter. I also looked at what could have been some overlay with the King Arthur lore, this being one of many great quests.  Thomas as Uther Pendragon, Lewis as Arthur, Aran Burr as Merlin, Gawea as Morgana, the Sanctuary as Camelot, something like that.  There were some other connections that I saw between the stories, but I only have a precursory knowledge of Arthurian lore.  I’d love to have someone highly knowledgeable in it read and analyze The Dead Lands to see what, if any, connections could be made.
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OKAY, IT’S SAFE TO READ AGAIN, THE EVIL SPOILERS ARE HIDDEN AWAY AND CAN’T HURT YOU ANYMORE, I PROMISE.

As for the special twist in this dystopian fiction that makes it different from many others, I can honestly say I had no clue that would lead me to expect what happened.  When I read a dystopian fiction, I expect to see a very close to life, a very similar world, to the one I currently live in.  While this story does have that, it also has something more, and that thing that it has, that little something more, makes this book something that is unique.  It’s not bursting with uniqueness, but it has a spark and, whether or not you enjoy the genre(s) that this book falls into, to find uniqueness in literature is fairly rare.  I think, for that fact alone, this books is special.  But that specialness, that examination of the book based solely on its uniqueness, only really applies to those with no particular interest in this genre.  For those who actually have an interest in the dystopian fiction, science fiction, fantasy novel world, this book is damned amazing.

Overall, the story is, in the most general analysis of it, fairly standard.  With increasing saturation of the dystopian fiction, The Dead Lands tells a common story of life on Earth after society as we know it crumbles.  There’re a group of people who band together and, while dealing with numerous hardships, strive to complete their goal of surviving/saving other people.  While they try and do this thing, there is a bad guy who is doing something counter to what they wish to achieve.  I’m doing a lot of generalizing, but that’s the story.  Let’s be honest, that’s most of these stories, different bodies on the same skeletal structure.  However, while this story arc is fairly common, the twist that Benjamin Percy puts onto this story is highly enjoyable, and livens up this dystopian fiction.

While I love the story, there are parts of the writing that rubbed me the wrong way at point.  Mainly the progression of events in Lewis, Clark, and company’s journey.  Several months (passing a year potentially) pass over the course of this story, as the group is traveling 2000 miles/3200 kilometres by horse and foot across an irradiate wasteland.  That being the case, I understand how, when the viewpoint changes from that of one in the group to that of one still in the Sanctuary, and back again, the group has moved forward in time days, weeks, months.  Since they do, obviously things will have changed both within the individual and within the interworkings of the group, yet some additional explanation could be used, rather than the “well this is obviously how things would change” moments that are there.

The cast of good guys is lengthy and fairly diverse.  I could go off, listing each by name and talking about them but I’d rather talk about the bad guys, and this is already turning into a long review.  So, for the good guys, I’ll say that they’re all pretty interesting, mostly well-written, and I enjoyed them.  Same for the ‘neutral’ characters, or ones who shifted from one side to the other.  Now onto the bad guys.  Without getting spoiler-y, I’ll stick to the two main ones, Thomas and Slade.  While I, at first, enjoyed Thomas’ immature and youthful brand of bad-guy-ness, it quickly grew old and unbelievable.  When someone acts the way he does, you would expect that he would have the power to ensure that he can continue doing what he wants to do, no matter how foul.  Yet, he has almost no real power.  Slade, another crazy, listens and largely obeys him, but he’s one man in a city of thousands and Thomas has virtually no other allies among the citizens, the guards, the council, or…other places that I don’t want to mention for fear of spoiling more than I already may have.  The point is, he stays in power merely for the point of being an antagonistic force despite having very little believable and rational explanation for his continued success. 

As for Slade, he’s a well-written, if stereotypical, crazy bad guy.  He’s the head of the police force with a good amount of respect/obedience to stay in his position of power, though he comes off as a cut-and-paste Buffalo Bill.  He also likes the position he’s in, which is the only reason I can think for him to listen to Thomas, the man who allows him to do what he wants.  His misdeeds and grievances are rational (to him) and the string of reasoning he uses is evident to the reader so, while they may not sympathize with him, they can understand why and how he rationalizes doing what he does.  Taken together, they provide the drama back in the Sanctuary but, while that drama is entertaining and nicely breaks up the story of the journey, it seems insincere and too unbelievable.  Unfortunately, since this story makes up half of the world the reader experiences, that’s a major blow to the overall book

The story ends on a good moral note, in that it presents you with differing moral standpoints and, though Percy clearly chooses what the perceived correct one is by way of story progression, the opposing or “wrong” morals still make you stop and think about it.  Most of all, I was stuck wondering if I would have made the same choice that Lewis made and, if so, what would my reasoning have been.  Yet, even with that good quality, after everything that I’d been through, the ending felt rushed.  After carefully thinking about it, what I had initially thought was just a dislike for how The Dead Lands ended turned out to be a dislike for the comparative lack of substance that the ending possessed.  Not the epilogue, mind you, which I thought had a fun cliffhanger (though one that I think should be left alone, keeping this a stand-alone novel), but the end of the journey that took several months and a couple hundred pages.

