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A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches

By Deborah Harkness

  • Release Date: 2011-02-08
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 8,148 Ratings

Description

Book one of the New York Times bestselling All Souls series, from the author of The Black Bird Oracle.

“A wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic of Harry Potter and Twilight” (People).


Look for the hit series “A Discovery of Witches,” now streaming on AMC+, Sundance Now, and Shudder!


Deborah Harkness’s sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches, has brought her into the spotlight and galvanized fans around the world. In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.

Harkness has created a universe to rival those of Anne Rice, Diana Gabaldon, and Elizabeth Kostova, and she adds a scholar's depth to this riveting tale of magic and suspense. The story continues in book two, Shadow of Night, book three, The Book of Life, and the fourth in the series, Time’s Convert.

Reviews

  • Author’s fantasy life

    2
    By sadv1419
    Where to begin? The funniest part of this book is how the author used her main character to project all of her wishes and desires and accolades she must want for herself. Diana is widely recognized as a genius even amongst Oxford and Yale faculty, is beautiful, got tenure at Yale at 30, is in an incredibly obscure field yet receives tons of accolades and prizes for her books, is an elite athlete, causes kings to fall in love with her (along with everyone else…) Oh, and is all-powerful. Both of the main characters are boring and unlikable. Matthew commands Diana in ways both small and large, and she obeys. They are both so pretentious that at one point during dinner, Matthew orders her to close her eyes, taste the wine, and report on which flavors she finds. Harkness spends pages detailing Diana’s sympathy for Matthew’s sister’s death. His sister died in a slave revolt, because she was a slaveowner. There was zero commentary on the moral element of this. Yet Diana is often described in the book as a good person. The book serves as an apologia for the status quo, old money, archaic class hierarchies (there’s even a butler!), all of which is told from Diana’s admiring/approving/unquestioning POV. The book switches from first person to third person (Matthew’s POV.) Using third person in this way is completely unnecessary and makes for lazy writing. Character development is about 90% tell, 10% show. All of the characters are pretty boring with the exception of her aunts. The plot is a play by play day in the life of an academic. The author tells us Diana is a smart and independent woman, yet her actions and the way she flails about following her man show her as the exact opposite. It’s infuriating. Is this how Harkness thinks women act around men? I read the whole series, so I know the story ending. Because of that, another thing I find hilarious is that the alchemy storyline the author spends SO MUCH TIME ON isn’t even necessary to the plot!! She spends a crazy amount of time describing alchemy manuscripts, authors, experiments, illustrations, in so much detail. And it’s nearly irrelevant to the ultimate plot climax 😂
  • Captivating work

    5
    By Dinks82
    I worried at the length of the book that I wouldn’t be able to get through it. But it captured me and I flew through it and am going to finish the trilogy.
  • My favorite!

    5
    By KatdieR
    I’ve read this book/series 3-4 times now - it’s my “comfort book(s)” and they are all fantastic! I can’t wait for Book 5 to release next year!
  • Excellent

    1
    By Cat Restrepo
    Couldn’t stop reading… only wish the serious would have kept more true to the book.
  • Harry Potter for adults!

    5
    By Dr. Red Dragon
    Buckle your seatbelt and pay attention to the names and details… it’s a great ride!!!
  • 😍❤️

    5
    By claudia0221
    Wonderful
  • Boring and excessive detail

    2
    By haofbeocbeo
    First 500 pages were so boring and could have been summed up in 50. The book was very detailed at points that did not need immense detail like when Matthew and Hamish were at the lodge. The parts that needed more explanation were poorly executed and confusing at times. Overall not as good as people make it out to be and I don’t know how it got turned into a TV show.
  • Astonishing

    5
    By RedReader14
    Wow what a world Deborah Harkness plummets you into when you read this book. She does an outstanding job at combining science, history, and otherworldly ideas. The main character, Diana, is very easy to connect to and I found myself relating to her more and more the further I read. I am in complete awe of the storyboard this author has created, the connections the characters the capture of it all in its essence is outright astonishing. Ever so slightly a surprising twist in the plot or an emotional scene would tug at the heart stings just enough to make you feel as though you are connected by your “third eye”. This is definitely a book I’ll be keeping on my shelf. Belonging just between Harry Potter and The Vampire Diaries.
  • Wonderful

    5
    By AESM0192
    I loved this trilogy when I read it on my own. The audiobook is just as good. The intonation is spectacular. You won’t regret listening to the audio.
  • Enjoyed this book

    5
    By cakeslaroo
    It was a good ready

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