The Book of Life: Did It Live Up To The Rest of the Series

The end of the bestselling Dark Souls trilogy has finally come to eager fans that dying to see how the story all shakes out. The Book of Life picks right up where the last book left off with the chase for the famed Ashmole manuscript. However much like the last novel, this book suffers from the same fairly significant tonal shift that affected the previous one.

It is important to note that these tonal shifts were not necessarily a bad thing, they were just distinctly different from the books before it. For instance, in the second novel when the reader was looking for more of the same excitement and characters from the first novel. The two main characters time traveled and spent the entire novel in Victorian England. While this was a great novel and further blend the series interesting mix of actual history and the supernatural it left the second book feeling a bit like a five hundred and ninety-two-page interlude. Also in this book the main character Diane’s powers undergo a further “clarification” which just ends with them seeming like a totally different set of powers.

Alone all of these books stand up well, but when placed together as a series it is clear to see that this was the author, Deborah Harkness’, first time doing this. That being said, the last book was just as thrilling and engaging as the rest in series while also providing the readers with enough closure so they felt satisfied. Also, it left just enough of the back door open in case Harkness ever wanted to return to the series.  Solid writing and answers to big questions are abound in this final novel that is open enough to first time readers of the series, but long time readers will just have to live with the fact that this is just a series of books that does not feel like a series.  

The Peripheral: A Side Note or the Next Big Thing

Science fiction author William Gibson has long since established himself as one of the greatest living voices in his genre, having received numerous awards and accolades for several of his novels. His newest novel, The Peripheral, though has yet to be determined as either his next great success or proof his waning vision.

   For a science fiction writer, their lasting merit is often determined by what they get right about the future. In his most famous novel Neuromancer, Gibson has been hailed for the startlingly accurate portrait of the future he painted back in the 80s. Yet, the version of the far future that Gibson spends the most time with is already stated in the novel as not going to happen.

The basic setup of the novel is that thanks to the some computer anomaly invented by person unknown, a select few people can communicate with the past, however since the moment the future people started changing the past the two timelines broke off, so there is no chance of any butterfly effects, changing their presence. So essentially it becomes like a game for enthusiasts so see who can control the world first. It is more personal than it sounds, but when determining whether to buy a science fiction book, most people want to know what the actual sci-fi aspects are to it.

As a book itself, it is an interesting read, the characters are unique and engaging, and surprisingly enough they get an almost happy ending, if at the very least an optimistic one. These lighter endings are becoming increasingly rare for the genre and most novels now in general. Gibson is definitely a master of telling you a little less than you need to know. Which is a great technique because it keeps an aspect of mystery to the world he created, but it also takes away from the book a little because there are questions that just never get answer and plotlines that just peter out to nothing.

All in all, The Peripheral has a lot to say about where we are now, as a society, and where we are going, and it’s all wrapped up in an entertaining read.