[Blu-ray Review]—"A Discovery of Witches: The Complete Trilogy"

I have far too many unread Kindle eBooks that I'd like to read one day, such as the historical-fantasy All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. Technically, it's not a trilogy because of "Time's Convert," the fourth novel that acts as both a prequel and a sequel. I tend to see the adaptations before reading the book; this was the case with the All Souls Trilogy since I had seen A Discovery of Witches on Sundance/AMC when it first aired. For the most part, I liked the series; though, since I haven't read the books, I can't give you my two cents on whether it's a good or bad adaptation.

RLJE Films, an AMC Networks business company, has released A Discovery of Witches: The Complete Trilogy on DVD and Blu-ray for an SRP of $79.99. I can't speak for the DVD collection, but the Blu-ray package is a must-have for l "All Souls" lovers. The slipcover is akin to the leather "Omnia" cover; it's a tight fit, but once removed, the Blu-ray case is identical to the "Omnia," but with pages featuring cast images. It effectively has the appearance and functionality of a book; each disc—six in total—is stored inside each page. A written note from Deborah Harkness is on the cover's reverse side. 

The series stars Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge), Matthew Goode (“Downton Abbey”), Alex Kingston (“Doctor Who”), Trevor Eve (“The Politician’s Wife”), Lindsay Duncan (“Sherlock”), Owen Teale (“Game of Thrones”), Gregg Chillingirian (“Da Vinci’s Demons”), Aiysha Hart (“Line of Duty”), and Edward Bluemel (“Killing Eve”).

A Discovery Of Witches revolves around brilliant historian Diana Bishop, a witch who denies her own ancestry. However, when she unintentionally summons Ashmole 782, an ancient, cursed text, she finds herself thrust into the middle of a perilous mystery and on the path of the mysterious geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont. Over the course of three unique and compelling seasons, Diana and Matthew's love for one another and their desire to unlock the book's mysteries wreak havoc on their world and lead them to an explosive finish.

There are nearly 80 minutes of bonus features, including: About the Characters; Mythology, TV Magic, The Story of the Discovery of Witches; Can Love Survive; Creating Elizabethan London; The Story So Far; Blood Rage; Set Tour; and Creating the Worlds.

Everyone knows how much I adore bookmarks, so you can imagine how excited I was to find that this Blu-ray set included one. The series title, A Discovery of Witches, is printed on one side of the bookmark, while Matthew Clairmont's famous line, "In every ending, there is a new beginning," is printed on the other.

The 25-episode series isn't necessarily ground-breaking, but it's engaging thanks to a strong cast and interesting plot twists that keep you watching. The Blu-ray set is exquisitely packaged and will sure to delight passionate All Souls fans. Each episode has superb audio and visual quality, and there are plenty of entertaining extra features to keep you bewitched. ╌★★★★★