Hello Rad Readers!
So, before we begin, I feel like I should explain a little about how I recommend reading this since there are a lot of opinions on the order you should read these books in comparison the the Shadowhunter Chronicles as a whole.
I am kinda of reviewing these assuming that you have already read the Mortal Instruments series, and while I do know that it certainly isn't required that you read TMI first, I think that it is the best way to go about reading the Shadowhunter Chronicles. I have heard people saying that they regretted reading the last book of The Mortal Instruments before they finished the last book of The Infernal Devices series because apparently there was a spoiler in there, but I read all of TMI before I even started TID and I didn't feel spoiled at all. Once I finished Clockwork Princess I actually reread the ending of City of Heavenly Fire to find out if there was a blatant spoiler that I just missed, and in my opinion it wasn't really a spoiler at all, because it was such a tiny detail at the time. There was so much else going on in that story that it didn't matter or stick out to the reader. It was more so an Easter egg, if you will, for the people that had already read TID. I actually remember the first time I read City of Heavenly Fire I was so confused why this seemingly irrelevant detail was getting so much attention, but like I said, after reading Clockwork Princess I understood.
The last thing I would like to say about the reading experience rather than the actual books is that, unlike many readers, I did not read these immediately after I finished The Mortal Instruments series and I don't think you should either. Although they are set in the same universe and have very parallel plots, the two series are very different and if you are reading TID expecting to get TMI volume 2, you are going to be surely disappointed. TID is a phenomenal series on its own account, but if you are looking for the wrong things you will not enjoy it.
Okay, to summarize: read TMI before TID, but don't read TID immediately after finishing TMI.
Now into the actual content of the story!
The Infernal Devices is the prequel to The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare and includes Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, and Clockwork Princess. It begins in the late 1800s when Tessa Gray's aunt dies and she must travel from New York to London to stay with her brother. This is where the rest of the story takes place, giving the novels a very Victorian era kinda vibe. However, instead of meeting her older brother when she steps off the docks, she is kidnapped by who she calls 'the Dark sisters' (the most pretentious name known to man, but I went along with it), and they demand that she help them using her ability that she didn't even know she had. They intend to train Tessa and then deliver her to their boss, 'the Magister' (we love the extra names going on here...). However, before she is able to be handed over, a group of Shadowhunters accidentally stumble upon her and help her escape, taking her with them back to the London Institue, similar to the NY Institute in TMI. She stays there while she tries to figure out where her brother is, what this new world around her is, who the magister is, and most importantly, what she is, and why is she able to wield these unexplainable powers?
While she is trying to figure everything out she finds herself grow close to the Shadowhunters that she has sought refuge with, despite not being a Shadowhunter herself. It is mainly her, Jem Carstairs, and Will Herondale working together to find out who the Magister is, what he is up to, and how to stop him... and thus, the madness ensues!
Okay, now the you know what it is about, let me tell you what was so so so very wonderful about it. The lowest review I gave one of these books was 4/5 stars, so needless to say, I loved it.
Starting off with the world, the setting of the story in 19th century London was a bold move because sometimes the old fashioned writing can get capital B Boring, but I actually loved it. It made the tone and the mood of the story very different from books I normally read, and as it is written as a sort of period piece, I thought that it was all very accurate, sometimes even frustratingly accurate... you will know what I mean once you read the books.
The Shadowhunter world, just like in TMI is beautifully developed and there are a lot of new details brought up this time around that hadn't been prior, and we also get a deeper understanding and history of everything we fell in love with while reading The Mortal Instruments. Also, in these books you can really see a progression in the strengthening of Cassandra Clare's story telling. It was positively beautiful, the way these books were written. It was suspenseful and exciting and the characters were phenomenal. Ugh! I don't know if there are enough positive adjectives in the English language to even do it justice.
Like I said, these characters are great. I will not lie, there were certainly (many) parts of these books that weren't entirely interesting, but I couldn't stop reading because of how much I cared about the characters and just what was going on in their personal lives aside from the plot, and that is super rare for me. Usually I am all plot or nothing, but, I don't know, I just really loved these characters?
We have Tessa Gray who is out main character, and let me just say, that this is the best most satisfying character development ever. If you recall earlier I said that sometimes the accuracy of the time period in the writing is painful, and by that I mean that the main character is a female in a 19th century novel... homie doesn't have equality and her mindset is wack in the begining. She is all like "women shouldn't be fighting demons," or "I can't wear pants! I am a woman!" However, in the world of Shadowhunters, sexism and misogony is not a thing! They are warriors through and through and they teach Tessa that her mindset needs to change, that she is a woman, not "just" a woman, and I absolutely love that. Andddd I absolutely love that we see the subtle changes in her as she comes to this realization that she really can do anything and that she is extremely strong, extremely smart, and extremely powerful. Also, the homie loves to read, and anyone who loves to read is someone that I love, so how can I say one bad thing about her? Overall, through the course of the three books, she was phenomenal to read about.
Jem Carstairs is a king. Will Herondale is a homie and a half through and through. Though Tessa is the main character and ultimately it is her story that we are hearing, all of these other characters have incredibly developed history, and a story all to themselves as well. I think this is huge evidence of Cassandra Clare's amazing writing becuase she clearly has this entire world so thought out and well understood in her head and that really translates to the reader in my opinion. Jem's story was tragic and fascinating, and when I found out about it, honestly that is what got me so roped in. I am also down for a defeat-the-bad-guy book, but I think you really get to know a story when you find out that the bad guy is not the only problem these characters face. Will's character is beyond intriguing. There is so much about him that is such a mystery and you wonder why he is the way that he is. We get a third person narrative so we get to see what is behind the mask of these characters and it just does so much for the story and their development. They deal with the real world, they deal with their own personal hardships, and it just makes the story so real. I had some beef with Jem in the beginning of the series because I thought he was a little too boring and predictable, I got over the beef because I realized that he wasn't boring he was just a good person, something you so rarely see in these books. Will was frustrating, it all made sense in the end why he had to do some of the things he did, and can I just say woah woah woah oh my god to that really quickly!!
Everything is woven together so well, the characters, the main plot, the relationships, it is such a cohesive story and you get everything you could want all in one book. You want emotional and high stakes and angsty-- this is the book for you! You want supernatural thriller-- this is the book for you! You want action and adventure-- THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! You would think 800 pages of Clockwork Princess would be difficult to get through, but when you finish it you're like "what! that's it??"
I loved this story... in case you haven't notice already.
I loved how it built and built and built, Clockwork Princess was an absolute master piece of a finale. It was non-stop action and every time a chapter ended I was left in shock and I had to know what happened next. From beginning to end it was spectacular. Reading Clockwork Princess was like running a marathon for my brain. It was like just when you thought you knew what was about to happen, your entire world was flipped over and reversed and thrown out a window. Absolute madness and I loved all of it. Clockwork Princess is by far my favorite book I have read from Cassandra Clare (okay, maybe still tied with City of Heavenly Fire) which is saying a lot because I have read so so so many of her books!
You have to read this series. Stop what you are doing right now and pick it up.
The ending is incredible, insane, heart wrenching, you will never see it coming, and you will want it to never end.
Read. These. Books!
- C8 ;)
Comments