The Book of Life by Deborah HarknessMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This third installation of the All Souls Trilogy improved upon some of the issues I had with Shadow of Night. I felt a better connection with the characters, although their characterization was uneven and seemed at the service of needing to tie up plot elements. When we finally get to meet the members of the Congregation, there's not quite enough time to see them as three-dimensional. The narrative tempo is better on the whole, although the climactic scene is surprisingly (although mercifully) concise. I find myself not sure whether I love Diana Bishop as a protagonist and I'm certainly ambivalent about Matthew. I'd like to think that is intentional on the part of Harkness. Certainly the books explore the darker side of our existence and the role of power in the choices we make with our own abilities.
