Time’s Convert

In Harkness’s rich but meandering new novel, the first in a new series set in the world of her All Souls trilogy, vampire Marcus Whitmore, son of Matthew de Clermont, is set to marry 23-year-old human Phoebe Taylor, who will be made a vampire herself. Marcus’s required 90-day separation from Phoebe during the process inspires him to seek comfort at the home that his father shares with his wife, the witch Diana Bishop. Diana, through her magic, senses that Marcus hasn’t come to terms with his past as a field doctor during the Revolutionary War and the events leading up to his rebirth as a vampire in 1781, and attempts to draw him out. Meanwhile, Diana and Matthew’s delightful brightborn (half-vampire, half-witch) twins Philip and Becca are already manifesting an alarming aptitude for magic, and Philip has summoned a new familiar, a griffin named Apollo. Harkness’s busy, meticulously researched narrative moves back and forth between present-day Paris and the days of the Revolutionary War, and her easy familiarity with her fully realized characters will make readers feel at home. Phoebe’s transition from warmblood to vampire is particularly fascinating, as is the fraught history of vampires and witches. The large cast can be daunting, and those not already familiar with the All Souls trilogy may be lost, but returning readers will find this a delightful excursion. (Sept.)