The Book of Life

All Souls, Book 3

By: Deborah Harkness

Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda

Length: 23 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

The number one New York Times best-selling series finale and sequel to A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night.

Look for the hit TV series A Discovery of Witches, streaming on AMC Plus, Sundance Now, and Shudder.

Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying conclusion, this highly anticipated finale went straight to number one on the New York Times best seller list. In The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present - facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches - with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency.

©2014 Deborah Harkness (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Weaving an extraordinarily rich story of magic and science, history and fiction, passion and power, secrets and truths, Harkness delivers an unforgettable and spellbinding finale that's not to be missed." (USA Today)

"Juicy and action-packed.... Even at 561 pages, this is one hardcover no one will mind lugging to the beach." (People)

"Pure escapist summer fun." (Jodi Picoult, Parade)

Tying up most ends

What did you love best about The Book of Life?

The Book of Life completes the trilogy of her series, The All Souls Trilogy. As such we readers find out what happens to her characters as they reconnect with modern life, find The Book of Life, solve problems with the Covenant, and deal with an out of control family member. The strength of the series, and The Book of Life, is Deborah's ability to infuse the story with historical and scientific references. I liked that a lot.

What other book might you compare The Book of Life to and why?

Like many books that are the end of a series, Deborah Harkness worked hard to tie up the various story lines as well as include all characters we'd come to know and love or loathe. She made the same mistake others have made by either too quickly or conveniently ending a story line or sometimes ending them without the build up they deserve. Sometimes this was a let down. Maybe she should have changed her mind and instead of trilogy she should have made her series a bit longer--four or five books. Then we might have been able to savor the conclusion of each loose end instead of running helter skelter through the many in THe Book of Life.

Did Jennifer Ikeda do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I wasn't totally thrilled with Ikeda's reading. Sometimes, especially during passages of long conversations, I had difficulty knowing who exactly was speaking. At other times I found her enchanting. I'd characterize her performance as uneven.

Any additional comments?

I liked this novel. It wasn't the best nor the worst of witch stories. I like Deborah's vampires. I like her witches. I found her characters compelling--especially the house in Madison by the way. I liked the genetic research aspect of the story. I would easily recommend the book, and the series, to friends who like fantasy. I hope that as Deborah Harkness continues to write she pays attention to pacing and spends more time with action instead of depending on dialogue to carry the story. I hope that as she continues to write, she stays true to her roots as a historian and continues to educate us as well as relying on her rich creativity to treat us fresh looks at witches, vampires, and demons.

Yes please.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Book of Life to be better than the print version?

With all of the voices that Jennifer gives I have found that even when I switch to reading it myself, I can still hear here accents for the characters. For all three books in the all souls trilogyou I have print Kindle and audio. It was soon worth getting the audio.

What did you like best about this story?

I love that I am able to escape, and feel as though I too am a part of the story. It is written so well that I fou do it easy to get lost in each book in the series.

Fantastic Book

All of Deborah Harkness books are fantastic trid time listening and not the last time

Book of Life

loved it, this is my 2nd time to listen to this book. just awesome.

Well Done!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely! Deborah Harkness is a fabulous author/story teller and Jennifer Ikeda was the perfect narrator for this series. She was outstanding!!

What did you like best about this story?

The story contained so much detail and turns. Jennifer was thorough and did not skip over anything in her story.

Which character – as performed by Jennifer Ikeda – was your favorite?

Jennifer had a many characters to portrayal and many accents. It was easy to differentiate between characters and she was spot on. Amazing performance!! My favorite character was Matthew, although I liked her Isabeau's French accent.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

NO, this is a really long book. Considering the amount of detail, at times, needed a break or else I started to miss things.

Third one as good as the first two books

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the character banter and the diversity of what each of them represents. I believe this was the final one in the series but there are still lots of places to go should the author decide to let her readers continue to enjoy the characters.

Good story, writing uneven

I liked the concept of this book and think Deborah Harkness is a good story teller, but to me the writing seemed uneven and at times overdone. For example, toward the end of the second book of this three- book series, the plot took a couple sharp right turns, with little explanation or set up for those odd plot turns, and then a rush to the close of book two. It didn't feel so much like a good "gotcha" with a surprising plot twist, but rather it felt as if the author was up against a deadline, and was forced to use her plot outlines that she had not been given the proper time to fill out. (This is purely how the writing seemed to me--I have no factual scoop on her writing or editorial process.)
Although it contains a creative storyline, and the author has clearly done extensive research to weave appropriate contextual details into the plot, the writing too often has the breathlessness of a harlequin romance.

That said, I did enjoy the story, but I wished for so much more for this author, who clearly is talented.

YAPSOLUTELY PERFECT!

This complete audio trilogy held firm and true to all of the 5 star ratings! LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT! Jennifer Ikeda was ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS!

I could not get enough

captivating doesn't leave you hanging no over explaining every loving and deadly couple. must read(or listen)

Fabulous

I need more!!! I absolutely love these characters and want to more. Deborah Harkness is a phenomenal writer who brings the books to life. I haven’t been lost in another world like this since Harry Potter!!!