I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend this story to anyone who is interested in dystopian fiction, fiction, fantasy, science fiction, manifest destiny, survival stories, and the list goes on.  Percy’s The Dead Lands is a book that I highly enjoyed and the time I spent reading it I don’t lament in the least.  It was time spent its existence for a good purpose.  Lacking any sense of elegancy, the best way, I feel, to describe this book is as follows:  it was really, REALLY cool.

Rating: 4/5

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

Warning!  Do not read this story until you’ve read A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night!

My review of A Discovery of Witches: http://ineedanotherbookcase.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-discovery-of-witches-by-deborah.html

My review of Shadow of Night: http://ineedanotherbookcase.blogspot.com/2015/04/shadow-of-night-by-deborah-harkness.html

Once again, before beginning, for anyone who hasn’t read A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night, I recommend brushing up.  The books are very detail heavy and hold one long continuous story.  For anyone who hasn’t read either…this is not the starting point you are looking for.

After returning from 1590 Elizabethan London, the setting of Shadow of Night, Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont are back in the present, ready to finally uncover the mysteries contained in Ashmole 782.  They return to Matthew’s home in Sept-Tours, France with Diana nearing her due date.  As this wonderful moment of their life approaches, Diana, Matthew, along with their friends and family, must prepare for the dangers that arrive as they delve into the secrets of Ashmole 782, both within the Congregation, the council formed from all three supernatural groups, and without.  As secrets are uncovered, prepare yourself for the electrifying end of this expansive tale.

In A Discovery of Witches, the reader is introduced to Diana Bishop, alchemic historian and witch, and Matthew Clairmont, biochemist and 1500 year old vampire.  Together they pursue Ashmole 782, an ancient and mysterious tome sought after by witches, vampires and daemons for centuries.  Diana, reluctant to use her magic, has spent her life trying to push aside that part of her life.  However, with the appearance of this tome and Matthew’s romantic advances, she (as well as the reader) is brought into the world that she had spent her life trying to stay apart from.

In Shadow of Night, Diana and Matthew, in an effort to find some clue to the location of and mystery to Ashmole 782, travel back in time to 1590 Elizabethan London.  While searching, Diana also seeks out a fellow witch to help her understand her powerful, and dormant, magical abilities.  As they search for both tome and tutor, Matthew must reconcile his past life, a life that gives Diana a deeper understanding of Matthew, and his current, more mature mentality.

Finally, in The Book of Life, this uninterrupted trilogy comes to an end, as Diana and Matthew are once again in the present day, and the events surrounding Ashmole 782 come to a close.

In The Book of Life, the final installment of the All Souls Trilogy, there is a lot of new, but not unwarranted, information being thrown at the reader.  Events of the previous book have provided Diana and Matthew with new information that can only now be acted upon due to modern technology and, because of this, we get to see Chris again.  For those who don’t remember, Chris is Diana’s academic BFF introduced in A Discovery of Witches, and his small, but complex, character from the first book is fleshed out and he becomes an enjoyable secondary character.  And Chris is not alone in this, many other characters reprising their roles as they are brought to the foreground.  In the race to discover what secrets Ashmole 783 hides, there are no holds barred as a number of other characters take on life and import.

With the exception of the final section of the book (don’t worry, I’ll get to that) Harkness still writes with a loving attention to detail.  The world, events, and people will have you in rapture. Beautiful attention is paid to even the tiniest detail, and the complexities of the human (or otherwise) experience is wonderfully done.  Events of the prior books, and the time travel within, are given deeper meaning and brought to a neat and tidy close as the saga ends, leaving few loose ends for fans to wonder over.

Then there’s Diana.  Wow.  Finally, the culmination of all the witchy experiences the readers have seen as she traversed this timeline and, I’ve gotta say, it was definitely worth it.  To say I was 100% fine with how Diana and her powers turned out would be dishonest, but what I wanted would have been too strong a deviation from her already established character.  Given everything that the last two books, as well as prior events in this book, it’d be hard to find a reader that is legitimately disappointed.   

All notes of the fantastical and fictitious aside, the moral of this story is a timeless one that readers will, if current trends are to be believed, not tire of for generations to come.  Two lovers who shouldn’t be together are together and, despite the odds and opposition, they will fight tooth and nail to be true to themselves.

