Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices #1
Genre: Paranormal
Release Date: August 31st, 2010
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: Bought
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In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Timesbestselling Mortal Instruments series.
The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them...
I am a huge fan of Cassandra Clare’s previous series – The Mortal Instruments – and I have to say that, to start with, I was a little worried about Clockwork Angel because I had a feeling that the storyline and the characters were going to be repeats of those in TMI. However, being the huge fan that I am, I couldn’t wait to start CA, despite my reservations. I was very pleased to find that I loved Clockwork Angel! I thought it was really good.
Cassandra Clare captured the feeling of Victorian London – where the novel is set – extremely well, right down to the minor dialogue and even certain buildings! The attention to detail was certainly impressive and that meant that the description was as excellent as always. I found that yet again I could slip right into Clare’s world and had a lot of trouble putting the book down. I loved how there was a good mixture of different magical and mythical beings, such as shapeshifters, vampires, warlocks and… robots?!
I thought that Clare could have done a slightly better job in making this book/series more original and stand out more than her other one, because to begin with a lot of the characters were very similar to the ones in TMI. I think after a few chapters the characters really started to come into their own. I know a lot of people found Jace (from TMI) and Will (ID) to be the same person (Cassandra Clare seems to have a thing for hot witty teenage boys), however I have to disagree. There are certainly similarities in the characters, both have a certain charm to them and both have witty comebacks and attitudes. But for those who have read both books, Will is quite obviously cruel and he pushes people away. He also seems to be a compulsive liar. Jace, on the other hand, is kind and he loves his family and friends and would do anything for them. Plus, he doesn’t lie.
Tessa was a lot like Clary, however she seemed more mature which is probably appropriate for a young adult of the Victorian era.
Overall, this book is excellent and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the young adult and fantasy genres. You can even read this book without reading Clare’s previous works, as it stands as an individual novel!
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