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The Book of Life

By: Deborah Harkness
Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda
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Publisher's summary

Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew once more in the stunning climax to the All Souls trilogy, following A Disocvery of Witches and Shadow of Night.

A world of witches, daemons and vampires. A manuscript which holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future. Diana and Matthew - the forbidden love at the heart of it.

After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness's enchant­ing series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew's ancestral home in France they reunite with their families - with one heart-breaking exception. But the real threat to their future is yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on a terrifying urgency. Using ancient knowl­edge and modern science, from the palaces of Venice and beyond, Diana and Matthew will finally learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

©2014 Deborah Harkness (P)2014 Penguin Audio
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What listeners say about The Book of Life

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

A good yarn. Thought provoking and entertaining.

Beautifully read and an engaging story.
The 'scenes of a sexual nature' caused a little amusement and embarrassment in our car.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Totally addictive

Couldn't stop listening to any of the 3 books in the series. Hope there will be more.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Elegant and beautiful story about magic

Better than “Harry Pottet for adults” which a friend told me about the third in the Discovery of Witches trilogy- fun escape

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Magical

This story does give a wounding to the book series. I love it so much that I have lessened to the series in succession twice now! This is a very skilfully written book and an incredible story.

Thank you.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty good but not always logically consistent

I loved the power dynamic and social fabric created in this trilogy. It created good world building, and character development. The characters all had distinct personalities and the world most of the time had logical reactions based of the defined personalities of the characters.

The only flaw in the book is the female lead who doesn't really use her power much until the very end. It made the appeal and intrigue her mysterious powers kind of ineffectual. I lost interest because of how little she used it even in dire situations.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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The perfect ending to the perfect Trilogy

Sticking the landing is hard, but Deborah Harkness once again proves to be a phenomenal storyteller.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic

The whole series is so amazing I couldnt break in between and i am so sad its finished.
The development of truely complex characters is the best I have ever enjoyed.
it is all emcompasing with references to many history people, events and im sure plenty of other facts that i may have missed but felt a part of them as the story was told.
This was my favorite series of all time and definitely an all rounder for anyone with an appreciation for great writting.

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Worth The Two Year Wait!

I discovered this series two years ago, I loved the first two audiobooks And yes it's been a long wait for the third book but it was so worth it. Because of how long ago it was I have spent the last last week listening to the first two books. And what a wonderful week it was.

If you like some readers are expecting a full blown old fashioned war, you will be disappointed. The Author was true to her charecters. The vampires are imortal with centuries of political intrigue and manipulation. And the times of old where you go onto a battlefield and slaughter your enemy are long past. Wars are fought with numbers of alies,money and intrigue and being very sneaky. This is a wonderfully woven book, secrets are revealed and most answers given. This series combines my two favorite genres paranormal romance and historical romance. The Author is a History Scholar who has studied the history of science and magic between the 1500's and 1700's so you know you are getting a wonderfully accurate view of history. Especially the second book which was set in the 1590's. I honestly loved this third book as much as the other two. It is a little more gruesome than the other two with the main bad guy being a psychopath. This book is a wonderful journey with unexpected twists and turns to keep you on your toes.

I liked the narrator, thought she did a pretty good job. And honestly all these books are around 24 hours of listening more than double your average audiobook. With all three books I've got 70 hours of wonderful listening. This book is definately worth the credit. If you haven't read the series yet get all three, you'll have the advantage of having the series already finished. If you are already a fan you'll love this one too.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping is an understatement!

I have been totally absorbed in this trilogy for the last 3 weeks. Every single spare moment I have grasped to listen to it. It is a whole fascinating world, with delicious prose and characters so real they feel like old friends. The narrator deserves an Oscar for her reading performance, the range of accents she masters is quite unbelievable! I shall miss her Boyce now that I’ve finished it and I shall miss these beautiful books. Back to real life now.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

All Souls Trilogy

I absolutely loved this trilogy. Loved reading the physical books, as well as watching the BBC series. Listening to the audio books brought the characters to life in a different way. Awesome narrator who definitely helped me to see the characters in more depth than I did previously.

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