The All Souls Trilogy Boxed Set

I started with a truely delightful experience from the TV series "A Discovery of Witches" featuring Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode. The second season aired recently. At that point, I felt I needed to read the triology upon which it's based. I must admit, the trilogy is amazing. Obviously the books include details that a series cannot possibly contain, but the story is told with additional details and visualizations that truly broaden the experience. The author has a style that is so colorful and rich that her narrative enhances your own enjoyment of the stories. I think her background as an historian feed this fantasy in a meaningful and charming way. The mix of real historical characters, some as "creatures", and fictional ones creates an interesting context for history and an alternative reality. It is REAL fun to have this new perspective. It reminds of the "what if" genre that poses a view that would not be expected, but conjures up a whole dimension of motivations and goals. This has been a great read for me, and as a fan of fantasy in general, I do not view it as a collage of stolen themes from other books. I don't believe a melange of scenes reminiscent of other stories is a downside since after all "Shakespeare invented them all anyway". IMHO, it is an extraordinary collection and enjoyable for fantasy fans and non-fantasy fans alike. My wife says its a bit saucier than the TV series, but that's ok. It works.

I watched the All Souls Trilogy on Netflix and enjoyed it so much that I have watched it several more times. Unfortunately it stopped at 3 seasons. This led me to purchase the 4th book in the series "Times Convert". After reading this book I could not go any further without reading the first 3 books. (A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night and The Book of Life). My OH My were these books wonderful! They had me laughing, cheering, crying and in suspense. The Netflix series has nothing on these books. It was so hard to put them down once I started reading. I'm super excited to read book #5 and can't wait for book #6 to come out. The author Deborah Harkness did such an amazing job with these books. Both the books and Netflix series are definitely worth watching and/or reading.

I watched the movie and had to have the books to fill in the blanks. They are great, well written. Easy to read. Really interesting story if you're into vampires, magic, etc.

