Review: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments #2)

March 2008, Margaret K. McElderry Books

Young Adult urban fantasy

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what’s normal when you’re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who’s becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn’t ready to let her go—especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary’s only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil—and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings—and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

As I continue on my quest to read the Mortal Instruments series in its entirety before the movie, slated for release in 2012, comes out, it’s fairly easy for me to see where this story is going. This isn’t entirely a bad thing: I can be a big believer in the classic storyline. Cassandra Clare’s true talent doesn’t lie in the realm of creating a storyline, but in the crucial ability to draw readers in. Clare has created a rich and addictive New York underworld that can be very hard to leave; it’s fully a sensory experience, replete with intriguing detail.

Clare continues to create strong characters to inhabit this world. Clary still isn’t one of my favorites, but everyone else is fantastic. The variety of supernatural creatures is astonishing, from grotesque demons to the elegant fey, with a few of our beloved vampires and werewolves thrown in the mix. (Have I mentioned how relieved I am that these vamps don’t sparkle?)

There’s plenty of action in City of Ashes, and this volume certainly has its fair share of angst. It isn’t markedly different from the first book in this series, but expands on the same themes, adding a few welcome new characters and subplots. This isn’t an extraordinary series, but one worth reading; I’ll be looking forward to reading Book Three.

Rating: 4 stars

Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments #1)

April 2007, Margaret K. McElderry Books

Young Adult urban fantasy

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Finally, I get around to reading something out of the Mortal Instruments series. Am I ever glad I did. While not (yet, anyway) in the league of the absolute best books I’ve ever read, City of Bones is definitely high on the list. This is a gritty, tough, and refreshing urban fantasy that surely will appeal to readers across genres. The story starts out strong and doesn’t let up, leaving readers with plenty of loose threads to be picked up in the sequel, City of Ashes.

The vast majority of characters were fantastic. I liked them all, except Clary. Well, it’s not really that I didn’t like her, just that I didn’t make that connection to her that readers forge with excellent protagonists. She seemed slightly flat to me, or perhaps so multidimensional that it was difficult to comprehend her. All the others, though, were very well-developed and believable. I loved Jace–such an adorable jerk. The Lightwoods were awesome, and I hope to see more of them in future volumes. (Or volumes that are already out and my slowpoke self is just getting around to, more accurately.)

Clare really puts readers through the loop with numerous, hugely unexpected plot twists. It made me both nervous and excited to see which established story paradigm would be shattered or added to next. The action is fast-moving and just gory enough to give an edge and element of horror to the story.

That’s another one of this book’s strong suits: its ability to transcend genres while still keeping a firm footing in urban fantasy. Action-adventure, horror, and romance fans will all find something to appreciate here, right along with the fantasy junkies. The cover may look like a wacked-out Avon romance (you know that it’s the same buff, shirtless guy, plus Shadowhunter tattoos), and the description may seem like just another trendy YA, but the stuff in the middle–the actual story–is much richer than any of it.

Rating: 4 stars

 

Writing homework with one hand and a novel with the other

Hello, my dears. How have you been for these past, oh, ten days? I’ve been well, thanks. I wasn’t hit by a bus, abducted by space aliens, given the Dementor’s Kiss, or any similar untoward happening. I’ve just been busy–so busy, in fact, that the title of this post is almost not an exaggeration. Almost. I’m rather lacking in an extra hand with which to update the blog; I’ve been forced to finish up that dreaded HW quickly and put aside the novel in order to write this. Now that you’re aware of my circumstances, upwards and onwards with the post!

Just in case you haven’t heard yet, Cassandra Clare’s bestselling young-adult urban fantasy series, The Mortal Instruments, is finally making it to the big screen in 2012–read movie info so far here. I’m almost done reading book one of the series, City of Bones, and am loving every minute of it. I already have a copy of book two, City of Ashes, waiting in the wings. It’s such a relief to see some non-sparkly vampires in YA literature these days. And it’s painfully easy to fangirl over that darned Jace Wayland. The only trouble is, I’m not sure if the movie, which will be called “The Mortal Instruments,” is about Book One only, or if it’s the entire series, condensed. As I wouldn’t want to slide into the theater having only read City of Bones and unwittingly have spoilers thrust upon me, I’m going to (or am going to try to, at least) hedge my bets and get the entire series read before seeing the film. If anyone happens to have insider information–Hey, any big Hollywood names following my blog?–that will ease my worries and prevent me from having to gulp down books at an unnatural pace, please, do tell. Not that I’m expecting much from my crew of bookworms, teenage writers, and coffee shop WiFi users–you’re just not in that deep with the filmmaking industry, unless I’m sadly mistaken.

Anyway, my current first-priority reading goal is to finish The Mortal Instruments series before the movie. I also need to make my way through all those books I bought at the going-out-of-business sale, breaking that up for all the hot new reads coming out this fall–Mastiff! Inheritance! The Son of Neptune! How am I supposed to keep up, whilst-and-at-the-same-time writing a novel and various other scraps, and attending my freshman year of high school? And that’s not even mentioning my aspirations to become a Tortall aficionado.

I’m going to ration my time. Since I’m such a Hermione Granger-ish type (though lately I feel more like Luna Lovegood), homework is my first priority, and then any other school-related activities, such as lit mag. Various other must-dos come next, and the remaining time will be divided amongst reading, writing, and blogging about both.

I somehow doubt I'll be smiling this much.

 

In My Mailbox (4)

It’s been a while since I’ve had much of a Mailbox, but I had quite a batch of books this week…

A local bookstore was having a going-out-of-business sale, and I managed to rescue these at a low-low price. These should keep me reading for months!

Zombies Vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

This is a collection of short stories by various authors intended to resolve at last the long standing debate of whether unicorns or zombies are more awesome. Can you say “dork out”?

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #1)

People have been telling me to read this for ages. My only qualm is that I’ll get hooked on the series and be forced to go on epic quests through bookstores and libraries to find the sequels.

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

This would never have made it on to my radar (I mean, the main character is a cheerleader) had it not been for the Edgar Allan Poe theme–that sealed the deal for me. This book has been on my To Be Read list since last year, and I can’t wait to dig in.

The Gift by James Patterson and Ned Rust (Witch & Wizard #2)

Though I gave Book One of this series a lukewarm review, I’ve found myself wondering what happens to Whit and Wisty. Then I found this lone hardcover on the discount shelves. It’s like it was meant to be.

Emily the Strange: The Lost Days by Rob Reger and Jessica Gruner

I bought this one on impulse. It’s a rare sort of book that can include the word “earwigs” in the summary.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Leviathan #1)

I’ve heard nothing but good about this book, and, based on the cover and summary, it has a little bit of a steampunk theme going on. That, in addition to a strong female character, makes this irresistable to me.

I also have this checked out of the library:

Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce

I’m currently reading–or more accurately, devouring–this, the sequel to Trickster’s Choice. More on all that coming soon…