“Charlie Hall has never found a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make.”
*For my personal thoughts on Book of Night, check out my review of the book.
Author: Holly Black
Title: Book of Night
Category/Type: Adult Fiction
Genre: Fantasy
Subgenre(s): Urban fantasy
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Number of Pages: 306 pages of story text including a prologue; plus acknowledgements
Geographical Setting: Alternate suburban and rural Massachusetts (the Berkshire Mountains)
Time Period: present day with some flashbacks to the past
Series (if applicable): This book is not part of a series
Plot Summary: Charlie used to steal magical books and objects for magicians with questionable motives, but she’s put that life behind her and works at the local dive bar. Now she has a decent, if shadowless boyfriend, and is trying to help her younger sister, who is desperate for magic, stay out of trouble and go college. That is, Charlie’s troubled past would be behind her if she hadn’t seen that weird shadow hovering over a horribly mutilated corpse on her way home from work and if her boyfriend hadn’t recently disappeared.
Set in a dark and dangerous alternate northwest New England with a cast of morally grey characters, Charlie gets convinced that doing just one last job will free the ones she loves. When she was in the game she was good, the best, but she now might be in over head dealing with forces and secrets she could never imagine existed.
Content warnings (may contain SLIGHT SPOILERS): Domestic violence, gore, death of a loved one, sexism, violence.
Subject Headings: Fantasy- Contemporary, Occult & Supernatural, Thrillers- Supernatural, Magic Fiction
Appeal/Characteristics of Fantasy (may contain SPOILERS)
Detailed settings depict another world, often located on Earth, but almost always set in out-of-time, in past times, or invisible to most people- This story takes place in an alternate version of the Berkshire Mountains in New England. Detailed landscape descriptions match present-day northwest New England but the magical elements bring the setting into another world.
Magic frames the story- Not everyone in the story has magic of their own, but magic is a known entity in this world where social media influencers can trick out and trade their shadows, and shadows can gain sentience. Other, more powerful magic looms in hidden corners.
Story line features good vs. evil. Story line also explores ways to discover one’s own potential, magical or otherwise- In a trend that is becoming more popular, every character is morally grey in this story and is doing, or has done, bad things including committing theft and murder. However, it is clear that there is a good side the reader is supposed to root for and bad guys that need to be taken down. In the broadest sense, this story is about Charlie Hall proving her worth.
Characters, often attain special magical gifts. Even good characters will find themselves challenged, both physically and ethically. Characters may include mythical creatures as well as more mundane human ones- Characters in this story do attain magical gifts, as allowed by the world building; more details will spoil the plot. Charlie is a challenged character from the start, trying to leave a life of crime but taken in by one last job to save the ones she loves. Magical creatures are limited and are more along the lines of beings marred by magic than necessarily unique mythical creatures. Shadows have abilities that can be separate from the humans they are (and sometimes aren’t) attached to, making them magical creatures as well.
Books start slowly as the author sets the scene, presents the challenge, and introduces the cast- This book, though not particularly long, does take its time setting the scene and introducing the cast. Even though a major event happens early on, the author still takes time to build the world before the action really sets in.
From the stylized language to the use of jargon, language and style run the gamut. Language relates verbal pictures of characters and landscape, and illustrations sometimes enhance both adult and children’s Fantasy- Holly Black uses rather straight forward language however there are special terms reserved for those who dabble in the history and practice of magic as well as those who alter their shadows.
Urban Fantasy is gritty and dark and has a sarcastic, barbed edge…plots most often center on a political/cultural power struggle, if not outright war. They tend to be fast-paced, sexy, violent, and action-packed. Black’s alternate New England is grimy and dark, reminiscent of the snow dirtied by car exhaust that hasn’t quite melted in early spring. All the characters have major flaws and are just barely holding things together. Sex is not a major element though bodies are plainly and frequently discussed. Subject headings for this book include Thriller, and this book is action packed with plot twists being thrown in up to the very end. The story centers a power struggle among elite magicians.
3 terms that best describe this book:
Magical
Dark
Suspenseful
Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors
A History of Magic Witchcraft & the Occult by Susannah Lipscomb- this illustrated volume looks at the forms magic and witchcraft have taken throughout human history from ancient religions to present day Wiccans. The importance of historical magic and magical objects is a recurring element in Book of Night, making this non-fiction look at the history of magic a good option for fans of Black’s novel.
The Berkshires by Jonathan Kandell- though not a book, this Smithsonian Magazine article explores how the Berkshire mountains in New England have inspired artists and authors for over a century. As the backdrop for Book of Night, readers will enjoy learning about this inspirational landscape.
3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo- this dark academia novel, set in an alternate New Haven at the prestigious Yale University, features down-and-out Alex Stern who is offered an out from a life of crime via a scholarship to Yale. In exchange, she must use her ability to see ghosts to help stop evil forces from upsetting the magical power balance on campus.
One Dark Window (the first in the Shepherd King novels) by Rachel Gillig- Elspeth Spindle has an evil magical force living inside her head, trying to take over her magic. When her uncle makes a dangerous trade with the king, Elspeth must figure out how to use this force and her magic to help save the kingdom of Blunder. The element of morally grey magical forces in this story will be a nice connection for fans of Book of Night.
Ordinary Monsters (the first book in the Talents Trilogy) by J. M. Miro- this suspenseful tome features an alternate, magical Victorian world where an evil, dark smoke is hunting down children with unexplained magical talents. The grim world with characters who must choose whether or not they’ll join the forces of evil will connect with Book of Night readers.
Reading the Whole Collection
Readers who enjoyed Book of Night may enjoy the American Gods TV series based on Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name. In the series, Shadow, recently released from prison, struggles to make the right choices as he finds his way in an America more supernatural than he thought with odds that seems to be stacked against him.
Citations
Characteristics of Fantasy novels taken from
Wyatt, N. and Saricks, J. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction. Third edition. ALA Editions.