At 592 pages, Deborah E. Harkness' novel is a hefty but well-paced volume about a young scholar and descendant of witches who discovers an enchanted, centuries-lost alchemical manuscript that holds the key to the existence of witches, demons and vampires. The story traces her dealings with both a flood of underworld creatures (including a handsome but dangerous vampire geneticist) and her inexplicably growing magical talents. —Leilani Polk, CL music editor
This article appears in Dec 15-21, 2011.