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Reviews (2)
30 Jul, 2012
Absolutely fascinating 1st novel! A trilogy, I look forward to the sequels.
4 of 4 found this helpful I very much like the woman protagonist to be a very strong character -- in and of herself. She knows the "world" contains three supernatural type of creatures Witches (she is one), Vampires, and Demons. She also knows the majority of the world is none of these. They are Humans. All supernatural folk know to keep themselves hidden from Humans. After all, isn't that how Diana Bishop's ancestor died -- at the Salem Witch Trials? Diana chooses the hard road. She denies her Witch heritage. She becomes an historian. And then -- and then -- there is the day when she requests from her library, a book known only as Ashmole 782. That is when her isolated life begins to unravel.
Warning: a couple passages are PG-13 rated.
I also very much like how history is interwoven inside this novel. The author, Deborah Harkness, is a professor of history, but not like any professor I ever had in college! One of the characters is a Vampire, who has lived more than 1,000 years. The way Ms. Harkness weaves his history into and within the story, is marvelous. You will find yourself checking the Encyclopedia for some of the terms she uses, and those will be very interesting by themselves.
Just me personally, I worked at a large university library. So I should explain what "Ashmole 782" means. "Ashmole" is the name of a person who collected books. He bought books before a time when there was any national library, such as the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress was one of the first libraries to organize books by category number for every book they owned (they created the Dewey Decimal system). Cutter was another.
Now in the story, somehow, Ashmole's collection of books is donated to the Bodleian Library in England. So the library gets boxes and boxes of completely unknown books. What an undergraduate (like me) will do, we take one book out of one box, and we name it (collector) 001. Next book is (collector) 002. Other undergraduates will research title page, author, etc., and will standardize those books as per the library. But there will always be some books that have never been categorized or standardized. And they become: "Ashmole 782".
I have always wondered, did I categorize "Secrets of the Darkest Art" wrongly; using Cutter's system? E45 (Historical Sciences) (England) / B4 (Author: Bullock, Owle) (4th book published by this author) --- E45/B4 --- Or should I have left it "Dumbledore 064"? (Just kidding.) (I think.)
The author's characters are very well written. The background setting and history are very well explained. The science of genetics, which explains witches, demons & vampires is perfect.
There is such an amazing variety of personalities. Some of the "good guys" are dark. Some of the "bad guys" are simply driven by what they believe to be right. Although mostly the reader might think they know the "good guys" and the "bad guys";
Well . . . a couple of the "good guys" are Vampires.
How much can you trust them?
And there are wild cards to consider. Not all Witches are on the same side.
And Demons? Nobody knows the troubles they see.
But really, you should experience this book to decide for yourself.
09 Nov, 2010
Wonderful book for beginners!
I remember learning to cook from the original 1950 edition, when I was about five years old. Originally meant as a cookbook for bachelors, who had never done a lick of cooking. It is really sort of the Sesame Street version of a cookbook, this is done in comic book style, with very few words. All measurements are drawn, not listed: For instance if a recipe calls for 2 1/2 tablespoons of something, they illustrate 2 tablespoons and a half tablespoon. Each chapter is for different meals: breakfast, supper, grilling out, and mixing drinks. I never got to the drinks part when I was young, but easily understood & made most of the breakfast dishes in the book before I turned seven. It is still my favorite cookbook even today.