After enjoying the first volume of Deborah Harkness's All Soul's Trilogy, I was looking forward it's sequel. The first book, A Discovery of Witches, ended with a fantastic premise for Shadow of Night - Matthew and Diana are travelling back in time to 1590 where they will search for Ashmole 782, a manuscript they believe to hold secrets regarding the creation and existence of daemons, witches and vampires. 
 The premise sounds wonderful, especially taking into account the characters who appear throughout the novel - Walter Raleigh, Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Mary Sidney, among other high profile sixteenth century peers. However, Shadow of Night suffers from exactly the same drawbacks as A Discovery of Witches - namely, it is too long. Now, I have no qualms with long books - I like an epic. This, however, is not an epic. Simply put, Harkness enjoys minute details. Her academic nature is evident throughout the book as she regales us with details of sixteenth century living - all well and good, but unfortunately it often feels as though Harkness couldn't resist adding some titbits of historical authenticity regardless of necessity or importance. And the same goes for details of her heroine's days - everything is explained to the dot, no matter how uneventful. The same goes for Diana's feelings - the reader is not given chance to draw their own conclusions, as Harkness likes to explain everything she hints at. Suffice to say, this book could have been a third shorter, in my opinion. Thanks to many long, uneventful episodes, the book suffers from inconsistent plotting - 100 pages of time travelling fun with vampires, followed by 50 pages of describing restricting Elizabethan dress. 
 One thing I am very grateful for - the supporting characters. In the first book, Ysabeau, mother of the novel's hero, stole the show. This time, it's Phillipe, Matthew's father, who draws the attention. Harkness can dream up some wonderfully snappy characters who I would happily read about - unfortunately, her leads are not them. 
 Still, much of the book was enjoyable - Diana coming into her witchcraft was fun and imaginative, and the many historical, theatrical and poetical references were pleasing and intelligent. At the end of the novel I felt relieved to have reached the end, while also warily looking forward to the final instalment. I only hope Harkness tightens her plotting and her characterisation of her leads.