Book Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices #1
Series: The Infernal Devices #1
Date Started: August 12th 2013
Date Completed: August 14th 2013
Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Action, Thriller, Historical
Rating: Four stars
Review:
I had high expectations of this book when I started reading after the success of The Mortal Instruments. Whether that expectation was met, I'm not quite sure. I definitely enjoyed Clockwork Angel, but the story was extremely similar to the original series.
Clockwork Angel is set in Victorian London, where Theresa Gray has just arrived from New York to live with her brother. But when she arrives, is taken to the residence of two mysterious women and ordered to perform some sort of magic, Tessa starts to doubt whether it was such a good idea to leave home. Just as she's beginning to think there's no chance of escaping and finding her brother, a strange boy shows up and everything Tessa's considers real is turned upside-down and she's thrown into a world that she doesn't understand and that claims she is a gifted creature - and not human. As Tessa struggles to come to terms with this, it seems that the strange people giving her food and shelter have their own troubles to deal with.
I could go on for ages about Clare's writing, but I've said it all before. In short, her narration is wonderfully detailed and with a depth that connects the reader to the character like they're friends. Her action is vivid and cinematic; the description makes you feel like you're there; the people are believable and interesting.
I really liked how it wasn't solely about Tessa - a lot of other characters got time in the limelight too. This is something that turns up in a lot of Cassie's books, but I really felt she took advantage of it in Clockwork Angel, in order to tell the story in a more detailed way and to make the story unfold from every angle. It created more tension and dramatic irony when we knew one character knew something, but another had experienced something else and so on.
Clare has a tendency to be a little uncertain on her first novels in a trilogy. I felt this at the beginning of the original Mortal Instruments trilogy, and then again in City of Fallen Angels, where she decided to carry on the series. I get the feeling that she's taken the time to figure everything out, but it is slightly under confident in herself and her new story that she hasn't tested out yet. There's obviously nothing wrong with this, but it's just something I've picked up after reading her writing. (I also hope this means that The Infernal Devices gets even better as it goes on.)
When Clockwork Angel started, it seemed awfully familiar: ordinary girl wanders somewhere she's not really supposed to and gets caught up in this magical world. Then, after being taken under the wing of the Shadowhunters, she starts demanding to go after a family member, which causes a lot more trouble than expected. It was awfully reminiscent of City of Bones. I did really enjoy it, but I felt like Cassie was struggling to get away from her much-loved characters. Thankfully, this did fade out a little further on in the book, although I did get worried a couple of times that it was going to take a turn for the worst. Fortunately, it became a new story about halfway through.
I did find the main climaxes slightly predictable, but the smaller parts of the story were very well done, and created a story that worked very well in captivating the reader. (Although it didn't seem like there were other little stories going on around the main one, unlike in The Mortal Instruments - there was just one plot, and everything was about that.) (I do realise that I'm comparing The Infernal Devices to The Mortal Instruments a lot, and in a way I wished I wasn't. But I felt like Clockwork Angel could have ventured further away and become it's own kind of series, instead of being completely a prequel.)
I have to say, rather guiltily, that one of my favourite elements was by far the references to The Mortal Instruments. At first there were only a few that just made me smile, but the later ones were so ingenious I was grinning when I read them. I hope in City of Heavenly Fire (the last of The Mortal Instruments series) Cassie puts some references to this series in (then again, there are probably already references in the existing books that I haven't noticed because I haven't read them with my newfound knowledge of their ancestry). (SPOILER - ish) The best inclusion was Church.
Where The Mortal Instruments was very character-based, I feel like Clockwork Angel is a lot more about the story. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with this, but I was quite surprised when more time was taken on the plot, and then Tessa's feelings - rather than each character 'personal brooding time'.
I also didn't get that close to the characters, but admittedly, Cassie had five books to get the reader to love her first characters - there was only 481 pages here.
Tessa was a good protagonist, but she didn't particularly stand out for me. Clary (sorry for yet another Mortal Instruments comparison) was really bold and feisty, and she always stood out. Tessa paled in comparison, I felt. A couple of times, I had the impression that she was just a little girl stomping around when she didn't get what she wanted (only not so obviously because of Jessamine). I understand that Tessa is intelligent and capable, and that's what made me a little annoyed when she didn't do much at all. Hopefully this changes in the next books, when she has more experience with the Shadow World.
Will was a very good character - but my problem was he was exactly like Jace, but less funny. (I know I'm complaining that characters are too different, and then saying they're too similar, but that's honestly the feelings I got off them - I know I'm hard to please!) Will was constantly moody, and he never really let up at all. There wasn't really a time when he let that attitude down unfortunately. At first, I did find this interesting, but then it got a bit boring.
Jem was lovely. (He's basically the combination of Simon and Alec, my two favourite characters, so you can probably see why I like him.) I honestly don't know why Tessa would go for Will when Jem's there. James is lovely and kind and caring and clever and accepting and clearheaded and funny. Will is just irritating and moody. It may seem like the Simon/Jace conundrum again, but really I wouldn't pick Will. Having said that, both Jem and Will work wonderfully as parabatai, and they're the only characters in the book (apart from Magnus and Camille) that I believed in all their words and actions.
