City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments)
by Cassandra Clare
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Book Reviews of City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments)
Book Review: Slow and appropriate for children?
Summary: 2 Stars
I checked out City of Ashes from my local library. Unlike City of Bones, which I bought to see if I could use it in my classroom (I couldn't), I was just reading City of Ashes for my own pleasure.
There are a few good things about City of Ashes and many bad things about it. I will discuss the positive aspects first. (Be forewarned I am going to be discussing major plot points of this novel (i.e. SPOILERS), if you have not read City of Ashes, then I suggest you SKIP my review).
I must say that in this book, Ms. Clare's characterizations are somewhat better. Not a whole lot better, but improved, at least most of the Star Wars references are gone. For example, I really enjoyed the characters of Alec and Magnus. In fact, they are the only reason I gave this book 2 stars instead of one. Their love story is bold, interesting and different. I hope Ms. Clare will expand on their relationship in the third book. For me, Alec and Magnus were my favorite part of City of Ashes.
Now onto the negative aspects of the book. First, the book starts out with a bang with Valentine showing up. Then, we get 6 chapters of BORING, slow-paced nonsense. Unfortunately Ms. Clare doesn't seem to know how to write a fast-paced sequel that can keep the reader awake with drama and action. The end picks up, but by then the casual reader may have just discarded the novel.
Another negative aspect is that once again Ms. Clare is drawing from other source material for her characters (i.e. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer). In chapter one, when Clary and Simon are watching the movie Dracula, I figured out that by the end of the book Simon would turn into a vampire - and guess what he did! There was no surprise to this revelation. Now I know the book is being targeted to 14+, but that plot point was so obvious a 6 year old could have seen it coming.
Lastly, what is up with the promotion of an incestuous relationship between Clary and Jace? I understood that in book one, the two did not know they were brother and sister and had feelings for one another, but in this book they clearly know they are related and yet continue to kiss and discuss their romantic feelings ad nauseum. (At one point, Jace states he wants to be with Clary, no matter if they are related or not, Clary nixes that idea, but by the end of the book, she is okay with it?) I am not getting it. This book is geared towards young readers, so why is the author pushing an incestuous relationship onto her audience? I have my own ideas about why this is happening and will see if they play out in book 3, but for now that plot is just morally wrong. Brothers and sisters should not be thinking of making out or having sex with one another.
Overall, I cannot say I liked this book. On my hand it had some great aspects (Alec and Magnus), and then it had some downright awful things (incestuous plotline, slow pace). So, what I am recommending is that if you liked the first book, but are unsure of wanting to buy this book, then check it out of the library. Save yourself $[...].
Book Review: Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Summary: 4 Stars
Last week, I received a copy of CITY OF ASHES, book two in THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS trilogy by Cassandra Clare, for review. I was so excited because I just loved the first book, City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments). I wanted to read more about Clary, Jace, Simon, Luke, and the rest of the Shadowhunters and their adventures. This book, as with the first one, thoroughly entertained me. With this series, Cassandra Clare will easily make herself a household name.
The story opens with Valentine summoning a demon to be at his beck and call. This demon plays against a person's worst fears. You would need a protection spell if you wanted to ward off the advances of that kind of demon. How is that for an opener?! Once again, Valentine is up to no good - no surprise there. At the end of the first book, Valentine gained control of the Mortal Cup, which can only mean trouble for...everyone. What is he up to?
The last few weeks of this new seeing and slaying life has both exhausted and exhilarated Clary. Everything was so simple before that fateful night at the club. Clary was an ordinary teenager with an affinity toward drawing and manga. Now she can see werewolves, vampires, and fairies, and sketch her own runes. Plus, her mother is in a coma and Jace, one of the Shadowhunters who annoys and attracts her at the same time, turns out to be her brother. Bad news for Clary but good news for Simon, who used it to his advantage to get even closer to Clary. She has a tough choice to make about her future. Clary can leave the Shadowhunter world behind like her mother did, or she can become one of them and work toward finding out what Valentine's plan is now that he has the Mortal Cup.
Clary is not the only one to go through personal upheaval. Jace is devastated that he is not who he thought he was. Nothing good can come out of being Valentine's son, which he learns when his "mother" returns home full of accusations. Soon he is cast out from the one place he can call home. The Inquisitor, a real peach of a lady, holds Jace's fate in her hands. Believe me, there is no love lost between his adoptive parents, his real father, and her. Needless to say, the meeting between them doesn't go well and he is sentenced to prison in the Silent City. Prison turns out to not be the safest place for Jace, as dear daddy pays him a visit there trying to get him to switch teams.
Will Jace join Valentine or remain true to the Shadowhunter's virtues? And if he stays true to his Shadowhunter's roots, will he and his cohorts be able to stop Valentine before the rest of the mortal instruments are collected?
To find out how these and many other surprises happen, pick up your copy of CITY OF ASHES.
Reviewed by: coollibrarianchick
Book Review: LOVE! love love love love.
Summary: 5 Stars
Alright. So let me point this out to everyone: Yes, there is incest in this book. No, I don't mind it. Yes, there is homosexuality in this book. Again, I don't mind it.
For all of those people who are like: 'Omg! it's terrible because of what's going on with the characters!'Please, keep in mind that the author started out writing fanfiction. Incest and Homosexuality are seen in Fanfictions.Honestly though, I really like this book because it's so different then other books that I've read because the characters ARE so different. Really, I have never really read a book with a homosexual character, or have the main hero and heroine be in love yet are siblings. It's unique, in a mildly creepy way. I am a huge fan of the books, not only because the characters are often times witty and sarcastic, but because many of the aspects are unique.
