Book Title: Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale
Author: Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan
Series: The Bane Chronicles #3
Series: The Bane Chronicles #3
Date Started: July 23rd 2013
Date Completed: July 26th 2013
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Action
Rating: Five stars
Review:
I think I'm starting to enjoy these novellas more than the actual series - they're a lot more mature and Clare pays a lot more attention to the story lines. It's also not consumed by two certain characters: it may well follow Magnus, but there's a lot of other characters that share the limelight with him and that we get to know.
Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale is set at the time when the Accords between Shadowhunters and Downworlders is being produced. Magnus joins the counsel in London, along with other fellow Downworlders and a selection of Shadowhunters, But the debates aren't as straightforward as Magnus might have hoped, and as the discussion spirals out of control, he decides to distract himself with a new friend that resides in London's Institute: Edmund Herondale.
There's definitely a style to Clare's writing, that fits wonderfully with Brennan's. After two books, they've gotten into the rhythm of writing together, and their own texts have combined comfortably to suit each other. I'm curious to compare Clare's writing on her own when I get around to reading the rest of her novels.
The description is a bit lacking of vibrance for me - but I'm a description geek. It's perfectly well done, and everything does have a certain level of vividness. The action is beautifully done, and the speech includes just the right amount of humour and seriousness to keep it engaging and relevant for the reader. I think this is appropriate especially for Magnus, since he's such a sarcastic personality, yet still has a reasonably high level of maturity.
It isn't really something we have in The Mortal Instruments (I haven't read The Infernal Devices yet, so I couldn't say about them) since all the characters are actually reasonably young, and those who are older tend to get a lot less time in the story or are presented oddly. This is probably the reason I'm starting to prefer the Bane Chronicles over The Mortal Instruments: because it has a certain level of maturity and 'business' that I can't pick out in her other work. Having said that, it is still quite lighthearted (despite the violence etc).
I think this was the best story out of the Bane Chronicles so far. Mostly because there actually was one. In the other stories, it seems to be just Magnus messing around or getting into trouble; there was actually a purpose in the third novella. And it all drew to a close at the end, like an actual story, rather than just leaving a frayed edge like a lot of novellas tend to do.
Furthermore, there were two plots running at the same time. To satisfy my older mind, there was the politics of the Accords and how the disagreements were reacted to, how it affected everything etc. I really like this, and it proved to me that Clare can write really good quality writing that isn't just romance and typical Young Adult things. And then, there was the typical Magnus side of the story, with his relationship with Edmund. The thing I really love about Magnus is he is clearly easily besotted, yet he has a unique way of going about everything; he's got a very closed-off personality and he's very careful who he reveals himself to. This fascinates me, and makes these little elements in the stories catch my interest very quickly.
Another thing I really loved about this novella was reading about all the ancestors of the characters in The Mortal Instruments. It got really confusing, and I still can't work out how far back it must be (a couple of generations?) but it just gave me a little extra thrill when I could associate each of the characters with people I already know and love from her other writing.
Magnus is growing to be one of my favourite characters from Clare's creations. He's so dynamic, and has multiple sides. There's always something you can read into and he's got that attitude that makes him funny, but also hints at a darker past and inner emotions. I think he's incredibly interesting. I'm glad these novellas have been created so I can really get to know his character a lot more.
I didn't make the connection with Camille as the vampire in City of Fallen Angels (which was incredibly stupid of me), but once I did it all started to make sense. I really like the way Clare has made these little connections that start to explain things in her other work, because it really ties everything in and makes it a lot more realistic and engaging since it makes the reader work to fit the puzzle pieces together in their minds, rather than just reading and having no reaction to it. I think she's a good character and I love the twists and turns her life holds.
Edmund was really sweet. He was a jerk at first, but a funny one. By the end I felt really sorry for him - and sorry for Magnus too. I also admire Edmund for doing what he did. It must have been tough - and I know it's not real - but I think it was a very good plot twist. (I just wish there had been more about how it had affected the decision of the Accords.)
And then there's all the other families: the Morgenstens; Wayland; Fairchild; Herondale (and no Lightwoods - I assume they're either in America or Alicante?) There wasn't much detail about their connections to the protagonists of Clare's other books, but it was still really nice to just be able to connect the names to people we already knew.
This isn't your typical fast-paced, action-packed Clare story. It's a lot more thoughtful than that. It isn't slow to start, or boring at all - it's just not what you would commonly expect, and I really found that attractive. She managed to make tension and danger and climaxes without having to use action or threats to make her intents clear; she did it purely with writing.
The great thing is there still is some action in it, and there definitely are climaxes and slower parts and everything that a good story needs in order to draw everything together. It was very well balanced and spread out through the story. There was just the right amount of thoughtfulness to make the reader think and sympathise, and then there was the exciting parts to give the audience a thrill.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Clare's writing. It's also a really good introduction to her writing, and her series' - so if you're not sure her writing is your thing, you can read this and try it out. I think it's the best in the Bane Chronicles so far, so if you didn't like the other ones, you might like this. It's got action, romance, fantasy, thoughtfulness and a level of maturity that isn't obvious in Clare's other work, so older readers might find it more engaging too.
