City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1) in Nothing But Reading Challenges

Aug 13, 2012 Yzabel Ginsberg rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-supernatural, young-adult

As weird as it may seem, before reading this book, I had no idea who Cassandra Clare was, nor about her ties with the Harry Potter fandom. One of the first things I thought when reading the first chapters was that I could feel a strong HP influence in it, probably too strong (even in the family names: Lightwood/Rookwood). The whole Circle thing reminded me of the Death Eaters, Jace was enough of a blond jackass to smack of Draco, Simon might just have well have been Ron... I won't list other par As weird as it may seem, before reading this book, I had no idea who Cassandra Clare was, nor about her ties with the Harry Potter fandom. One of the first things I thought when reading the first chapters was that I could feel a strong HP influence in it, probably too strong (even in the family names: Lightwood/Rookwood). The whole Circle thing reminded me of the Death Eaters, Jace was enough of a blond jackass to smack of Draco, Simon might just have well have been Ron... I won't list other parallels I drew, since they'd be spoilers, but I felt them nonetheless. This, I must said, irked me a little: not that I dislike J.K. Rowling's series (on the contrary!), just because at first it seemed, well, too much like fanfiction turned into original fiction at the last moment. This sometimes detracted me from the story's intrinsic values, and it was too bad (probably, also, what partly explains why I'm not giving it a higher grade).

On the other hand, I still managed to enjoy "City of Bones" in the end, so there are clearly good things about it.

The story is pretty much built along traditional plot lines, that anyone familiar with Campbell's "journey of the Hero" will likely recognize, because they're as old as humanity itself. Some may be bothered by this, some may like it, some may not care. As far as I'm concerned, as long as it works in terms of storytelling, I enjoy that. And it worked here, so it's all good for me, even though it makes it a little easier to predict where things are going (for instance, "J.C.": alright, who couldn't see at least that one coming?). It also worked in HP, by the way. It's not something that prevents me from enjoying a piece of writing. I found many interesting things in the novel as a whole, such as the beginning scene (among other things: the killers that nobody but Clary can't see; the Shadowhunters who're clearly not such nice guys; where all the non-human originate from). All in all, it was an entertaining read, meaning I didn't have to think too much, wanted to see the plot progress, kept turning the pages, and thought at the end: "OK, I kind of what to pick up the second book."

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the author's writing itself, which I found good enough, even though she sometimes makes use of weird similes. ften the dialogues made me smile or even chuckle, and it was pleasant. (Yes, there were lighter moments in the darker plot; those are never a bad thing, in my opinion.)

Unfortunately, I was less than thrilled about the characters, whose main flaw was that they lacked substance. They're likeable in their own ways, but didn't feel 'present' enough throughout the story—as if the substance was here, underneath, but not fleshed out enough. I don't think it has to do with the fact that they pretty much fit archetypes that are often seen in YA novels or TV series in general—I'm convinced that archetypes, if made deep enough, can be very interesting. It's just that they struck me as bland at times. Jace often came too much as a jackass (oh, boy, you're not as witty as you think you are, and no, you're clearly not more witty than Simon, and putting him down all the time won't make you appear more badasse). Isabelle seemed too cookie-cutter. Alec would've deserved more attention. Clary was a nice girl, but didn't stand out more than the supporting characters (and I kept on wanting to smack her head because she was so blind to what was so evident from the beginning). Poor Simon was really played for the resident butt-monkey, when he'd deserve to be treated better. I think I liked Magnus Bane best; too bad he got only minimal screen time.

All in all, this novel was enjoyable. I'm quite tempted to go on reading "The Mortal Instruments", or at least the next installment, because there *is* room for improvement, and it may very well still happen. In spite of what I didn't like in it, it isn't enough to drive me off the series. ...more

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Jun 25, 2015 Avigail rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, audible, physical-book, 2015

I heard the book as an audio-book, while following also the book. The narator was so & so, but I enjoyed the book. I know the other books of the series will be read and not listened through the audio-book.
City of Bones it's very entertaining and action packed! Overall I enjod it. Yes you can tell it's a first book. I found it a little slow at first, but got hooked into the action around 60% through. It does fall to some pretty typical young adult fantasy trends, the author has come up with a ve ...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-stars, half-remembered-books-from-my-child

Oh. Oh, how I wish, so hard, we could have had more things from Jace's point of view. I liked the series, but it would have been far more compelling from his mindset.

Merged review:

I really want to call this a 3.5, but if I have to chose 3 or 4. It's more 4 than three. I do agree with the reviewer than half-spoiled me as I was checking out this series a week ago. Book one is a whole lot more Telling-Than-Showing which usually bugs the crap out of me as a reader and an English Major.

BUT. It fits ...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Metta rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Sebetulnya novel ini ga saya selesaikan karna emang ga minat baca sampe selesai. Baru baca beberapa bab pertama langsung saya balikin ke rental walaupun agak nyesel karna mubazir sama uang sewanya. Dari beberapa bab yg saya baca aja udah ketauan klo pengarangnya pengen buat novel fantasy kayak Harry Potter tapi bergaya romantis ala Twilight..#sigh#..jadi bikin males nerusin bacanya.

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Jul 30, 2014 Melanie rated it liked it

This book was beautifully written and yet it left me feeling underwhelmed. The story was good but I didn't feel the drive of the characters as I have in other books. It left me feeling flat. I may or may not read the next book. ...more

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Sep 21, 2010 Michelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal, 2011, favorites

I'd been wanting to read this book for awhile and I'm so glad I finally picked it up. I really enjoy the world Cassandra Clare has created here and can't wait to spend more time in it when I read the next book. ...more

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