I don't know how many times when I've read about 'orphan tries to find place in world, and saves the world!' books, or 'girl wants to break mold and runs off to join the army!', or 'destiny has chosen [characternamehere] to save the world!' type of books. The plot lines are over used, dull, and really repetitive. This book though totally broke the mold for me. And when I mean 'break the mold' I mean, seriously, breaking the mold.
I went onto about a two year reading hiatus (because no books really interested me) and I just picked up the first book in the series and could not put it down. It's not about a little orphan, or a princess running away from an arranged marriage. It is truly, truly an amazing book that I really do adore. I can't wait to see how the series ends honestly. The books, as far as I'm concerned, are very consistent so far.
It's not like the Twilight series, where the first one was just amazing, then drops off in quality after that, or really the Harry Potter series where it gets better and better. These books are amazing, and I really don't know how else she could improve them, so they're consistent in the whole 'amazing' factor.
There was only one thing that had a tendnecy of bugging me in the series. That was the author had a tendency of repeating about certain physical qualities in a character (simon's long eyelashes, Jace's hair, etc), that or else she sometimes goes out on tangents describing things that aren't really relevant to the plot. However, the book is filled with the same banter, same characters, and same character's personalities as the previous book. It's nice to see that the characters don't magically change with little, or no, background information as to why they changed between the two books (Granted, it helps that there's not long time gap between the books since the two of them take place only in a few days each).
-De
Book Review: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Summary: 4 Stars
SYNOPSIS:
Clary Fray wishes that life would go back to normal. What exactly do you call 'normal' when your father is probably insane, your mother is in a magically induced coma and you can suddenly see things like vampires, werewolves and demons?
Sure, Clary would love to go back to the way things were when she spent all of her time with her best friend (now possibly more) Simon. But the Shadowhunters aren't exactly ready to let her go, especially Jace - her newfound brother. And Clary can't just bail on her mom. To help her mother out, Clary will need to track down Valentine: rogue Shadowhunter, crazy, evil and... oh yeah, her father!
If that doesn't complicate things enough, someone slaying Downworlders in NYC and draining them dry of blood. Some think it's the Children of the Moon, but other signs are pointing to Valentine. He has stolen the second Mortal Instrument, the Soul-Sword and he's up to something. The Inquisitor for the Shadowhunters believes that Jace is in cohorts with his father. Can Clary trust him?
REVIEW:
I am really enjoying this series. Cassandra Clare lures you into this world full of amazing creatures, fantastic settings and tons of action!
At then end of City of Bones, I really enjoyed both Clary and Jace as lead characters. Clary has come into herself a little more in this segment of the series. She's not as weak and she is learning to stand up for herself and her friends. She is truly beginning to grasp her role as a Shadowhunter. Jace is a strong male lead, still very witty and cinical. He's slightly more bitter after the revelations he received in City of Bones. I feel for both Clary and Jace and hope that things will clear up for them further on in the series.
As I posted in my review for City of Bones, I stated that Valentine didn't feel like much of a villian to me. He stepped it up in this book, but I'm hoping that in City of Glass, he will truly encompass EVIL.
Clary, as a Shadowhunter, shouldn't really be on a friendly basis with Downworlders. In this novel, she seems to befriend someone from every walk of life (or death): werewolf, warlock, vampire. We begin to see that as much as each hates the other, they can all come together for the greater good: to stop Valentine.
I have City of Glass sitting right next to me and am so eager to get it started!
Book Review: Less derivative, although the fanfic roots still show
Summary: 3 Stars
Less derivative than CITY OF BONES, this sequel suffers from the same purple prose problems, characterisation is sometimes patchy and the internal logic creaks.
Clare works harder to make the material here her own. Valentine is less cliched as a villain, with Clare doing a decent job at showing someone so utterly convinced that he is right that he can't even begin to think that he might be wrong and I could just buy into his being willing to use demons to further those ends. Unfortunately the Inquisitor feels like a rehash of `old' Valentine, a single-minded Shadowhunter who holds Jace responsible for the sins of his father and refuses to listen to any views different to her own.
Jace will appeal to teenagers - moody, handsome and with hints at special powers. His dialogue sometimes doesn't fit his age, but his scenes are confidently handled. I wish I could say the same for Clary. She remains passive and reactive and her own special powers take her too close to Mary-Sue territory. The incestuous feelings between Clary and Jace are the main theme in the book but the subject's handled in a shallow manner as neither character seems interested in the consequences or emotional implications of their feelings and Clare drops anvils as to its resolution, which robs the love triangle between Clary, Jace and Simon of tension.
Simon suffers a great deal in this book and it's a shame that Clare does not set out the scene where he's forced into a terrifying transformation. There have been hints of this since the first book but the main catalyst here happens off page and without any real build-up, which is frustrating as it robs the book of some real drama and shock-value. The dilemma that this transformation causes for Simon is resolved by the end of the book in a way that's too pat and I think it's a missed opportunity.
The prose is purple and repetitive at times and sometimes stunts the action. There are some inner-story logic problems, notably where Jace visits Valentine, finding him easily even though he's managed to evade all of the other Shadowhunters. Best scenes in the book are a dream sequence between Clary and her mother and Valentine's attack on the Silent Brothers. The cliffhanger ending is a cheap device but will leave fans panting for the concluding volume.