Where are my All Souls fans!? Because I. HAVE. ARRIVED.
Last year, a friend of mine introduced me to A Discovery of Witches, and I’ve never been the same. I’ve added it to the now ongoing list of life changing series’ (talking to you Sarah J. Maas…), and lucky enough, I started right as a new book was coming out.
Book: Time’s Convert, by Deborah Harkness
Summary: Time’s Convert joins our favorite witch/vampire clan one year after the events of The Book of Life. It’s told in three parts, from three different points of view – Phoebe, as she goes through the first 90 days as a new vampire; Marcus, as he recounts several of his previous lives; and Diana, as her and Matthew navigate the murky waters of raising two Bright Born children.
Why I read: you know, I actually let this one sit for longer than I would have liked. I, of course, purchased right away, but since it’s technically not part of the original series there wasn’t any real urgency in picking it up. It wasn’t until I actually went to listen to author Deborah Harkness on her book tour that I realized continuing to sit on Time’s Convert was not an option.
Why I recommend: if you’re a die hard fan of any book series, you know that no matter how neatly an author wraps up their books, you just never are going to get enough. I mean for god sake, Maas fans waited around for SEVEN Throne of Glass books. And all of you Cassandra Clare fans, I mean, I can’t even (I literally googled how many she’s written, and the answer was “at least 23” ….).
So why did I love Time’s Convert? For one, I really enjoyed the multiple storylines. The original All Souls trilogy was told from Diana’s perspective, so having Marcus and Phoebe intertwined made for an interesting read. I even went in thinking “why would I care about Marcus?” To be honest, he wasn’t even a blip on my radar in the rest of the series. Sure, he is Matthew’s son, and obviously a critical part of the storyline, but I couldn’t even tell you what he did most of the time, because I just didn’t care. So when I first started reading Time’s Convert, I was skeptical that his story would capture me in any way – turns out I was wrong.
The Marcus storyline of this book starts with his rebirth as a vampire, goes through his early years, and ends with his dramatic New Orleans tale, which was alluded to in the original series. As a fan of history, I truly enjoyed seeing characters like Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin casually make their way into a book about vampires. Harkness brilliantly melds real history into her fictional world.
Phoebe’s story, on the other hand, is pure fantasy. When we left her at the end of The Book of Life, she was ready to begin her rebirth as a vampire. In Time’s Convert we watch her go through the physical and mental difficulties that come with the transformation. Her story also gives us a brief look into the lives and histories of a few minor characters from the original series – Miriam, Ysabeau, and Freya, among them.
Finally – Time’s Convert allows us one final look at Matthew and Diana’s life with their gifted twins. And all I will say here is, life with Bright Born children is filled with much more than simple dirty diapers and temper tantrums ;).
I’ll end this post with a bit of hope – Time’s Convert isn’t our last story from the world of All Souls. On her book tour, and on Twitter (love a social media savvy author), Harkness has promised more to come. With the infinite vampire lifespan of so many interesting characters to work with, I have confidence the next adventure in this series will thrill us all – but if you can, everyone pray for a Gallowglass book!
P.S. A Discovery of Witches TV show premiers in the US (and Canada!) next week – let us all raise a glass to that!
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