So this will probably be the last ‘Young Adult’ book that I read for a while as my reading list is filling up with other things. I chose this book largely after seeing the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation and becoming intrigued by the story. I started reading with some trepidation, not least because the cover review was by Stephanie Meyer, the rather divisive author of the teen-girl favourite ‘Twilight’ series. The story is an urban fantasy story that fans of ‘Buffy’ will find instantly familiar. Indeed I would describe this story as a melange of the two. It is set in New York City and follows the a teenage girl Clary as she gets embroiled in the dark underworld of the city. A chance meeting in a night-club with a group of ‘Shadowhunters’ (think ‘slayers’ from ‘Buffy’) sees Clary get embroiled in this complex underworld where shadow slayers live in an uneasy peace with the part-human ‘Downworlders’ (vampires, werewolves, faeries etc.) She finds out that though she thought she was a normal human or ‘mundane’ she was actually part of a family at the centre of an enormous conflict in this underworld.
Now, I fear this review may get negative quite quickly so I shall first talk about the things that I liked about it: Firstly I think the world created by Clare is quite vivid and rich, and I particularly liked a scene in a diner/restaurant where all the various inhabitants of this underworld mingled. It gave a certain sense of community to the story and I love references to food in books. Secondly I liked how the story shifted throughout, starting as a simple search by a daughter for her mother, through a quite boring love-story section (more on that later) and finally into a really very interesting exposition-led history lessons mixed in with breathless fight and chase scenes. Thirdly, I loved the scenes with Luke/Lucian. In a book with characters of dubious depth, I felt his story was the most convincing and the most powerful.
HOWEVER. There are numerous reasons why this book has issues, central among them is the dreaded love triangle. Readers of things like ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ will be familiar with this incessant requirement in YA fantasy novels with a female lead to be ignorant of two guys falling hopelessly in love with her. While I could just about deal with it in the other two books, in this book it was very tiresome. The combatants in this affair of the heart are:
Now, I fear this review may get negative quite quickly so I shall first talk about the things that I liked about it: Firstly I think the world created by Clare is quite vivid and rich, and I particularly liked a scene in a diner/restaurant where all the various inhabitants of this underworld mingled. It gave a certain sense of community to the story and I love references to food in books. Secondly I liked how the story shifted throughout, starting as a simple search by a daughter for her mother, through a quite boring love-story section (more on that later) and finally into a really very interesting exposition-led history lessons mixed in with breathless fight and chase scenes. Thirdly, I loved the scenes with Luke/Lucian. In a book with characters of dubious depth, I felt his story was the most convincing and the most powerful.
HOWEVER. There are numerous reasons why this book has issues, central among them is the dreaded love triangle. Readers of things like ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ will be familiar with this incessant requirement in YA fantasy novels with a female lead to be ignorant of two guys falling hopelessly in love with her. While I could just about deal with it in the other two books, in this book it was very tiresome. The combatants in this affair of the heart are:
Clary - Artistic and book loving, launched into an adventure to save the people she cares about.
Jace - Dangerous and damaged Shadowhunter. Suffers from numerous daddy-issues and outrageously confident in his own looks and charms
Simon - Faithful bff and puppy dog-like kid who ‘proves himself’ when needed.
These tropes are so stereotypical that it slightly hurts my teeth and in my view are entirely unnecessary in a story that does not need it. The bit with Simon declaring his undying love for Clary is particularly awful and I nearly threw the book at the wall while reading it. Other characters have romantic interests which work much better.
Another issue at play is the writing of Clare. I get rather annoyed at people who criticise authors who first cut their teeth in the world of fan-fiction. I think it is a form of intellectual snobbery against a medium that, while is mostly populated by barely literate 13-year olds), also contains many talented and interesting writers. Clare, though I fear is not the greatest or most talented author to emerge from this world. Her use of mixed metaphors/similies etc sometimes beggars belief and she also suffers from ‘swallowed-a-thesaurus syndrome’ where she doesn’t quite understand certain adjectives that she uses making some sentences nonsensical.
To wrap up, this book has a lot of things that made me enjoy it - but I would not recommend it. While the world that Clare creates is interesting and some of the characters created compel, it is mostly fairly derivative. I read the first book, thinking that if I liked it, I would read the rest - but I will not. I can see why some may disagree with me, but I don’t think it’s because I did not ‘get’ it - it’s just that it is not very good.
Simon - Faithful bff and puppy dog-like kid who ‘proves himself’ when needed.
These tropes are so stereotypical that it slightly hurts my teeth and in my view are entirely unnecessary in a story that does not need it. The bit with Simon declaring his undying love for Clary is particularly awful and I nearly threw the book at the wall while reading it. Other characters have romantic interests which work much better.
Another issue at play is the writing of Clare. I get rather annoyed at people who criticise authors who first cut their teeth in the world of fan-fiction. I think it is a form of intellectual snobbery against a medium that, while is mostly populated by barely literate 13-year olds), also contains many talented and interesting writers. Clare, though I fear is not the greatest or most talented author to emerge from this world. Her use of mixed metaphors/similies etc sometimes beggars belief and she also suffers from ‘swallowed-a-thesaurus syndrome’ where she doesn’t quite understand certain adjectives that she uses making some sentences nonsensical.
To wrap up, this book has a lot of things that made me enjoy it - but I would not recommend it. While the world that Clare creates is interesting and some of the characters created compel, it is mostly fairly derivative. I read the first book, thinking that if I liked it, I would read the rest - but I will not. I can see why some may disagree with me, but I don’t think it’s because I did not ‘get’ it - it’s just that it is not very good.
4.5/10
Favourite Quotes
- “The boy never cried again, and he never forgot what he’d learned: that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed.”
- “The next time you’re planning to injure yourself to get my attention, just remember that a little sweet talk works wonders.”
- “It means ‘Shadowhunters: looking better in black than the widows of our enemies since 1234”
- “To love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed”
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