Jessamine is a truly horrible character. I was hoping that she would show some acts of bravery or be less of a bitch, and indeed she did have a few heroic moments, but even after there was no second of acknowledgement of this - she simply went back to being a bratty princess. It was a nice new character, but I felt something could have been done to make her character a little more likeable. I also started to really get drawn in when she talked about her parents, but then she snapped back and there was no hint of awareness of what had happened - she just went back to being horrid.
Nate was a good character, and she was a great part of the story. I liked the twist, and it was definitely needed. I've always liked the older brother character, because they always really interest me. There's so many different angles they can come from and act by. Nathaniel was no exception. The great thing was we started to think of him one way, and then he appeared as another, and then another again. I love constantly changing characters - it stops me from getting bored and gives me more to be interested in.
Sophie, Agatha and Thomas. It sounds harsh, but they all blended into one for me. Thomas was sweet, but that's about all I can say.
Charlotte and Henry were very good characters. It's nice to meet some adults in Clare's world that are genuine. Charlotte's a realistic character, and Henry is just adorable. I wish more detail would have gone into why everyone treats him the way they do though.
In the words of Kevin Zegers: 'Magnus, yay!' Of all the Mortal Instruments references, Magnus is the biggest. I loved his inclusion and fitting it into his timeline after reading the Bane Chronicles. Magnus' character never bores me and it was really interesting to see his attitude in this time frame. He's more mature and subtle than his future self, but still enigmatic and lively. I just love him, and I hope he's in it a lot more in the next books.
The pace was consistent. Cassie's good at making stories that have a lot of action and drama in the plot, without making it hard to distinguish the climaxes. There were definitely important parts that were made clear as such, but the down-time was also interesting, if not always needed in the plot. I didn't get bored anywhere, apart from right at the beginning, where the reader doesn't really know what's going on. I just found this went a little longer than I would have liked, but it wasn't actually dragged out too far, thinking about it.
I would recommend Clockwork Angel to all fans of Clare's writing. It really is very good, despite the subtle lack of uniqueness. It's got all her trademark action, fantasy concepts and romance, and there's a few little hints to other stuff along the way. It's also a great place to start experiencing Cassie's writing - if you like paranormal romances with a little more depth, detail and variety, then this is for you.
Image Source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1WF56mc79Ag/TH_wnvtY7oI/
AAAAAAAABD4/ZFpnTizgxI0/s1600/clockwork_angel.jpg
I had high expectations of this book when I started reading after the success of The Mortal Instruments. Whether that expectation was met, I'm not quite sure. I definitely enjoyed Clockwork Angel, but the story was extremely similar to the original series.
Clockwork Angel is set in Victorian London, where Theresa Gray has just arrived from New York to live with her brother. But when she arrives, is taken to the residence of two mysterious women and ordered to perform some sort of magic, Tessa starts to doubt whether it was such a good idea to leave home. Just as she's beginning to think there's no chance of escaping and finding her brother, a strange boy shows up and everything Tessa's considers real is turned upside-down and she's thrown into a world that she doesn't understand and that claims she is a gifted creature - and not human. As Tessa struggles to come to terms with this, it seems that the strange people giving her food and shelter have their own troubles to deal with.
I could go on for ages about Clare's writing, but I've said it all before. In short, her narration is wonderfully detailed and with a depth that connects the reader to the character like they're friends. Her action is vivid and cinematic; the description makes you feel like you're there; the people are believable and interesting.
I really liked how it wasn't solely about Tessa - a lot of other characters got time in the limelight too. This is something that turns up in a lot of Cassie's books, but I really felt she took advantage of it in Clockwork Angel, in order to tell the story in a more detailed way and to make the story unfold from every angle. It created more tension and dramatic irony when we knew one character knew something, but another had experienced something else and so on.
Clare has a tendency to be a little uncertain on her first novels in a trilogy. I felt this at the beginning of the original Mortal Instruments trilogy, and then again in City of Fallen Angels, where she decided to carry on the series. I get the feeling that she's taken the time to figure everything out, but it is slightly under confident in herself and her new story that she hasn't tested out yet. There's obviously nothing wrong with this, but it's just something I've picked up after reading her writing. (I also hope this means that The Infernal Devices gets even better as it goes on.)
When Clockwork Angel started, it seemed awfully familiar: ordinary girl wanders somewhere she's not really supposed to and gets caught up in this magical world. Then, after being taken under the wing of the Shadowhunters, she starts demanding to go after a family member, which causes a lot more trouble than expected. It was awfully reminiscent of City of Bones. I did really enjoy it, but I felt like Cassie was struggling to get away from her much-loved characters. Thankfully, this did fade out a little further on in the book, although I did get worried a couple of times that it was going to take a turn for the worst. Fortunately, it became a new story about halfway through.