Image Source: http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130618213302/
mortalinstruments/images/9/9e/TBC03_cover.jpg
I think I'm starting to enjoy these novellas more than the actual series - they're a lot more mature and Clare pays a lot more attention to the story lines. It's also not consumed by two certain characters: it may well follow Magnus, but there's a lot of other characters that share the limelight with him and that we get to know.
Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale is set at the time when the Accords between Shadowhunters and Downworlders is being produced. Magnus joins the counsel in London, along with other fellow Downworlders and a selection of Shadowhunters, But the debates aren't as straightforward as Magnus might have hoped, and as the discussion spirals out of control, he decides to distract himself with a new friend that resides in London's Institute: Edmund Herondale.
There's definitely a style to Clare's writing, that fits wonderfully with Brennan's. After two books, they've gotten into the rhythm of writing together, and their own texts have combined comfortably to suit each other. I'm curious to compare Clare's writing on her own when I get around to reading the rest of her novels.
The description is a bit lacking of vibrance for me - but I'm a description geek. It's perfectly well done, and everything does have a certain level of vividness. The action is beautifully done, and the speech includes just the right amount of humour and seriousness to keep it engaging and relevant for the reader. I think this is appropriate especially for Magnus, since he's such a sarcastic personality, yet still has a reasonably high level of maturity.
It isn't really something we have in The Mortal Instruments (I haven't read The Infernal Devices yet, so I couldn't say about them) since all the characters are actually reasonably young, and those who are older tend to get a lot less time in the story or are presented oddly. This is probably the reason I'm starting to prefer the Bane Chronicles over The Mortal Instruments: because it has a certain level of maturity and 'business' that I can't pick out in her other work. Having said that, it is still quite lighthearted (despite the violence etc).
I think this was the best story out of the Bane Chronicles so far. Mostly because there actually was one. In the other stories, it seems to be just Magnus messing around or getting into trouble; there was actually a purpose in the third novella. And it all drew to a close at the end, like an actual story, rather than just leaving a frayed edge like a lot of novellas tend to do.
Furthermore, there were two plots running at the same time. To satisfy my older mind, there was the politics of the Accords and how the disagreements were reacted to, how it affected everything etc. I really like this, and it proved to me that Clare can write really good quality writing that isn't just romance and typical Young Adult things. And then, there was the typical Magnus side of the story, with his relationship with Edmund. The thing I really love about Magnus is he is clearly easily besotted, yet he has a unique way of going about everything; he's got a very closed-off personality and he's very careful who he reveals himself to. This fascinates me, and makes these little elements in the stories catch my interest very quickly.
Another thing I really loved about this novella was reading about all the ancestors of the characters in The Mortal Instruments. It got really confusing, and I still can't work out how far back it must be (a couple of generations?) but it just gave me a little extra thrill when I could associate each of the characters with people I already know and love from her other writing.
Magnus is growing to be one of my favourite characters from Clare's creations. He's so dynamic, and has multiple sides. There's always something you can read into and he's got that attitude that makes him funny, but also hints at a darker past and inner emotions. I think he's incredibly interesting. I'm glad these novellas have been created so I can really get to know his character a lot more.
I didn't make the connection with Camille as the vampire in City of Fallen Angels (which was incredibly stupid of me), but once I did it all started to make sense. I really like the way Clare has made these little connections that start to explain things in her other work, because it really ties everything in and makes it a lot more realistic and engaging since it makes the reader work to fit the puzzle pieces together in their minds, rather than just reading and having no reaction to it. I think she's a good character and I love the twists and turns her life holds.
Edmund was really sweet. He was a jerk at first, but a funny one. By the end I felt really sorry for him - and sorry for Magnus too. I also admire Edmund for doing what he did. It must have been tough - and I know it's not real - but I think it was a very good plot twist. (I just wish there had been more about how it had affected the decision of the Accords.)
And then there's all the other families: the Morgenstens; Wayland; Fairchild; Herondale (and no Lightwoods - I assume they're either in America or Alicante?) There wasn't much detail about their connections to the protagonists of Clare's other books, but it was still really nice to just be able to connect the names to people we already knew.
This isn't your typical fast-paced, action-packed Clare story. It's a lot more thoughtful than that. It isn't slow to start, or boring at all - it's just not what you would commonly expect, and I really found that attractive. She managed to make tension and danger and climaxes without having to use action or threats to make her intents clear; she did it purely with writing.
The great thing is there still is some action in it, and there definitely are climaxes and slower parts and everything that a good story needs in order to draw everything together. It was very well balanced and spread out through the story. There was just the right amount of thoughtfulness to make the reader think and sympathise, and then there was the exciting parts to give the audience a thrill.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Clare's writing. It's also a really good introduction to her writing, and her series' - so if you're not sure her writing is your thing, you can read this and try it out. I think it's the best in the Bane Chronicles so far, so if you didn't like the other ones, you might like this. It's got action, romance, fantasy, thoughtfulness and a level of maturity that isn't obvious in Clare's other work, so older readers might find it more engaging too.
Image Source: http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130618213302/
mortalinstruments/images/9/9e/TBC03_cover.jpg
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