Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness

To set things in context my favourite book of the trilogy is Shadow Of Night which is mostly set in Elizabethan London.  Bringing history to life is something that Deborah Harkness does exceptionally well and that novel sparked my interest in that particular time period.  When I saw that a new book was coming out set in the same universe I was excited but trepidatious which led to me purchasing it on my eReader and then waiting over 12 months to read it as I was wary of being disappointed.

This book is mainly about Marcus and Phoebe, who develop a relationship in The Book Of Life.  We do get to see a fair bit of Matthew and Diana as well as the extended family but they are only really there to provide a breather between the historical detail.  As Phoebe transitions to a vampire Marcus seeks refuge with his sire Matthew and Diana sets of a chain of events where Marcus relives his transition and his human and vampire lives.  The historical detail is rich and enveloping and really sucked me in so that I became unaware of time passing whilst I was reading.

However, if Historical fiction is not a genre that you enjoy then this book will probably leave you cold.  It doesn't really add much to the All Soul's canon apart from a few more insights in to the structure of Vampire Society and some of their traditions.  Whilst there is a cast of characters that we already know they are not there to further their own stories but to flesh out Marcus and Phoebe's tale.  Definitely a companion piece to the trilogy but more Philippa Gregory than Bram Stoker.

This book takes us from the American War Of Independence right through to the French Revolution.  Marcus certainly seemed to be able to pick a battlefield.  It also sheds some light on to what actually happened in New Orleans.  This is touched on slightly in the previous novels but only from Matthew's perspective, now we get to find out how Marcus got himself in to that predicament.  Blood Rage gets mentioned a few times but it felt like it was wedged in there, as though the author had somehow forgotten about it's existence until Jack arrives to spend time with his family.

This is a far more gentle tale than the main trilogy and was a nice change of pace from all the tensions with the Congregation.