Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness: Love, Change, and the Price of Immortality

If you’ve read the All Souls Trilogy and found yourself not quite ready to leave that enchanted blend of history, magic, and academia behind, Deborah Harkness has a gift for you: Time’s Convert. This novel not only continues the trilogy’s journey but also shifts focus, providing a new perspective on familiar characters and expanding the All Souls universe.

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A Return to the All Souls Universe

Deborah Harkness warmly welcomes us back into her enchanting world of witches, vampires, and daemons, offering a delightful new perspective. Instead of directly continuing Diana and Matthew’s journey, she brilliantly focuses on Marcus, inviting us to explore an exciting, other side of the universe. It’s familiar enough to feel like coming home, yet different enough to stand on its own. I wanted to immerse myself a bit more in Diana and Matthew’s world, reading the last book first, then returning to the fourth book about Marcus and Phoebe.

Marcus at the Centre of the Story

At its core, Time’s Convert is Marcus’s story. Remember Matthew’s rebellious, freedom-loving vampire son? This is our chance to step into his shoes and finally understand how his idealism, passion, and complicated past shaped him. The book moves fluidly between three timelines: Marcus’s turbulent days in the American Revolution, his unsettling transformation into a vampire, and his present-day relationship with Phoebe, who faces her own trials as she embraces immortality.

History Meets Immortality

Harkness’s signature style is in full force here. You’ll find meticulously researched historical detail (prepare to be whisked away to Revolutionary America), thought-provoking questions about identity and change, and that cosy-yet-scholarly narrative voice that feels like curling up in a library with a pot of tea and a very witty professor. It’s equal parts history lesson, love story, and meditation on what it really means to evolve—whether you’re human or not.

A Different Kind of Pace

While Time’s Convert doesn’t move with the same propulsive pace as A Discovery of Witches, that’s kind of the point. This is more of a character study, peeling back layers of Marcus’s personality and revealing the weight of his choices over centuries. If you go in expecting sword fights and high-stakes battles, you might be surprised. But if you’re here for depth, atmosphere, and a thoughtful exploration of what it means to build a life that stretches beyond human limits, you’ll feel right at home.

The Balance of Old and New

Another highlight? The seamless weaving of new and familiar. Diana and Matthew are here (and I was happy to check in on their family life), but they don’t steal the spotlight. This is Marcus and Phoebe’s stage, and the book thrives because of it.

Magic in Storytelling

Time’s Convert is a must-read for fans of the All Souls universe who want more than just a continuation—it’s a richer, more nuanced expansion. It’s less about grand magical battles and more about the deeply human (and immortal) struggles of love, transformation, and belonging. If you’re craving a slow-burn, atmospheric read that feels equal parts historical deep-dive and magical reflection, this one deserves a spot on your shelf.

It’s not a book to rush through. It’s one to savour, letting the history, the emotion, and the questions it raises linger with you long after you close the cover.

Books four and five of the All Souls Series

**How Time’s Convert Compares to the All Souls Trilogy**

If the All Souls Trilogy felt like a grand feast—magic, history, romance, danger, and all the stakes (both wooden and emotional)—then Time’s Convert is more like a long, intimate dinner conversation with a fascinating friend. Here’s where it differs:

Scope & Pace: The trilogy offered sweeping storylines, prophecies, witch politics, and high-stakes conflicts. Time’s Convert zooms in. It’s less about saving the world and more about saving yourself—understanding who you are and who you’re becoming.

Tone: While Diana and Matthew’s story pulsed with urgency, Marcus and Phoebe’s narrative is slower, more reflective. The drama is quieter but no less compelling—it’s rooted in relationships, history, and identity rather than cosmic battles.

Focus on History: Harkness always brings her historian’s eye, but here she dives especially deep into Revolutionary America and 18th-century transformation. Instead of hopping across centuries and continents, the historical portions anchor us in Marcus’s formative years.

Magic vs. Humanity: The trilogy leaned heavily into the magical lore of witches, vampires, and daemons. In contrast, Time’s Convert is about the humanity inside immortality. It asks: What does it mean to change everything about yourself and still hold on to your ideals?

Characters at the Centre: Diana was our gateway into the magical world, but here, Marcus and Phoebe are the heart of the narrative. Familiar faces return, but they serve more as grounding threads than central players.

In other words: Deborah Harkness has once again proven that magic isn’t just in spells—it’s in storytelling itself.