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peculiarb 's review for:
A Discovery of Witches
by Deborah Harkness
This review can also be found on Bookstacked: https://bookstacked.com/reviews/book-reviews/a-sorcery-of-thorns-margaret-rogerson-review/
I want to preface this by saying that I watched the tv adaptation first (and then found out about the books) and I loved it. The changes have definitely influenced my opinion on the first book in the series.
With that in mind, the first book was somewhat disappointing, and rather frustrating. I didn’t get very far—the first chapter—before elements of the book started irritating me. The first thing that struck me was the writing style. It didn’t sit well with me as it was clunky and awkward. The more I read, the more this became apparent as it was very descriptive but heavily focused on the room, the décor, rather than actually exposing plot or backstory. I’m not of the opinion that an info dump is a cardinal sin when it comes to exposition (as long as they don’t happen too often), but this just felt like description for the sake of description, if not for the sake of showing off historical knowledge. The first half of the book was especially slow to get through, as the descriptions of various rooms took up several paragraphs, and contained very specific knowledge that I had to stop and google several times within a single page, which did nothing to enhance my reading experience.
Another point of contention for me was the characters. Diana is supposed to be 33 whereas Matthew was 37 before being turned, yet they behave like impulsive teenagers. Whereas the side characters aren’t necessarily the most developed, even coming off as trope-y for this first installment.
• Diana is a very obstinate character. While she’s not exactly a Marie Sue, she does have this ‘I’m better than them’ idea about herself, when it comes to science vs magic but also herself vs other witches. She has no respect for them, and just comes off as incredibly arrogant;
• Matthew was infuriating. He, too, is arrogant, and so incredibly possessive of Diana which sends an unhealthy and even dangerous message. In this book, its chaulked up to him being really old, so he falls back on that excuse, but the man can clearly adapt to 21st century science, why not do the same for attitudes? The whole possessive vampire trope isn’t cute, and it should stop being a thing;
• Some of the side characters are also mean, even cruel in some cases. Gillian, for example, is just the high school mean girl. She never struck me as someone who cared for Diana as a person, not in the book at least, and she commits some questionable actions as a result. Whereas Diana’s aunts, Sarah and Em (but mostly Sarah), come off as controlling from the phone calls, and later as strangers trying to pass Diana off to Matthew because they can’t be bothered to deal with her.
Another detail that stuck out to me was Matthew and Diana’s dismissal of femininity. He doesn’t like it, or any décor associated with (which he does mentions to Hamish in the beginning of the book), whereas she has a very ‘I’m not like them and therefore better’ attitude, which is just tiring. For example, Diana and Matthew are having breakfast together early on and she says she was glad she hadn’t insisted on something more ladylike, referring to her sizeable portion of food. I realise it’s a throwaway comment in a book that’s over 500 pages, but the mentality really bothers me and shouldn’t be a selling point for a main character.
Now for the good points, because they’ve convinced me to read the rest of the trilogy. The book’s best feature is, in my opinion, its worldbuilding. It’s a new take on the vampire mythos, as well as the magic mythos in general. You see, in ADoW, there are 4 hominine species: Witches, Daemons, Vampires, and Humans and they are treated as such. The first three are creatures and they keep away from humans through laws established to hide them from the humans. There is a hierarchy to them, as well as one within each creature group, which is fascinating to delve into and I’m sure will be explored more in further books. But beyond the magic, genetics, evolutionary science, and biology are all brought in because there is a drive to understand what links all the species. In my years of reading similar books, I’ve rarely come across this blend of magic and science, so I am very excited to see where it goes. If I’m honest, I’ve never quite read a book that has this aspect of evolution when it comes to its magical creatures, for this alone I’d recommend reading the book.
Second positive aspect is the room for character development that both Matthew and Diana have. For all her faults, Diana doesn’t sit back and accept Matthew’s possessiveness, she challenges him at every turn, and puts her foot down when it’s too much for her—a welcome change from the usual possessive vampire trope. She even goes so far as to call him out on his behavior a few times, or—gasp—make plans herself without consulting him. Matthew does respond to this is a way that leaves me hopeful for later books. I hope to see more of that, and I also hope to see the two establishing a balanced relationship dynamic going forward.
Another positive, albeit frustrating, aspect was the existence of several of the side characters. The vampires that come in later are a breath of fresh air. Each has their own individual personality traits and they all bring something to the book, but serve as more than just a crutch for the main characters. Each backstory that was revealed in bits and pieces only made me want to know more about them. I would go so far as to say, I was sometimes more interested in the side characters than I was in Matthew and Diana, purely on the basis that the main pair slipped into a will-they-won’t-they phase for part of the book.
I know its a debut novel, and I did get used to the style eventually so it wasn't nearly as grating once I got used to it. And the lore! The lore is what really drew me in. The magic system and the history is captivating so I will be reading the sequel, if not the entire trilogy. I look forward to unravelling the mysteries behind the mythos and world building as much as Matthew and Diana want to.
