Book vs Movie: A Discovery Of Witches

Well, I need to tell you from the beginning; this is going to be a rant, and not a positive one 🙂 I know this book has a lot of fans, and if you’re one of them, I’m really happy for you, because it means you enjoyed yourself for 600+ pages. Everybody looks for and finds something else in a book. I’m glad you liked and had fun with this. In my case, I dreaded it. Not only the book, also the series. So, it’s going to be MY unpopular rant!

Let’s start with the book. If you haven’t heard about it, here is the link to the blurb.

The only thing I liked about this book is the Oxford setting, the atmosphere and historical elements thrown in. Harkness seems like a capable writer, but in my opinion she turned a good idea into a very boring, descriptive, non-eventful plot. I even think at some point, she forgot she should get the plot going.

It’s advertised as an adult Twilight/Harry Potter. I’m really tired of books defined with these. We had our Twilight and Harry Potter and we loved them. Nothing will be like them!
Yes, I can say there were very similar elements from Twilight, but for me it doesn’t make the book better. On the contrary, I’m looking for original ideas, not ‘a bit changed’ ones.
It’s clear I’m not impressed with the plot or the pace of it. I’m also not impressed with characters including Matthew and Diana. I found the ‘You’re mine, I will protect you, that’s my mission’ type of obsession old fashioned, plus very anti-feminist. The love affair between them happened all so quickly and conveniently. Matthew looked at Diana, Diana talked to him once, and boom! We’re in love, we belong together, oh and we’re married!

It just ticks me off, when young adults are exposed to this sort of relationships as an aspiration.
There was no character development, too. They didn’t move from point A to B.
And lastly pages and pages of details! How she walks, how she rows, what she wore, and may I say, I’m really tired of reading how Diana takes her tea! I even memorised it, and she’s a fictional character.
With that, I’m closing my rant, and needless to say I won’t be continuing this series. It’s just too dull. So dull, that I DNF’ed the first book at 80%, I couldn’t take it anymore.

Oh, and I’m not alone with this point of view. Just to make you giggle a bit, I also wanted to put here a review I read in Goodreads, a very creative one written in conversation format, that made me laugh 🙂 If you want to check out, here is the link.

Let’s look at the series now. You can guess, it wasn’t so possible for me to love a series of a book I disliked so much, but I had other reasons as well:

1. The plot has been shuffled a lot. I can understand the need for it, as nothing happens for a looong time in the book. But, it’s not shuffled for better and it didn’t become less dull.
2. Matthew appears from the first scene and he becomes the lead who tells the story, whereas in the book, the lead is Diana. I feel so angry when producers think men bring more money and rating. I found this very sexist.
3. Casting: Come on! Matthew cannot be that guy! A vampire, who’s told to be flawless, so handsome that all women fall for. I don’t know you, but I wouldn’t turn my head to look at that guy in the street. No offence, he’s a good looking actor, but not a mind-blowing one as it’s told in the book. I also found Diana a bit stiff. I just couldn’t match these two with the characters of the book in the series.
4. Hello! You can’t have public sex in Venice in broad daylight! Yes, there was a scene where a vampire woman sees a guy, looks at him to seduce. They go to a side street, in day time, in Venice, and there’s noone (!) Plus, they have sex on a bridge in front of the windows of houses. It’s just not possible. Moreover, the guy tries to escape at some point, starts to run, and when he looks back it’s night time! Then, the woman catches him. Excuse me, did he run all day??? From a vampire who can catch him in a second anyway? And here’s me doing this:

So, it’s clear we didn’t get along with this book and the series 🙂 I gave 1 star to the book and couldn’t stand watching the series. In this case, my verdict would be NONE.

Again, opinions differ, and I respect and feel happy for people who love this book and series.

Thanks for reading my rant, if you’re still here 🙂 Let me know your thoughts in comments.

Until next time, happy reading!

Umut