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A review by ari__s
The Bane Chronicles by Sarah Rees Brennan, Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson
4.0
I started this book and in the first few stories I was very mildly entertained, but largely felt like, while the character of Magnus is fabulous and entertaining, without a steady plot to anchor to, Clare's characters fell flat.
Then I kept reading, and started laughing, and as Magnus' life became closer in time to some of the history relevant to either the City series or the Clockwork series, I found the disjointed stories became grounded and delightful. Once that was steadied, I found this compilation of stories fantastic. The banter was enjoyable, the writing consistent with what I liked about her earlier books, and I appreciated the time she took to write this to fill in some of the gaps in her universe. Not to mention the fact that Magnus is an essential character, particularly for young people in the LGBTQ+ community to rally around, and I did feel like she attended to that thoughtfully and without exploitation of the audience. It seemed genuine - and it felt bold; I particularly applauded her for naming the AIDS epidemic outright, which was unexpected, considering the age group of the book audience, and so needed. There are absolutely remaining flaws - as in, this is not a perfectly radical or revolutionary book - and yet, I was impressed, pleased, and wholly amused throughout. And I found myself wanting to go back and reread the Mortal Instruments series, which I'm sure I'll do. For a YA series largely founded in love triangles and supernatural shenanigans (as they all seem to be these days), this one I do find endearing and special (but if anyone makes a Harry Potter comparison - I will deck you).
Then I kept reading, and started laughing, and as Magnus' life became closer in time to some of the history relevant to either the City series or the Clockwork series, I found the disjointed stories became grounded and delightful. Once that was steadied, I found this compilation of stories fantastic. The banter was enjoyable, the writing consistent with what I liked about her earlier books, and I appreciated the time she took to write this to fill in some of the gaps in her universe. Not to mention the fact that Magnus is an essential character, particularly for young people in the LGBTQ+ community to rally around, and I did feel like she attended to that thoughtfully and without exploitation of the audience. It seemed genuine - and it felt bold; I particularly applauded her for naming the AIDS epidemic outright, which was unexpected, considering the age group of the book audience, and so needed. There are absolutely remaining flaws - as in, this is not a perfectly radical or revolutionary book - and yet, I was impressed, pleased, and wholly amused throughout. And I found myself wanting to go back and reread the Mortal Instruments series, which I'm sure I'll do. For a YA series largely founded in love triangles and supernatural shenanigans (as they all seem to be these days), this one I do find endearing and special (but if anyone makes a Harry Potter comparison - I will deck you).