Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1) in Q&A with Cassandra Clare

Aug 08, 2010 Zoë Marriott rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Synopsis:

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray arrives in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Friendless and hunted, Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Drawn ever deeper into their world, she finds herself fascinated by - and torn between - two best friends, and quickly realizes th The Synopsis:

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray arrives in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Friendless and hunted, Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Drawn ever deeper into their world, she finds herself fascinated by - and torn between - two best friends, and quickly realizes that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

The Review:

When you read the first book in a new series from an author whose previous series has been a smash hit, there's always the fear that the new book will be 'more of the same' - too similar to the previous series. I think Ms Clare has understood this, and has gone out of her way to create characters and situations that are different to the ones in the Mortal Instruments Trilogy.

Clockwork Angel generally feels much bleaker and more melancholy than the Mortal Instruments books, a move which I applaud. I love it when authors are brave and dirty their world up to heighten the stakes (as in Garth Nix's Old Kingdom Trilogy). There's still humour here, but, with the Victorian setting depriving the writer of her trademark pop-culture references and one-liners, it's mostly black humour. The world of Clockwork Angel is a harsher one. The Shadowhunters here are a far more fragmented and individually messed-up group. Most of them are barely clinging to their sanity it seems, and they definitely are not a happy little family.

The main character of the story, Tessa, is a little problematic for me. She's really a typical Victorian lady - soft and polite and generally willing to put up with people acting like gits around her without saying anything about it. She does show some bursts of strength but those feel a little disconnected from who she is. It took her a very long time to realise the potential of her 'gift'. Tessa actually takes on the traits - including strength - of whoever she shifts into: it would have been nice to see her morph into an incredibly strong vampire in order to defend others instead of running away and leaving friends behind to guard her retreat. But I suppose that *IS* all part of being a proper Victorian lady; it doesn't really occur to her that it's her job to fight. With any luck she will begin to understand how strong she is in the next book.

Then you have the love triangle. Or perhaps I should call it the Inevitable Love Triangle, containing one male who is sweet, insightful and kind, and one who is dark, tortured and twisted and treats the heroine like dirt. Guess which one Tessa prefers? *Sigh*

I do like love triangles. I do. But they TORMENT ME SOOOO!

In Mortal Instruments Jace was always supposed to this be dark, tortured hero. BUT in actual fact his love for Clary was painfully clear, and he always treated her with respect. In this book, in order to clearly distinguish the characters, Ms Clare either had to go with a love interest who was a 'Simon' (sweet, thoughtful, best friend type) or take that darkness up a whole notch, to the point where the hero's self-loathing spills over onto everyone else around him. And hence we have...Will.

Yes, I can see that he has some immensely tragic backstory. Yes, I'm sure deep down he's a fluffy puppy waiting for someone to understand him. Yes, I'm sure he's really treating the heroine like crap for her own good. But he's just waaay too close to the Bad Romance Boyfriend type we've seen so much of lately for me to really be comfy with him. And the sweet, kind, thoughtful point on the triangle (called Jem in this book) isn't getting any play here, which makes me sad because I actually much preferred him to Will (and I think he's got just as much awful baggage too, but for some reason this doesn't cause HIM to act like a total douche). Don't worry Jem! I LOVE YOU!

Finally the villain. I have to admit that I did love Valentine with an unholy passion, but I would have been very happy to accept a totally different villain who was *equally* compelling, frightening, etc. However, it seems as if this villain is a sort of anti-Valentine? He's a charisma suck, one of those colourless little men who gets away with all kinds of horrible things because he skims under the radar. He just isn't that scary even when he's pointing his evil plan right at you. Maybe the next book will reveal some hidden depths to him? He feels like the type you just want to squash like a bug, really.

Despite all this moaning, I did enjoy Clockwork Angel very much, and will be pantingly eager to get my hands on the next one. I hope we get a metric ass-load of character development in Clockwork Prince.

In summary - excellent action sequences, interesting poetry quotes, a nice depiction of Victorian London and a cast of intriguing secondary characters (Oh Jem! JEM! *Sob*) make this book well worth picking up. ...more

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Aug 02, 2010 Georgesear rated it it was amazing

Could not put this book down...read it over three days and am now regretting my haste, as the next in the series is not due out for at least a year!

The ending leaves many questions unanswered. Who is Tessa? Where is Nate? What is wrong with Will?

This book precedes The Mortal Instruments (TMI) series by about 130 years and gives another look at Shadowhunter culture/history. As in TMI, there is a love triangle at the heart of the book, with alot of unrequited feelings. The story is intriguing, wit ...more

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Aug 30, 2010 Paula from Reading Lark rated it it was amazing

I may like Will even more than Jace. *sigh*

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Sep 05, 2010 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2010

I had high hopes for this book. I LOVED LOVED LOVED The Mortal Instruments series, so I probably expected to much since it’s based on completely different people. I’m not saying that I hated the book. I enjoyed it but, for me, it was no where near as good as TMI.

I thought I would like that it was set in England in the 1800’s but not so much. I don’t know what it was. The characters were interesting and the story was good and action packed but I think I just missed Jace, Clary, and Simon.

I liked ...more

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Sep 15, 2010 Brooke rated it liked it

Shelves: recent-books-i-read

So this is Cassandra Clare's new book. She definitely has a formula but it works for her. And she can write tension between characters better than most. Fully entertaining...if you're into angels and demons. I generally don't read paranormal but got suckered in by her other series and now I'm hooked. ...more

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Aug 21, 2010 Sarah rated it really liked it

The begining isn't that great, but it gets a lot better toward the end. ...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Abby rated it really liked it

I really do love this author. I loved the Mortal Instruments books and they are a trilogy (unlike Meyers and Collins) that get better with each installment. I felt the same way about this story. I love the underworld that Clare has created and she answers just enough questions to keep you unfrustrated but leaves enough unanswered so that you will want to read more. I had a lot of fun with this book.

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Sep 19, 2010 Bobbi Rightmyer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: finished

If you like Cassandra Clare's "Immortal Instruments"series, you should like this prequel! This is the first book in a new series and I look forward to reading more. ...more

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