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A review by obr
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
2.0
Despite my misgivings, I actually got on better with this book than the previous two. Perhaps it's knowing what to expect.
The cast are all there (although less this time of Magnus, Luke, with even Alec & Isabelle feeling a bit shunted down the pecking order). The cliches are all there, and the characters' story arcs follow them to perfection. Obvious plotline is also still obvious.
Some other things happened which will most likely help hinge some later plot points in the series. we learned a little more about the Herondales, a long bloodline of Shadowhunters who bear a star-birthmark from whom Jace is descended. This is probably important. The Downworlders made a truce with the Shadowhunters, although the vampires want to kill Simon for being an abberation. This is also probably important.
General criticism would be that events feel secondary to the characters, yet these characters don't feel quite strong enough individually to really push the book forward. Big, dramatic set pieces feel boiled down to what's going on in a tiny section of Clary/Jace's heads, and so feel a bit lacking.
This isn't a brilliant series, but it's not a terrible one either. If you absolutely despise YA cliche this will not be your cup of tea, but you'd probably figured that out well before reaching book 3. If you don't mind, it's an enjoyable enough read and rounds off the first trilogy-sequence nicely while leaving it open for more (undoubtedly still big on the Clary/Jace relationship which will persumably have everything including the kitchen sink thrown at it to crank up the will they/won't they stay together drama!)
The cast are all there (although less this time of Magnus, Luke, with even Alec & Isabelle feeling a bit shunted down the pecking order). The cliches are all there, and the characters' story arcs follow them to perfection. Obvious plotline is also still obvious.
Spoiler
In this book we go to Idris, the homeland of the Shadowhunters. There our protagonists meet Sebastian, a character so evidently suspect we're reminded of it constantly. Who could be surprised to find out he's not some obscure relation but in fact Valentine's son. Yes, his real one. Jace is in fact not Jonathan, and so he and Clary are free to fall in love properly. No YA book could actually have a tortured incest-based relationship at it's heart (and thank goodness, it was getting akward). Sebastian/Jonathan and Jace have a big showdown, which was so memorable that I forgot how it ended. We also had the usual big battle at the end end of the book which was somewhat dull as a) it's a seriously rehashed cliche and b) we didn't really see much except for a short part from our resident coming-to-terms-with-being-undead Simon. Valentine, having only just really clarified what he wants (well, sort of - something along the lines of purging the Shadowhunters of percieved impurity, rebuilding in his own image and getting recognition for fighting demons... while summoning the demons to do his bidding), gets done in by his own master plan. It felt pretty anticlimactic. Then finally, as with all good cliches we get the couples: Jace and Clary, Jocelyn and Luke, Alec and Magnus, Simon and... well, turned out Isabelle is interested after all (which felt nonsensical but hey), or else there's Maia geeking it up to get his attention.Some other things happened which will most likely help hinge some later plot points in the series. we learned a little more about the Herondales, a long bloodline of Shadowhunters who bear a star-birthmark from whom Jace is descended. This is probably important. The Downworlders made a truce with the Shadowhunters, although the vampires want to kill Simon for being an abberation. This is also probably important.
General criticism would be that events feel secondary to the characters, yet these characters don't feel quite strong enough individually to really push the book forward. Big, dramatic set pieces feel boiled down to what's going on in a tiny section of Clary/Jace's heads, and so feel a bit lacking.
This isn't a brilliant series, but it's not a terrible one either. If you absolutely despise YA cliche this will not be your cup of tea, but you'd probably figured that out well before reaching book 3. If you don't mind, it's an enjoyable enough read and rounds off the first trilogy-sequence nicely while leaving it open for more (undoubtedly still big on the Clary/Jace relationship which will persumably have everything including the kitchen sink thrown at it to crank up the will they/won't they stay together drama!)