The Book of Life (All Souls, #3) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Dec 05, 2014 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017-shelf, fantasy, urban-fantasy

Re-read 12/18/17

Much of all the esoteric stuff I loved from the first read was just as enjoyable the second time around, but this time I focused more on the people and the relationships a bit more.

Ben, for example, was something of a mystery and less a bogeyman. I may have gotten a bit annoyed with the babies this time, all the focus on them, but to each their own when it comes to that. And then there was a few slow parts that annoyed me but not by much. There was enough really fantastic stuff g Re-read 12/18/17

Much of all the esoteric stuff I loved from the first read was just as enjoyable the second time around, but this time I focused more on the people and the relationships a bit more.

Ben, for example, was something of a mystery and less a bogeyman. I may have gotten a bit annoyed with the babies this time, all the focus on them, but to each their own when it comes to that. And then there was a few slow parts that annoyed me but not by much. There was enough really fantastic stuff going on here, from extra science, from Apolo's discoveries and Diana's hunting for truth, that I never lost interest.

Indeed, it's the full extent of the tale that makes the entire book shine. We've been building on the previous two pretty gloriously and there are very nice carryovers from both as well as tragedies, but it's the final payoff of including everything in the alchemical mixture that makes the final potion work wonders.

I think this UF is probably one of the very best, smartest, and emotional works ever to rise out of the popcorn pile. Indeed, it's more of a serious work of literature. It stands out. BUT only as a trilogy.

Original Review:

I enjoyed this one almost as much as I enjoyed the previous two, but for different reasons.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed it for none of the reasons that I was expecting. Firstly, I enjoy not just symbolism but the symbols themselves. They weren't just blazoning on the page, after all, they were blazoning in my mind. None of it was particularly complicated or ominous, just relevant to the tale in both the obvious ways and the not so obvious ways. I tried looking at the books from the point of view of the symbols, and the tales become as crisp as Christmas Morning. It is really quite nice to have new fiction that can turn alchemy into alchemy.

Secondly, I enjoy themes that speak to the heart of the world and why we're living in it without becoming some broken down biological soup or a bunch of creatures standing around holding hands and singing "we are the world". Sure, a little bit of both happens in the novel, but I noticed something. Life goes on. Life always goes on. The goddess Diana or Artemis always knew this. It's not about hunting or justice, after all. It's also about Apollo who's notoriously absent from all three novels except from the pages of the alchemy. Life goes on. There's no conflict between the gods. There's no tension, and indeed, there never was. Brother and Sister were twins, after all.

Sister night was one of the main characters across the trilogy, from within Diana and her being a chimera, to the entrance of the goddess herself, to the overwhelming overabundance of female witches except for her father and Peter, to the title of the second book, to the arrow at the end. Nothing was as simple as a direct one-to-one correlation, here. It was the deeper themes that really sparked my imagination.

That and the novel also happened to be a fun urban fantasy romp. The issues at hand were on a deeper level than the action, and although there was a little action and a little romance thrown in, they were all in service to a greater power and not gratuitous.

All said, I am very impressed. Thank you! ...more

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Jan 12, 2018 Trish rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This marks the conclusion of the All Souls trilogy and I couldn't be happier. From the first book on, this had become my new favourite story about witches and other supernatural creatures.

In this third volume, Diana and Matthew are home from their timewalk in the past. They had to leave loved ones behind, which is never easy, and had to discover that disaster had struck in their original timeline as well.
Not to mention that Diana is pregnant (with twins no less!) and the enemies are closing

This marks the conclusion of the All Souls trilogy and I couldn't be happier. From the first book on, this had become my new favourite story about witches and other supernatural creatures.

In this third volume, Diana and Matthew are home from their timewalk in the past. They had to leave loved ones behind, which is never easy, and had to discover that disaster had struck in their original timeline as well.
Not to mention that Diana is pregnant (with twins no less!) and the enemies are closing in from all sides, some even remaining in the shadows until the second half of this book, with some astonishing twists that I hadn't expected.
We also get to meet more of the family (kept in the dark until now thanks to Philippe's meticulous planning so as not to create a time paradox) as well as the history of creatures.

What I still adore about this author's style is the vividness of places she conjures up. Especially whenever witches are gathered to work magic, I felt this coziness! However, it was also the life and uniqueness she gave every single character that drew me in - not only the secondary characters were fantastic, but the tertiary ones as well!
Ysabeau will probably always be my favourite but I've come to appreciate the entire ensemble (except for Baldwin, no matter how much he developed throughout this third book).

Add to that some pretty exciting locations, this time in the present, as well as the on-going but never boring mystery of Ashmole 782 that combines history/mystery with solid pieces of science, and the mad dash to keep everyone save from mad vampires and closed-minded witches.

Speaking of closed-mindedness: the author touched on some really big topics, too. From the homosexual couples throughout the trilogy (Sarah and Em, Hugh and Fernando, ...) to "interracial" relationships that the congregation wanted to prohibit, women being introduced into certain circles - there were a lot of social topics cleverly interwoven into the fabric of a classic fantasy story that included drakes and ghosts and magic and lively pets (especially a certain dog in this volume). Usually when authors do this, it throws me off, because whenever bad-ass females are introduced gentlemanly manners must be sacrificed for some reason (which is utterly stupid and ridiculous) - not here though! The author managed to perfectly combine the old-fashioned with the modern.

The entire trilogy is done perfectly, with the author showing her skills as a researcher and scholar (the only criticism I can utter is about the linguistic errors and especially some pronuncitations in this latest audiobook) and I think this really helped transporting the reader to several university campuses, libraries, laboratories, castles, a former KZ, several countries of 1590/1591 as well as modern-day Venice.

Last, but certainly not least, this is a love story. A love story done right.
Matthew and Diana are flawed creatures that know about their shortcomings, even fear to expose their imperfect sides to one another, but love the other unconditionally. They are full of devotion for one another while letting others into their hearts and lives nevertheless.
But it's not only about Matthew and Diana, although those two are the center (without beginning or end) of course. It's a love story about family; the families we make for ourselves (which often means people we aren't related to by blood); the friends we keep close; of always being faithful, no matter how hard it may be. Honour as well as integrity and sacrifice play big parts, too, and that definitely speaks to me. ...more

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Jan 05, 2018 Veronique rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read2022, read2018, favourites, read2021

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

And so we have the finale! History and Science are still very much part of the narrative, albeit in a more subdue fashion. We’re not in the 16th century any longer but back in the ‘present’, Diana and Matthew catching up with what happened while they time walked, and dealing with deaths, pregnancies, and the long shadow of the Congregation.

No, what takes ...more

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Jul 23, 2022 Alissa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-ebooks

3.5 stars due to a slight uneven pace and excessive length considering the main plot points. On all the other levels it’s a very nice final book.

I enjoyed the books and adored the TV show, both cast and writers did an outstanding job, based on a solid trilogy. Recommended!!

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May 17, 2013 Justine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014-read

I loved tho book as much as the previous two. It is definitely best read start to finish books 1-3 because it is all one story. I don't know what Deborah Harkness has planned for her writing future, but there is clearly room for more stories in world she has created. ...more

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Jul 08, 2018 Ctgt rated it really liked it

Satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. While book two staggered a bit at the beginning this one had a nice steady pace throughout. The author does a good job of building the world through the course of of the three books but I especially liked the magic that Diana ultimately learned/uncovered within herself.

7/10

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