What's up my readers!
The Shadowhunter Chronicles are some of the best pieces of literature ever published in the world in the history of everything... ever... So, let's discuss the two series' and all of their infamy. I will do the same with the Dark Artifices series once I finish reading them. I actually haven't started any of them yet and I don't even know what they are about, so that will be a fun journey as I've only heard good things about them. Anyways, enjoy my TMI vs TID tag! These are just my opinions, definitely not fact. I love both series so much and all of Cassandra Clare's writing in general, so no disrespect to any aspect of these book series'!
Thanks for reading, and read on dudes!
1. Favorite main character: Clary or Tessa?
This is a tough one but I would have to say Clary because I appreciate the fact that she is more willing to take risks which is more interesting to read about and more respectable in general. I like reading about risk takers. Perhaps it was because of the time period Tessa was written for that she didn't come across in the same light, how it wasn't exactly of the pre-twentieth century status quo to women to risk their lives fighting demons. However who's to say it's status quo in present day for anyone to fight demons? I also appreciate Clary's loyalty to her friends where as Tessa's was a bit splotchy. All in all I thought Tessa was a bit weaker willed, so to say, than Clary because Tessa seemed to do a lot of things that she didn't want, to please the people around her (i.e. how clockwork prince ended with Jem... I'm just saying... personally wasn't the biggest fan of how that panned out... actually that was an understatement I almost cried out of frustration...). A lot of reviews I've seen criticize Clary's arrogance and annoying decisions at times but I guess that was something I just didn't see or didn't bother me. So yes, my favorite main character is Clary!
2. Favorite Herondale: Jace or Will?
EASY. Although I appreciated Will's love for literature, which obviously I can relate to and appreciate, he was far to angsty and dramatic for me. Personally what I loved about the Infernal Devices and Mortal Instruments was the action. I was more invested in plot A than Plot B in both stories and when you're only accounting for what these characters deliver to the Plot A, Jace is far superior. I loved the beautiful cruelty in the reasoning why Will isolated himself for so long in his life due to the curse. I really thought that was extremely creative and heartbreaking which obviously -as masochistic as it sounds- is great to read about. However, like I said that is more Plot B than Plot A material. Jace was an outstanding Shadowhunter, unpredictable, cocky, hilarious, and I found myself trying to speed through parts of the story that weren't told through his perspective because I thought Cassandra Clare did such an amazing job writing him and I couldn't get enough! He's a loaded character and not as annoyingly angsty and dramatic as Will. Like I said though, I like Will, a lot, I just liked Jace more.
3. Favorite love triangle: Clary/Simon/Jace or Will/Jem/Tessa?
As stated previously, I am more interested in Plot A (the action, world building, conflict, etc.) than Plot B (romance, drama, etc.) but I don't think Clary/Simon/Jace were ever a love triangle truly, Clary and Simon were best friends. So by default my answer would be Will/Jem/Tessa, but I did hate the idea of Jem and Tessa being married in Clockwork Prince, like what I referenced above how I nearly cried out of frustration. I just started to appreciate Tessa's character becoming self dependent and a boss lady and then she totally just got engaged for no reason in the middle of essentially a way that she kind of had a major responsibility in starting, and she's super young and that's just not something I can get behind because she's a Shadowhunter and a Demon like she can do SOOOOO much more than just getting married when she just doesn't want to. I elect to give no answer and rather plea the 5th. Sorry not sorry. :)
4. Better villain: Sebastian or the Magister?
Another easy one: Sebastian by about a country mile. Not only was Sebastian totally wicked and diabolical but he amounted a pretty serious army in an impressively short amount of time. The Magister by far-reaching contrast was trying to build an army for legitimately decades and all he could manage was killing, like, one town MAYBE if even and then getting killed and his entire army destroyed in the same night... like come on that's pathetic! Sebastian is an insanely good villain. He is deplorable -don't get me wrong- but I don't hate him because he's hilarious, genius, cunning, and just plain fascinating. I mean the way he acted and planned everything he did with his army and linking himself and Jace in City of Lost Souls and how he revealed himself in City of Glass was just so straight insanity. I NEVER anticipated that he was working for Valentine and Clary's brother. He is a genuine evil genius. The Magister is just a creepy bitter mundane with poor war preparation skills... Ya, I said it.
5. Better army: The Dark Army or the Clockwork Army?
I feel like I answered that above already; the Clockwork Army was almost impressively wimpy. They got one big attack in and all that it took to take them down was killing a mundane. Is it even fair to call them an army at that point? Sebastian planned and planned and planned and build an entire evil army, stole the mortal cup, made another mortal cup, esentially made an army of antichrists that were certifiably insane minions, was part demon himself, and could only be killed through the use of HEAVENLY FIRE!!?? Literal heavenly fire! That's -like- impossible to come by. Also with the Dark Army those were legitimate people. Although they were different souls, they still looked like peoples loved ones and were at one point people's loved ones and died. All in all, the Dark Army was more destructive, more evil, more devastating to the shadow world, and way more fun to read about.