The primary downside of this book is the decrease of originality and life that the previous two had.  While this is definitely a strong book, it’s clear that it’s not quite as strong as the previous two (some weakness are overcome by the fact that this is a concluding piece, allowing for more possible points of merit than its predecessors).  Harkness loves history, which is made clear throughout the series and, while history has some play in The Book of Life, the strongest genre in this book is that of fantasy and fiction, rather than history.  Though entertaining, The Book of Life lacks the same level of scenic beauty and literal detail, many of the story’s subplots bordering cliché and trope-like.

The second downside of this book is the pace towards the finale.  Harkness has spent well over a thousand pages using loving detail to fully immerse the reader in this world and yet, when we come to the most crucial events, the concluding events that this entire story has been building up to…it’s rushed.  Any jumps in time taken previously were typically followed, at some point, by a summary of events that took place during that period, typically amounting to “this is why these events weren’t important for me to spend time on, you’re welcome” and the story was better for it.  However, nothing like that happens here.  Events, plans, and travels are rushed over and it feels more like Harkness is just trying to get to the end.  If it were any a number of other authors writing this, then I most likely wouldn’t have any problem with this but, since this is Harkness, I’ve come to expect a certain level of detail and care that just isn’t present.

All in all, it was an enjoyable end to the series.  While it wasn’t my favorite installment in the trilogy (though I had hoped it would be), it also wasn’t my least.  If you’ve read A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night you would be a fool to even consider skipping this book.  And to everyone who read this review knowing nothing about the prior two, if you’re a lover of words, fiction, fantasy, romance, vampires, witches, or history, then this is a must read.

Rating: 4/5

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Warning! Do not read this story until you’ve read A Discovery of Witches!

My review of A Discovery of Witches:  http://ineedanotherbookcase.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-discovery-of-witches-by-deborah.html

Now, before I begin, for anyone who may have read the A Discovery of Witches close to its release and have taken some time to get to its sequel, I recommend brushing up.  It’s very detail heavy, so forgetting one bit of information could have you scratching your head for chapters.

Immediately following the events of A Discovery of Witches, Diana and Matthew have just timewalked to 1590 Elizabethan England.  There they hope to locate the intact Ashmole 782, find Diana a witch who can teach her how to best use her magic, and stay out of the Congregations watchful gaze.  Diana finds herself leaping feet first into the life of Matthew’s 500 years younger self, a world of spies, political struggles, and the ever mysterious School of Night, which includes such members as Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh.  While Diana attempts to find a proper tutor to aid her in mastering her magic, Matthew must deal with his own past, a life he thought would forever stay buried.  As they deal with their individual struggles, they must also do everything in their power to locate Ashmole 782, a tome whose true purpose slips further into mystery as their knowledge of it increases.

I was glad to finish Shadow of Night, part two in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, and find myself not too disappointed, as middle sequences of trilogies often leave me.  I greatly enjoyed A Discovery of Witches, and the few problems I had with it were largely fixed this time around.  While its prequel suffered from an excess of detail causing the story to progress at strange intervals, Shadow of Night was able to avoid those same problems.  Here the pace was even, the amount of detail used consistent throughout.

Starting this book I was looking forward to seeing Diana fully manifest her powers and abilities, as the previous book had alluded to the fact that they would very helpful against any of her or Matthew’s enemies.  The progression of her power development was very natural, taking time as she encountered natural roadblocks along the way.  My only complaint—and this is more of a gripe than a criticism, brought about by other stories typically not taking the route that Harkness did—was the lack of her power usage.  She has these spectacular powers and doesn’t use them.  But as her reasons for not using them align with her already very well establish mentality, I can’t say it’s a fault of the writer, but instead a fault of this reader.

The alternate history direction this book took was interesting, to say the least.  It wasn’t an outlandish direction for the book to take either, even though it’s a slightly different category than A Discovery of Witches fit into.  I was able to watch Diana interact with various predominant historical figures like Queen Elizabeth I, Rudolf II, Sir Walter Raleigh, and numerous others. Also, how she and Matthew became involved in various well-known historical events was both entertaining and eye-opening.  This is where Harkness’ historian chops shined brightest, as she wove Diana and Matthew’s path through the late 16^th Century into historical blind spots.  While I read I had Google ready to go so I could fully appreciate the very real history used in this work of fiction, as I often stopped to look up dates, places, and people.

However, while Shadow of Night is a well-constructed book, it was a bit of a step down from its predecessor.

The first installment of the trilogy had the problem of losing the reader to the level of detail used in describing the scene, as well as pacing, but those points were largely corrected this time around, each scene an excellent balance of detail and action.  However, the pace at which the story progressed through the plot was incredibly slow.  There are a range of mini-story arcs in this book, but not enough to fully justify the length.  One part of me loved it, the way each day was described with such detail, allowing full immersion into the Diana’s life without losing track of what was actually happening.  The sensory details were amazing while not overpowering.  Unfortunately, the other part of me quickly grew tired of it, wanting some actual progress in the story to be made. 

