Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Dec. 24th, 2011 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Love and lies can corrupt even the purest heart …
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, while her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will – the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers to who she is and what she was born to do? As their search for the truth leads the three friends into peril, Tessa’s heart is increasingly torn, especially when one of their own betrays them …
It’s a fortnight after CLOCKWORK ANGEL and both Mortmain and Tessa’s brother Nathaniel remain missing. When Benedict Lightwood seeks Charlotte and Henry’s removal as the heads of the London Institute and his appointment in their place, the Consul gives them two weeks to find Mortmain. But Mortmain is a cunning adversary who thwarts every avenue the Shadowhunters pursue. Their search will uncover dark wrongs from the Shadowhunters’ history together with terrifying glimpses of Mortmain’s intentions and just why he wants Tessa.
Shaken by Will’s cruel offer to make her his mistress, Tessa remains attracted to him (despite his erratic behaviour) but also finds herself drawn to the kindly Jem who genuinely cares for her. Meanwhile, Will’s desperately trying to undo a wrong from his childhood and is forced to ask the warlock Magnus Bane to help him. With Will’s secrets threatening to spill out and Tessa unravelling who she really is, both must re-evaluate their feelings for each other and for Jem ...
The second in Cassandra Clare’s INFERNAL DEVICES trilogy is a disappointing mix of backstory, love triangles and slow moving mystery.
I’m not a love triangle fan and the one between Tessa, Will and Jem plays out slowly and melodramatically. Although teens may devour it, the constant emotional turmoil with its over-reliance on poetry and literary quotes as a shortcut for inner loss and confusion both grated and stifled the story’s pace. I was particularly irritated when a key scene’s interrupted by a three-page snog.
Will’s dark secret is as obvious as its resolution and the identity of the traitor is similarly telegraphed. I was interested in the hints of Tess’s background but her super specialness is clichéd. Jem, Will and Tessa remain too reminiscent of Clary, Jace and Simon in the MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series, albeit in bustles and top hats (although historical fiction fans will notice the use of phrases and behaviour that don’t fit with 1878 London society).
The book is hugely overwritten but I liked a scene involving a grisly Shadowhunter trophy room and Tessa’s reaction to it for its sparseness and I also liked the exposure of the Shadowhunter’s hypocrisy and superior behaviour, especially towards Downworlders.
If you’re a Cassandra Clare fan, then the love triangle and snark will entertain you. However there’s nothing much here that’s substantially different thematically or plot-wise to her other books and I want to see something new.
The Verdict:
Cassandra Clare’s sequel to CLOCKWORK ANGEL is a disappointing mix of backstory, love triangles and a slow moving mystery. I’m not a love triangle fan and found this one emotionally overwrought, overly reliant on 19th century poetry to underscore it and worked to slow down the overall plot. Clare fans will enjoy the familiar mix of snark and passion but if you’ve read her other books, you’ll be familiar with the themes, the lines and the plot twists.
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, while her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will – the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers to who she is and what she was born to do? As their search for the truth leads the three friends into peril, Tessa’s heart is increasingly torn, especially when one of their own betrays them …
It’s a fortnight after CLOCKWORK ANGEL and both Mortmain and Tessa’s brother Nathaniel remain missing. When Benedict Lightwood seeks Charlotte and Henry’s removal as the heads of the London Institute and his appointment in their place, the Consul gives them two weeks to find Mortmain. But Mortmain is a cunning adversary who thwarts every avenue the Shadowhunters pursue. Their search will uncover dark wrongs from the Shadowhunters’ history together with terrifying glimpses of Mortmain’s intentions and just why he wants Tessa.
Shaken by Will’s cruel offer to make her his mistress, Tessa remains attracted to him (despite his erratic behaviour) but also finds herself drawn to the kindly Jem who genuinely cares for her. Meanwhile, Will’s desperately trying to undo a wrong from his childhood and is forced to ask the warlock Magnus Bane to help him. With Will’s secrets threatening to spill out and Tessa unravelling who she really is, both must re-evaluate their feelings for each other and for Jem ...
The second in Cassandra Clare’s INFERNAL DEVICES trilogy is a disappointing mix of backstory, love triangles and slow moving mystery.
I’m not a love triangle fan and the one between Tessa, Will and Jem plays out slowly and melodramatically. Although teens may devour it, the constant emotional turmoil with its over-reliance on poetry and literary quotes as a shortcut for inner loss and confusion both grated and stifled the story’s pace. I was particularly irritated when a key scene’s interrupted by a three-page snog.
Will’s dark secret is as obvious as its resolution and the identity of the traitor is similarly telegraphed. I was interested in the hints of Tess’s background but her super specialness is clichéd. Jem, Will and Tessa remain too reminiscent of Clary, Jace and Simon in the MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series, albeit in bustles and top hats (although historical fiction fans will notice the use of phrases and behaviour that don’t fit with 1878 London society).
The book is hugely overwritten but I liked a scene involving a grisly Shadowhunter trophy room and Tessa’s reaction to it for its sparseness and I also liked the exposure of the Shadowhunter’s hypocrisy and superior behaviour, especially towards Downworlders.
If you’re a Cassandra Clare fan, then the love triangle and snark will entertain you. However there’s nothing much here that’s substantially different thematically or plot-wise to her other books and I want to see something new.
The Verdict:
Cassandra Clare’s sequel to CLOCKWORK ANGEL is a disappointing mix of backstory, love triangles and a slow moving mystery. I’m not a love triangle fan and found this one emotionally overwrought, overly reliant on 19th century poetry to underscore it and worked to slow down the overall plot. Clare fans will enjoy the familiar mix of snark and passion but if you’ve read her other books, you’ll be familiar with the themes, the lines and the plot twists.