I want to preface this by saying that I watched the tv adaptation first (and then found out about the books) and I loved it. The changes have definitely influenced my opinion on the first book in the series.
With that in mind, the first book was somewhat disappointing, and rather frustrating. I didn’t get very far—the first chapter—before elements of the book started irritating me. The first thing that struck me was the writing style. It didn’t sit well with me as it was clunky and awkward. The more I read, the more this became apparent as it was very descriptive but heavily focused on the room, the décor, rather than actually exposing plot or backstory. I’m not of the opinion that an info dump is a cardinal sin when it comes to exposition (as long as they don’t happen too often), but this just felt like description for the sake of description, if not for the sake of showing off historical knowledge. The first half of the book was especially slow to get through, as the descriptions of various rooms took up several paragraphs, and contained very specific knowledge that I had to stop and google several times within a single page, which did nothing to enhance my reading experience.
Another point of contention for me was the characters. Diana is supposed to be 33 whereas Matthew was 37 before being turned, yet they behave like impulsive teenagers. Whereas the side characters aren’t necessarily the most developed, even coming off as trope-y for this first installment.
• Diana is a very obstinate character. While she’s not exactly a Marie Sue, she does have this ‘I’m better than them’ idea about herself, when it comes to science vs magic but also herself vs other witches. She has no respect for them, and just comes off as incredibly arrogant;
• Matthew was infuriating. He, too, is arrogant, and so incredibly possessive of Diana which sends an unhealthy and even dangerous message. In this book, its chaulked up to him being really old, so he falls back on that excuse, but the man can clearly adapt to 21st century science, why not do the same for attitudes? The whole possessive vampire trope isn’t cute, and it should stop being a thing;
• Some of the side characters are also mean, even cruel in some cases. Gillian, for example, is just the high school mean girl. She never struck me as someone who cared for Diana as a person, not in the book at least, and she commits some questionable actions as a result. Whereas Diana’s aunts, Sarah and Em (but mostly Sarah), come off as controlling from the phone calls, and later as strangers trying to pass Diana off to Matthew because they can’t be bothered to deal with her.
Another detail that stuck out to me was Matthew and Diana’s dismissal of femininity. He doesn’t like it, or any décor associated with (which he does mentions to Hamish in the beginning of the book), whereas she has a very ‘I’m not like them and therefore better’ attitude, which is just tiring. For example, Diana and Matthew are having breakfast together early on and she says she was glad she hadn’t insisted on something more ladylike, referring to her sizeable portion of food. I realise it’s a throwaway comment in a book that’s over 500 pages, but the mentality really bothers me and shouldn’t be a selling point for a main character.
Now for the good points, because they’ve convinced me to read the rest of the trilogy. The book’s best feature is, in my opinion, its worldbuilding. It’s a new take on the vampire mythos, as well as the magic mythos in general. You see, in ADoW, there are 4 hominine species: Witches, Daemons, Vampires, and Humans and they are treated as such. The first three are creatures and they keep away from humans through laws established to hide them from the humans. There is a hierarchy to them, as well as one within each creature group, which is fascinating to delve into and I’m sure will be explored more in further books. But beyond the magic, genetics, evolutionary science, and biology are all brought in because there is a drive to understand what links all the species. In my years of reading similar books, I’ve rarely come across this blend of magic and science, so I am very excited to see where it goes. If I’m honest, I’ve never quite read a book that has this aspect of evolution when it comes to its magical creatures, for this alone I’d recommend reading the book.
Second positive aspect is the room for character development that both Matthew and Diana have. For all her faults, Diana doesn’t sit back and accept Matthew’s possessiveness, she challenges him at every turn, and puts her foot down when it’s too much for her—a welcome change from the usual possessive vampire trope. She even goes so far as to call him out on his behavior a few times, or—gasp—make plans herself without consulting him. Matthew does respond to this is a way that leaves me hopeful for later books. I hope to see more of that, and I also hope to see the two establishing a balanced relationship dynamic going forward.
Another positive, albeit frustrating, aspect was the existence of several of the side characters. The vampires that come in later are a breath of fresh air. Each has their own individual personality traits and they all bring something to the book, but serve as more than just a crutch for the main characters. Each backstory that was revealed in bits and pieces only made me want to know more about them. I would go so far as to say, I was sometimes more interested in the side characters than I was in Matthew and Diana, purely on the basis that the main pair slipped into a will-they-won’t-they phase for part of the book.
I know its a debut novel, and I did get used to the style eventually so it wasn't nearly as grating once I got used to it. And the lore! The lore is what really drew me in. The magic system and the history is captivating so I will be reading the sequel, if not the entire trilogy. I look forward to unravelling the mysteries behind the mythos and world building as much as Matthew and Diana want to.