Did the level of writing change or deteriorate throughout the story?  No.  Could this book have been much shorter without losing any of the power of the writing or skimping on key events?  Yes.  I’d say this is a problem of excellent skill in the wrong place.  This type of writing is perfect for contemporary fantasy, but there’s just too much writing.  If a book can be half the length and not lose anything in the plot, then there’s a problem.  Simultaneously, I like words, especially when they’re used to construct excellent sentences.  The writing is very pretty so I can’t dislike the book too much, even though the plot suffers heavily due to the stretching of events.  Regrettably, I’m going to have to rate the book placing higher emphasis on storytelling ability rather than appearance.

For anyone who enjoyed A Discovery of Witches, I am confident that they’ll equally enjoy Shadow of Night.  A historical fiction full of beautiful writing, this contemporary fantasy is a must read for any lovers of drama, the supernatural, historical fiction, or fantasy.

Rating 3/5

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Let’s take a look to Deborah Harkness' A Discovery of Witches, part 1 in the All Souls Trilogy, or what I refer to as the book that should really have captivated the current Twilight fanbase (Yes, I know it came out afterwards, but time is just a construct).  Plot, legitimate character development, historical acumen, action, adventure, believable and realistic (in so far as fiction can be) romance, and a healthy use of popular lore.  In this story we find our main character, Diana, a reluctant witch and active historian deep in study in Oxford’s Bodleian Library.  Within, she finds a mysterious book that, after a brief glance, she disregards with no second thought.  However, it serves as a beacon, flooding Oxford with daemon, witch, and vampire alike.  One such is the charming, yet dark, Matthew, 1500 year old vampire and current biochemist at Oxford who, despite the rules of the Congregation, a group formed by all three nonhuman creatures who dictate the allowed activity of their kind, finds himself drawn to her and, inevitably, her to him.  Thus begins Diana’s adventure to discover the mystery of this book, a tome that has been sought after for centuries by beings of all three kinds.  Throughout this search her feelings towards Matthew change, as do her views on using her powers, and what exactly it means to be a witch.

I know what you’re thinking!  What with the number of vampire romances being written lately, what makes this any different?  Bear with me.

Now normally, I’m not one for romance in books, finding they are often needlessly-heavy handed and out of place in their involvement.  That being said, I found the use of romance here to be, dare I say, normal.  Insofar as romance between a witch and a vampire can be normal anyway.  Additionally, while there is romance present in this story, it is not the main, or sole, point of this story; if it were removed there would still be a story left behind.  However, the romance in this book adds to the plot as a whole, which is an excellent sign.

The creatures are an interesting part of A Discovery of Witches, daemon, witch, and vampire alike.  These are creatures that are incredibly popular in current media, so I can understand why they would the three chosen.  Daemon’s are incredibly intelligent and driven so long as their subject of interest is involved, being completely absentminded when it’s not.  Witches have an affinity towards various elements which determines how their magic manifests itself, all involving a strong tie towards Nature.  Vampire, well, are vampires.  Timeless creatures with enhanced physical abilities, a fondness for blood, and the ability to alter normal humans.  The only deviation from original lore comes when Harkness includes vampire’s overprotectiveness/possessiveness of loved ones, but every author needs a bit of artistic freedom.

The individual characters is also lovingly crafted, each with their own goals and personalities that are clear from the start.  Every main character, secondary character, and even some minor characters, all serve a purpose and act under their own volition, going about their lives in reasonable manners rather than in such a way that is convenient for moving the story along.  The only downside to this is that, at times, that inherent free will can cause the story to drag at parts.

At first I was enamored by the story in every way.  There was seemingly nothing extraneous to this book as I devoured it.  The simple joy I got from reading this book is exceptional.  However, that slowly fades away once I took some time to actually think about what I’d read.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if the book goes from hero to zero, but there are issues.

One of the greatest boons, and banes, of this novel is the description found within.  Each scene is so lovingly crafted that I found myself immersed in the world of the story.  I could feel, taste, hear, smell, see everything so vividly that I could practically see the story playing out around me.  That would be the boon.  The bane, on the other hand, comes when I had to ask myself whether or not such detail was really needed for every single scene.  The gregarious amount of detail can also overshadow character traits or development, causing the characters to get lost in the world being formed around them.

Similar to the novel’s level of description, both boon and bane, the plot can seem a bit extraneous at moments.  There are simple, subtle moments in the story that go to minutely advancing the plot as well as the romantic feelings of Diana towards Matthew.  The things about these small moments, unfortunately, is that while they are fine—in my opinion great—when used to keep a story from getting too intense and adding a little spice, they can become tedious, if not outright annoying, when used excessively.

Overall this is definitely an above average story, and one that I would recommend highly to those interested in Contemporary Fantasy, Romance, and a solid spin on Vampiric Literature, or those who are just interested in reading a beautifully detailed story.

Rating: 4/5