Book Review - Deborah Harkness's The Black Bird Oracle
The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: July 16th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy
Bad things come in threes. Diana and Matthew are about to decamp for the summer to England for research when the first message is delivered by an unkindness of ravens. The second comes from the Congregation. And the third comes from Diana's great-aunt Gwyneth Proctor. The Congregation have alerted Diana that the twins will have their magical abilities tested later in the year. Something she and Matthew have vowed to never let happen and she plans to give them a piece of her mind in person. She plans to fly to Venice and meet up with Matthew and the kids later in England. But the ravens and her great-aunt want the same thing, for her to come home. So, for the moment, she will not be going to England, or even Venice. Diana is going home to Ravenswood in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where her father was born and raised. The family will decide where to go from there. Who knows, if they're really lucky Gwyneth might have a solution to their problem with the Congregation. When Diana arrives in Ipswich she feels the tingly eyes of witches on her. She goes into the local cafe, The Thirsty Goat, to ask for directions and an infusion of much needed caffeine and the two women behind the counter aren't just hostile to her, they are also proclaiming to the world that they are witches. Ann and Meg actually have badges that read Coven Membership Committee. Diana's arrival has riled up the witches and she is keen to make a swift exit. Thankfully her cousin Julie enters and whisks her away to meet Gwyneth. What was going to be a quick talk soon turns into an overnight stay and then a few more days and then Gwyneth is teaching Diana the higher magics, because despite Em dying trying to use them and her mother being forbidden by her father, this is Diana's path. And what she learns might just help her children, because the test she so fears isn't just about magical aptitude, it's about magical aptitude in the higher magics and sets you on a course that Diana never even knew about. Despite holding a seat on the Congregation before relinquishing it to another member of the de Clermont family, Fernando, she knew nothing of their secret trials for those studying the higher magics. Her parents kept so much from her, something Sarah continued after their deaths. If only she had known. If only she had seen. Now, as the keeper of the Black Bird Oracle, she can divine what the future has in store. And for this summer that means her entire family with her. Matthew packs up the kids and the best summer ever commences as the children revel in the woods and on the water, playing with other magical children, while Matthew and Diana come to terms with what the future holds for them. They are woefully uneducated. But can a crash course in higher magics set them on the right track or are they heading towards a crash. One that their marriage might not survive.
What the hell did I just read!?! This was like Natural Lampoon's Supernatural Summer Vacation meets Harry Potter fan fic. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but could it go back to being academic Twilight? Because at least that didn't have Diana drugging Matthew and then masturbating in an apple tree while her daughter has an American Girl doll possessed by an ancestor. It's Felicity if you're wondering. At first I was all excited, this seemed to be the book that would deliver on the promise of Diana finally mastering her magic. Because each book in this series starts out with that promise and never delivers. After each of the four previous books she always backslides, putting someone else's needs before her own or only using her power when it's absolutely necessary, and now she seems nothing more than a supernatural trad wife. It's time to find out what she's really capable of and her father's side of the family is just chilling in Massachusetts waiting to welcome her with open arms. Which leads me to my rage at her family during the original trilogy. AKA the big ass plot hole. So Diana timewalks with Matthew and discovers she's a weaver and runs into her father who knows that they will soon be returning to her present and be in danger and he never once goes, oh, by the way, my family has tons of weavers and well, they just know everything you need to know so why not visit them, they will protect you. Was he so damaged by his twin sister's death that he was petty enough to risk his daughter's life when there were people who could help her? I mean, there's secrets and then there are secrets. And this book showed that everything we knew before was only a partial truth. We had only scratched the surface of Diana's world and it made me angry. It made me seethe that Diana was literally on the Congregation and she never knew they were running a training program in the higher magics and bottling up people's memories of the trials they have to face in order to ascend. Philippe helped found the Congregation and we're supposed to believe he was completely ignorant of what the witches were up to? How many secrets are left to expose!?! Because to me it feels like there's just more and more and that we'll never reach the end. But the end of this particular volume, just, what the fuck!?! Sure we're introduced to a whole lot of new characters, some of whom happen to have wands, and a community that celebrates their magic, but did we have to go all Harry Potter!?! The end of this book is literally Diana reenacting Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She breaks into a secure building controlled by witches hidden away from the rest of the world to steal glass bottles filled with people's memories. I mean come on! Why!?! Why do this!?! Why be this lazy!?! The fact that this is also the fifth book in the series made me begrudgingly laugh at the timing. I just, I just don't know where I stand with this series anymore. I feel like this book betrayed me. It will take a lot for Deborah Harkness to win me back.
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