I am a huge fan of books and films that touch on the fantastical world of magic and am also a huge history buff and love anything regarding Tudor/Elizabethan time. This is the perfect marriage of those genres plus so much more!!! This trilogy set in modern day Oxford centers around Dr. Diana Bishop-a highly respected Tenured Yale Professor in her 30s who specializes in Alchemy and History doing research at Oxford and Professor Matthew Clairmont- a Fellow of All Souls College at Oxford who studies biochemistry and evolution; a modern day Darwin. The difference is Diana is a witch and Matthew is a vampire in a world where creatures are hiding in plain sight. It is against the rules for otherworldly creatures to even interact; however these two meet when Matthew finds out that a witch has somehow found and opened a mysterious enchanted manuscript that has been missing for hundreds of years that Matthew has been obsessed with finding is Diana- a witch who does not use her powers and suppresses her witch life in an effort to be "normal". As Matthew tries to recover this manuscript from Diana which he believes to be the creature version of Darwins book Origin and can help explain creature origins he falls in love with her and they begin a forbidden romance that breaks the covenant. The covenant is an ancient agreement made over 1000 years ago by creatures (witches, vampires and demons) which forbides interspecies relationships, or creatures getting involved in politics or religion. The covenant has been enforced by The Congregation- a select group of 3 of each of the creatures. Having broken the covenant by falling in love and also having the congregation interested in obtaining the manuscript only Diana seems to be able to access; Diana and Matthew are now wanted outlaws and this is their story. It is a tdilogy that although involves vampires and witches is definitely made for adults only and touches on the topics of history, science, magic, alchemy, romance, witches, vampires, demons, family, honor, betrayal and more...you will read them all in a weekend and then re-read them until the TV series releases season 2 based on book 2 in January 2021!!! Highly recommended!!! You wont be able to put it down!!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading All Souls trilogy. It isn’t without flaws but the parts I love greatly outweigh the parts I’m not so keen on. With my pronounced affinity for both history and scholarly work, this story went right up my alley. It is not for everyone (no novel ever is), but where it strikes the chord with sympathetic readers, it will linger. Though some elements of plotlines are derivative to an extent, over the course of trilogy the author turned it into something genuinely her own and, within that scope, authentic. Holy grail of originality might be elusive when dealing with archetypes and I do not expect miracles in that arena. Parts I loved the best, I noticed, are some of the parts disgruntled readers hated the most. For me, historical references and quotes were mesmerizing and inspiring to the extent that I’d very much like to track down some the original work referenced throughout the trilogy and see whether there’s more I might like. I am well aware this is work of fiction and not documentary, so I don’t mind creative licenses the author took. Though her scientific concepts aren’t quite as sure-footed as historical ones, I found the ideas interesting and worth exploring. Overall, I loved the feel of it, the atmosphere, above anything else. I loved that distinctly European multilingual mess, loved that her worldbuilding is markedly synesthetic. Images the author projects are seldom purely visual and, almost as a rule, accompanied by smells and sounds. And she always describes food. For some readers, these details are trivial; for me details like that make the difference between ordinary and immersive novel. I found the All-Souls trilogy rather immersive. Witty, too. I laughed hard and loud throughout all three parts (at times even in the middle of the night). Furthermore, novels are populated by scores of memorable, vivid characters and I absolutely have my favorites (feeling compelled to declare my allegiances at this point, so here it goes: Phillipe first and foremost, closely followed by Gallowglass (I’d always go for scruffy Nordic biker over stuck-up scientist with serious mental health issues) and Miriam). I rather like how the author explored the concepts of family – core, chosen and extended family - along with its complicated, unpleasant realities. When it comes to romanticized ideas of everything working out and everyone eventually getting along, I remind myself it is a work of fiction and creative licenses are welcome. Another impressive point – writers often depict mythical creatures as essentially human with some extra abilities, bit like X-Men. Not here. There were moments either in Book 1 or 2 (possibly all three) where creatures seemed utterly alien and different, devoid of anything resembling humans and/or humanity. I simultaneously cringed in disgust and wanted to take a step further and have a closer look. That is rare writing skill and rare feat of imagination. Descriptions of magic are few and far in between but every single account left a lasting impression. Book 2 is my favorite by far. Ms. Harkness vividly depicted her vision of the 16th century Elizabethan London’s atmosphere almost solely through interactions between colorful cast of characters instead of tedious, pages long descriptions. Don’t think I’ve ever read more convincing and/or entertaining account of an era or felt more “there and then”. Then she replicated the experience when plot moved to France. Even if everything else sucked (it didn’t), she would have won me over as loyal reader of her future work. I noticed a number of reviewers arguing that Book 2 failed to move the plot forward in any significant manner. Thinking back, I honestly don’t know if it’s true, but I also honestly don’t care. It’s been such a joy to read and, to me, that is sufficient reward. Book 3 was, for most part, confusing struggle. For as long as 2/3 of the novel, I had no idea where she’s going with the plot. It certainly didn’t go where I expected it. Additionally, the author changed POV character rather often and not nearly as smooth as in previous installments. As a result, I had to backtrack either a few paragraphs or even all the way to the beginning of the chapter and re-read few times to figure out who is talking. That happened almost every time she changed POV character throughout the final installment and didn’t exactly make for satisfying reading experience. Two thirds of the final book feel kind of empty-ish, as if Ms. Harkness rushed the ending, lost focus, and/or forgot overall plot points. Also, Book 3’s main villain was introduced rather late in the story and failed to feel quite fleshed out and alive as it should have. With any other work of fiction I wouldn’t really bat an eye, but Ms. Harkness spoiled me rotten by demonstrating she can be held up to a higher standard. My feelings concerning the ending are somewhat mixed – ending is not bad – really - but not quite right either. And I do mind lose ends (even lose details) after what Kindle says are nearly 1700 pages combined. Now, let’s tackle the elephant in the room. Trilogy’s main love story ruffled lots of feathers – for good reason – and I think the problem comes down to mislabeling. Relationship between main protagonists is many things but, to me, true love it is not. Let me be clear: Ms. Harkness is perfectly free to construct her characters any way she likes and engage them in any sort of relationship she would like to explore. However, she should have been more careful with labels. I’m not buying disturbing, abusive relationship as template for true love, regardless of the amount of sleep deprived delirium clouding my judgement. Instead, I see it as blood-chilling study of submission and dominance, control and power, of losing one’s identity within the context of romantic relationships and attempting to construct another within new realities, and new families. It is a deep, dark rabbit hole and Ms. Harkness didn’t hold back any punches. That is how Diana-Matthew story failed to ruin the trilogy for me. I see it as complex, distressing account of two deeply flawed individuals trying to navigate fundamentally toxic relationship. There is no doubt these two share genuine affection for each other; however, its expression is anything but true love. Numerous examples of something resembling true love can be found scattered throughout the novels, mind you, just not between main protagonists. Funny thing: for about one thousand pages I’d get confused when reminded that Matthew was supposedly insanely attractive. I dislike like him as a person (he’s a dick) and could never force my mind’s eye to see him as even handsome, let alone exceptional. Even at his most endearing, the best I could do was label him as “passable” (with mandatory eye-roll). Matthew is quite simply not a person I would like to befriend in real life – unlike many other characters throughout the novels. I disliked him even as charming, well-mannered professor, let alone later on. Ironically, the only moments he felt authentic were when he’d gone completely bestial. Finally, I fail to understand narrative purpose for appalling treatment of women throughout the novels. As merely a form of obstacles to overcome, it sucks. If there’s more to it, I fail to see it. Anyway, I could go into excruciating details on more plot points, but this review is already rather long. I thank the brave souls still reading. To conclude, as far as I am concerned, despite its flaws, the trilogy as a whole was worth every sleepless night and every day spent reading savagely until my eyes no longer worked. I intend to read it again – perhaps at more sedate pace this time around. Summary: Book 1 – 4 stars; Book 2 – 5 stars; Book 3 – 3 stars.