6. Best first book: City of Bones or Clockwork Angel?
I have to say Clockwork Angel. I finished it in less than a day and although I did almost the same with City of Bones, to be completely truthful I didn't want to finish the Mortal Instruments series when I was done with City of Bones because I was ENRAGED by the ending. I had to look up if it were actually true or not and once I found out that it wasn't I was willing to read the rest of the books. I didn't spoil anything else for myself, all I looked up was if the big plot at the end was true and when I found out that it wasn't I continued with City of Glass. It was just as enjoyable of a series still because I didn't find out that Sebastian was actually Clary's brother or really anything else at all, but ya, I was really angry at the ending of City of Bones. I thought Clockwork Angel was better written as well simply because Cassandra Clare had more experience. I loved City of Bones until the end when things just started feeling like a big old information dump and then we got hit by the WORSTTTT plot twist in the history of plot twists. I must have re-read that part 50 times just hoping that I miss-read it and it wasn't true (I don't want to say it incase someone reading this hasn't read TMI series and may change their mind one day and read it but if you know then you know...). I loved Clockwork Angel all the way through; it wasn't information dump-ish and there was no point where I thought I wasn't going to finish the series.
7. Best female sidekick: Cecily Herondale or Isabelle Lightwood?
Tough to say. If you asked me while I was reading Clockwork Princess I would have said Cecily but when I give myself some solid time to reflect I feel like I have to say Isabelle because she was just so-- cool! But truthfully I don't know. I loved them both so much and they were both just such strong female characters. One reason why I lean more towards Cecily is because she was such a strong female in a time period where that wasn't necessarily accepted at all. But like I said, Isabelle was an absolute boss so it's just tough to be confident in any answer to this at all so I think I will just stick with both!
8. Best setting: The New York Institute or the London Institute?
I'm fairly indifferent. I've been to New York but never London so I'm not sure weather to say New York because of familiarity or London because of curiosity? I'll say London because it seems like a beautiful atmosphere and Cassandra Clare did a really good job at describing the scene there where as she really didn't need to do too much for New York because well, everyone knows what New York looks like.
9. Better Last Book: City of Heavenly Fire or Clockwork Princess?
Ahhh! This is an impossible question to answer but for the sake of controversy I will. As truly amazing of a book Clockwork Princess is, City of Heavenly Fire was better in my opinion. The ending of City of Heavenly Fire genuinely made me cry. I grew so attached to the characters and story of The Mortal Instruments series, way more than TID, so it was way more satisfying and meaningful to me to find out how their lives would conclude in terms of the series. Also, the fact that City of Heavenly Fire was able to pull genuine tears and emotion out of me, I feel like that is telling of it's work as a whole. The part when Simon offered to lose all his memories of their journey together to feed the demon was heartbreaking, but the sole line that got me to totally cry super hard was when Simon tossed Clary the faerie ring. That took my heart and smashed it into a million pieces. There is something really special about a book if it can make you feel something like that. As far as Clockwork Princess I didn't like that Cassandra Clare wasn't really willing to take a risk with Tessa's final decision on Will or Jem. I know a lot of people were happy because they believed it was like a "best of both worlds" scenario, but I just didn't see it that way. I also felt like Jem never had a happy ending until the epilogue. Through the writing I got the idea that Jem was very displeased with the fact that he was a silent brother, that he couldn't really be himself anymore. I will say that it left me SCHOCKED that Jem turned into a silent brother and showed up at the final battle, that was crazy. Don't get me wrong; I think Clockwork Princess is one of the best Shadowhunters books, but City of Heavenly fire is the best.
10. Better Final Epilogue: City of Heavenly Fire or Clockwork Princess?
TOUGH TO TELL! I feel like I keep saying this but it really is true! Without the epilogue in City of Heavenly Fire I think I would genuinely be a fragmented version of the person that is writing this right now. I just don't think I could even live with the idea that Simon and Clary weren't friends anymore, that they wouldn't even know each other anymore, that Simon wouldn't even remember the entire journey that he had went on with Clary, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle throughout all this time. I needed the epilogue in City of Heavenly Fire to be able to function in society again!! As far as the epilogue in Clockwork Princess, I suppose there needed to be some type of closure for Jem and Tessa but then again, one could have just gotten that by reading City of Heavenly fire with the scene at the end containing the Jem and Tessa interaction. Nonetheless, I did like the epilogue to Clockwork Princess, and I liked the entire book so I'm happy that I got a little more through the epilogue. So though it's tough to choose I'd say City of Heavenly fire wins this one.
Comments