I did find the main climaxes slightly predictable, but the smaller parts of the story were very well done, and created a story that worked very well in captivating the reader. (Although it didn't seem like there were other little stories going on around the main one, unlike in The Mortal Instruments - there was just one plot, and everything was about that.) (I do realise that I'm comparing The Infernal Devices to The Mortal Instruments a lot, and in a way I wished I wasn't. But I felt like Clockwork Angel could have ventured further away and become it's own kind of series, instead of being completely a prequel.)
I have to say, rather guiltily, that one of my favourite elements was by far the references to The Mortal Instruments. At first there were only a few that just made me smile, but the later ones were so ingenious I was grinning when I read them. I hope in City of Heavenly Fire (the last of The Mortal Instruments series) Cassie puts some references to this series in (then again, there are probably already references in the existing books that I haven't noticed because I haven't read them with my newfound knowledge of their ancestry). (SPOILER - ish) The best inclusion was Church.
Where The Mortal Instruments was very character-based, I feel like Clockwork Angel is a lot more about the story. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with this, but I was quite surprised when more time was taken on the plot, and then Tessa's feelings - rather than each character 'personal brooding time'.
I also didn't get that close to the characters, but admittedly, Cassie had five books to get the reader to love her first characters - there was only 481 pages here.
Tessa was a good protagonist, but she didn't particularly stand out for me. Clary (sorry for yet another Mortal Instruments comparison) was really bold and feisty, and she always stood out. Tessa paled in comparison, I felt. A couple of times, I had the impression that she was just a little girl stomping around when she didn't get what she wanted (only not so obviously because of Jessamine). I understand that Tessa is intelligent and capable, and that's what made me a little annoyed when she didn't do much at all. Hopefully this changes in the next books, when she has more experience with the Shadow World.
Will was a very good character - but my problem was he was exactly like Jace, but less funny. (I know I'm complaining that characters are too different, and then saying they're too similar, but that's honestly the feelings I got off them - I know I'm hard to please!) Will was constantly moody, and he never really let up at all. There wasn't really a time when he let that attitude down unfortunately. At first, I did find this interesting, but then it got a bit boring.
Jem was lovely. (He's basically the combination of Simon and Alec, my two favourite characters, so you can probably see why I like him.) I honestly don't know why Tessa would go for Will when Jem's there. James is lovely and kind and caring and clever and accepting and clearheaded and funny. Will is just irritating and moody. It may seem like the Simon/Jace conundrum again, but really I wouldn't pick Will. Having said that, both Jem and Will work wonderfully as parabatai, and they're the only characters in the book (apart from Magnus and Camille) that I believed in all their words and actions.
Jessamine is a truly horrible character. I was hoping that she would show some acts of bravery or be less of a bitch, and indeed she did have a few heroic moments, but even after there was no second of acknowledgement of this - she simply went back to being a bratty princess. It was a nice new character, but I felt something could have been done to make her character a little more likeable. I also started to really get drawn in when she talked about her parents, but then she snapped back and there was no hint of awareness of what had happened - she just went back to being horrid.
Nate was a good character, and she was a great part of the story. I liked the twist, and it was definitely needed. I've always liked the older brother character, because they always really interest me. There's so many different angles they can come from and act by. Nathaniel was no exception. The great thing was we started to think of him one way, and then he appeared as another, and then another again. I love constantly changing characters - it stops me from getting bored and gives me more to be interested in.
Sophie, Agatha and Thomas. It sounds harsh, but they all blended into one for me. Thomas was sweet, but that's about all I can say.
Charlotte and Henry were very good characters. It's nice to meet some adults in Clare's world that are genuine. Charlotte's a realistic character, and Henry is just adorable. I wish more detail would have gone into why everyone treats him the way they do though.
In the words of Kevin Zegers: 'Magnus, yay!' Of all the Mortal Instruments references, Magnus is the biggest. I loved his inclusion and fitting it into his timeline after reading the Bane Chronicles. Magnus' character never bores me and it was really interesting to see his attitude in this time frame. He's more mature and subtle than his future self, but still enigmatic and lively. I just love him, and I hope he's in it a lot more in the next books.
The pace was consistent. Cassie's good at making stories that have a lot of action and drama in the plot, without making it hard to distinguish the climaxes. There were definitely important parts that were made clear as such, but the down-time was also interesting, if not always needed in the plot. I didn't get bored anywhere, apart from right at the beginning, where the reader doesn't really know what's going on. I just found this went a little longer than I would have liked, but it wasn't actually dragged out too far, thinking about it.
I would recommend Clockwork Angel to all fans of Clare's writing. It really is very good, despite the subtle lack of uniqueness. It's got all her trademark action, fantasy concepts and romance, and there's a few little hints to other stuff along the way. It's also a great place to start experiencing Cassie's writing - if you like paranormal romances with a little more depth, detail and variety, then this is for you.
Image Source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1WF56mc79Ag/TH_wnvtY7oI/
AAAAAAAABD4/ZFpnTizgxI0/s1600/clockwork_angel.jpg
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