This book is full of romance and adventure.

I loved the character development in the series, especially in Diana. The love between Diana and Matthew and the balance of light and dark is so intriguing. It left me wondering what was coming next throughout each book. I also enjoyed the weaving of modern, historical, and scientific throughout the series. Even though you can surmise early on how the story will play out (good overcoming evil), the details and the plot development are very well orchestrated. This is a new favorite series and one I will definitely recommend reading to anyone who is looking for an all encompassing read!

I have 2 of 3 audio CDs and ordered the book set in order to get the last volume (not available on CD, apparently). I am not a fan of romances, but this has so many additional elements that the romance is just a part of the whole. The characters are interesting and well rounded. They show growth, which is often missing in other stories. The obstacles are unique each time while staying within the main theme. They are necessary for story development and never fall into repetitive excess or become explicitly extreme. The secondary and background characters are also interesting, and they make important contributions to the story. The times and places are richly described and add satisfying texture to the atmosphere. Although the stories are not at all alike, this one reminds me in some ways of the early Anne McCaffrey "Pern" stories. They create an atmosphere of closeness and intimacy. The reader learns to know and love the characters. There is a deep sense of satisfaction with the imaginary world and a feeling of "this is the right thing to do" even when times are tough and people suffer. The dragons and partners loved each other without question, and in the "All Souls" trilogy, there is the same love without reservation, even when there are personal issues to be examined and resolved. This is not a quickly-read, shallow series. It is not a self-indulgent TV blood and sex fest. This trilogy examines prejudice, bias, intolerance, cruelty, "the end justifies the means", and other negative values while showing how the positive alternatives make the world a better place and enrich individual lives.

Cadeau aimé

Have read this trilogy a few times over the last few years and can never fail to get drawn into this marvellous scary world of witches and vampires with higher education thrown in for good measure. All previous reading of this series has been via Kindle but all 3 sets are now failing and I will not be getting replacements because newer units have terrible programming and weak batteries. But the “All Souls Trilogy” is excellent reading in any format. Marks are 10out of10 plus a gold star.

Llegaron a tiempo en perfectas condiciones Ya terminé de leer la trilogía, me encantó. Muy bien escritos. Buenas descripciones, excelentes personajes, buena historia

Nice for a bookshelf and interesting books. Arrived new and in super condition

Os livros são de boa qualidade.