Nancy Gray's Blog: Feeding the Writing Addiction - Posts Tagged "book-review"

As promised, here is my book review for Clockwork Angel in the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. (Sorry this took me so long. Better late than never. I'm currently reading the second novel of the series Clockwork Prince and will try to get the review of it finished in a more timely fashion.)

First of all, I'd like to say I really like the setting. I've always had a soft spot for steampunk, especially set in London. I'm also very impressed with the author's knowledge of Victorian literature and culture. Specifically, the author has a verse from a Victorian story or poem at the beginning of every chapter and it's clear that she knows the geography of London as though she lives there.

Another interesting thing about this series is the fact that it's an urban fantasy story. There are elements of gothic horror and mystery. I really like the combination of steampunk and gothic horror which is something I would like to explore in the future as well. As with most young adult literature, there is a love story brewing throughout the book. I won't give any spoilers, but I will say that the love story itself is a strange one and it keeps you guessing..

The theme in this story is a secret organization of "shadowhunters" with angelic bloodlines hunting demons and keeping "mundanes" safe from the things that go bump in the night. While this theme has been done before, I think the author did a good job making the organization feel real with it's inner politics and the strange almost family-like dynamic created by the individuals within the institute.

The main character "Tessa" is a girl that has the power to use an object to transform into the owner of the object and view their memories. While she is a powerful female lead, there's a certain vulnerability to her that I find endearing. Her power makes her useful, but she is rescued by the other members of the institute frequently. While some might frown upon that sort of thing, I think it makes her transformation into a stronger character more important and being set in Victorian London (even though the character is from America) it makes more sense.

The only real criticism I have for this book is I really don't like changing perspectives. This might be a personal pet peeve of mine, but I've read other books that change perspective such as Stephen King's IT and it didn't bother me. Let me explain why I found it particularly irritating in this book.

I'm pretty sure Tessa is supposed to be the main character, but the book shifts between almost every member of the institute's point of view at least once. This means, that you look through another character's eyes at least seven times throughout the book and Tessa isn't in every scene. There are times that I wonder if Tessa is the main character or if Will and Jem are supposed to be the focus.I think Tessa is supposed to be the character the reader associates the most with, but with all the wavering back and forth it's hard to tell.

Also this shift usually happens during a cliffhanger scene when Tessa was in danger. When the character I care most about is in danger, I don't really care about Charlotte discussing institute politics with one of her contacts, I want to know what happened. It has a way of derailing the action and, about the time I get into the scene with the political discussion, I'm suddenly back to where I left off from the chapter before, or in a different scene entirely. It made the story feel disjointed and it kind of gave me spoilers about what the other characters were thinking.

Despite that one issue, this was a very good book. There is enough intrigue and mystery to keep you guessing at what the antagonist wants, though even at the end you don't really know. The ending seems to tie a few things up, but leaves other elements unsolved to explore in the second book. While that is an issue with some people, I don't think of that as a problem. I'm actually about halfway through Clockwork Prince right now, so clearly it left enough of a hook for me to want to buy the series. I suggest you do too. (Though there is only a hint of a love triangle in the first book, that is played up much more in the second.)

Well, I'm off to read more Clockwork Prince. I hope you find this review helpful, and if you like steampunk, gothic horror, hunters, secret organizations, or romance, Clockwork Angel is probably for you.

I would like to start off saying that out of this trilogy, Clockwork Prince is my favorite book. This might end up being a fairly short blog because I really don't have very much bad to say about it at all, but I'll at the very least try to explain why it is a better book and why I like it so much.. I'll also try not to spoil anything for those interested in reading the series.

The problems I had with the previous book, Clockwork Angel, were not problems in this book. Even though I'm not a fan of books that switch perspectives from one character to the next, it wasn't jarring in Clockwork Prince. I think this is because most of the chapters stopped in a good place instead of stopping in the middle or beginning of the action. So, basically, when there was a lull in the action of one chapter another would start. Also, the plot itself was more interesting, so when the perspective was switched to another character in another place it was just as interesting as following the adventure of the main character.

The love story really heats up in this book. I knew there would be a love triangle, but there was much less focus on it in Clockwork Angel. Clockwork Angel did a good job of setting up the characters and the world, but this book is where things really take off. One of the lead characters of this book (he is on the cover) is also my favorite character in the series so that didn't hurt. The love triangle is a bit much in terms of angst, but I have to admit that I liked it. Though love triangles are guilty pleasures, this one was pretty good.

All of the characters were equally endearing in this book. There were several characters in Clockwork Angel that I didn't really like at the time. To be honest the "love interest" in the first book seemed pretty repellent at the time, but when you find out his reasoning in this book, he becomes likable. Therefore, you can't help but be cheering for both of the men in Tessa's life. (Of course, I have a preference, but I'm purposely keeping this vague so that I don't spoil anything for the reader.)

There was action, intrigue, great characters and character development, and the main character became a lot more interesting than she was in the previous book. So, long story short, I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I finished it in about a week, possibly less, reading at odd times because I wanted to know what happened next. I recommend it to anyone who likes steampunk, urban fantasy, and love stories. I love all of these things, so this book was the perfect storm for my adult tastes as well as my inner teenager. (I guess this blog didn't turn out to be short after all...)