City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Aug 25, 2013 Patrick rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-series, reviewed

Well, first things first. I finished reading City of Bones over summer break and I just saw the movie last week. For those of you who haven't seen it, I'd recommend sticking to the book. The movie is very poor in quality compared to the book, in my personal opinion. (Actually, it got REALLY BAD ratings from movie critics, so I'm not the only one who feels this way.) That being said, I did quite like how Jace was portrayed in the film. Other than that, it's well-advised to avoid the film. Anyways Well, first things first. I finished reading City of Bones over summer break and I just saw the movie last week. For those of you who haven't seen it, I'd recommend sticking to the book. The movie is very poor in quality compared to the book, in my personal opinion. (Actually, it got REALLY BAD ratings from movie critics, so I'm not the only one who feels this way.) That being said, I did quite like how Jace was portrayed in the film. Other than that, it's well-advised to avoid the film. Anyways, I was curious enough about the sequel, so I borrowed it from my girlfriend. However, she warned me that she was sick of the love triangle aspect along with Clary's stupidity. And with that, I heeded her words of caution but delved into the novel anyways. As much as I tend to hate romance, especially in YA, I admit to enjoying this book just as much as its predecessor.

First of all, the book does explore the main characters a bit more. Clary is, quite honestly, a rather boring main character but the supporting cast drives the story a lot more. Jace, being the cocky jerk that he is, actually gets put in his place by the Inquisitor. Of course, he's still as cocky as ever, but readers who dislike Jace (like my girlfriend) will be glad to see that someone is tired of putting up with his shit. Simon does somewhat get a chance to shine here too. In some ways, he does still get the short end of the stick with Clary, but he does rise above the status of simply being a lowly mundane. Alec does get some development. He becomes a lot less unlikeable, though still hasn't had his own opportunity to shine. Isabelle still feels like she's on the sidelines which is a shame because I feel like she would be one of the more interesting characters in the book. Many of the new characters are parents of the main characters, such as Maryse. None of them felt interesting, merely tacked onto the story.

Of all the characters, I felt that Valentine was the one who shone the most. While he seemed like a boring villain in the first book, he gets a lot more screen time and becomes a lot more interesting. Valentine now holds the Maellartach, a sword apparently used to drive Adam and Eve from Eden! He also quotes Paradise Lost and speaks in that smooth and seductive tone Satan himself uses. The way he talks to Jace is very sly and manipulative, just the way a good villain should be. He doesn't feel as boring as he did in City of Bones. Instead, he is cruel, sadistic, cunning and totally badass.

As I had been warned, there was a lot of romantic drama with the love triangle between Clary, Jace and Simon. Simon gets the short end of the stick, as usual, and it's quite easy to feel sympathy for him. Something that had surprised me was that I actually felt some emotion for Clary and Simon while reading the romantic scenes, especially at the Seelie Court! (The fae are totally badass here, by the way.) Usually, I don't like romance in urban fantasy or young adult series, but I found it to be strangely emotional...despite being somewhat incestual. That being said, there's an unexpected couple in the book. (view spoiler)

Of all the things that I wish Clare would work on is the demonology aspect. Readers are slightly introduced to the concept of Greater Demons such as Abbadon and another demon whose name escapes me at the moment. A lot of the demons tend to resemble real life animals such as spiders. Since Cassandra Clare seems to be rather decent at world-building, this is one aspect that I felt needed to be built upon. Considering that she draws upon enough Christian mythology to rival C.S. Lewis, I figure that it should be developed more. Luckily, she does develop some of the Downworld races, such as the fae. She also adds to the supposed rivalry between werewolves and vampires. Much like the romantic aspect, it's much better than the way Twilight does it.

City of Ashes is a strong middle book for a promising YA series. It doesn't feel like a “transition book” like so many middle books do. In fact, I'd say City of Ashes is better than City of Bones because it feel much darker and a lot more daring and dramatic. I don't know if the series on a whole is worthy of all the hype it has received, but it certainly feels like a step above many of the other popular YA series I've read. ...more

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