*spoilers*
Read: February 18-21, 2018
Published: August 31, 2010
Genre: Fantasy
When Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother in Victorian England, something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld. Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, who are members of a secret organization called the Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she has the power to transform into another person. The Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own. Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. She soon finds herself fascinated--and torn between--two best friends: James and Will. As Tessa is drawn deep into a plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, she realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.
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Why did you read this book?
Honestly, I've been avoiding this series and all other works written by Cassandra Clare. I enjoyed The Mortal Instruments series, but after the travesty that was the decision to not leave it at a trilogy, I could find it in myself to delve back into the Shadowhunter world. It had all seemed a little overdone after six books. However, my coworker recommended it to me nearly a year ago and I finally decided to give The Infernal Devices a shot.
What did you like about this book?
I ended up liking this book so much more than I thought I would. Even though this is still the world of Shadowhunters, the world I had thought I'd seen enough off, I got sucked in just like I did the first time around with City of Bones. Cassandra Clare's writing style has definitely matured since the Mortal Instruments series. This book felt well thought out and less like a stream of consciousness (which is how I tend to write). I also loved the time period and setting. I've always been fond of Victorian era novels (Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen), so to combine that with Shadowhunters and Downworlders was a really cool experience. I feel like they belong in that era over modern day. And I like that it takes place at the London institute over the New York one, especially for this era. Above all, I love the characters. They feel more fleshed out and I understand the reasoning behind most of their decisions. I like to understand their thought processes because then I can put myself in their shoes. I wasn't able to do this very often in The Mortal Instruments series. I'll talk more about the characters in another section. Lastly, and true to Cassandra Clare form, this book had some seriously dramatic plot twists that just sucked me in. I had to start the second book immediately after finishing this one.
What didn't you like about this book?
This book's beginning was just kind of...meh. It was mediocre and slow and a little bit boring. It took me awhile to actually want to read the book. It's hard when a book starts in media res to truly care about the characters and what's happening to them, but it can be done if done right. Unfortunately, it was not done right in this case, for me anyway. It's a good thing I'm a stubborn reader and refuse to quit on a book after only a few chapters. I also am sensing a love triangle. I should have known, it says right in the description, but I just was not mentally prepared for another love triangle. I'll give Cassandra Clare credit, it's a well-written love triangle, but it's the sort of triangle I don't like in my books regardless. As with the Mortal Instruments series, adults seem to be mostly nonexistent in this book and the adults that are present either do nothing or don't have the power to do anything. This was a problem with the Mortal Instruments and I had hoped that Clare would have addressed that problem in this trilogy. I understand that this is a series targeted towards young adults, but that doesn't mean adults aren't needed, especially in the world of Shadowhunters. I did have some issue with the characters, but I'll save that for the next paragraph.
Characters:
I love a lot of the characters in this book, but I feel like Cassandra Clare took the characters from Mortal Instruments and changed them just enough to pretend they are original characters. We'll start with Tessa, who is the Clary of this series. She is thrown into the Shadowhunter world with no previous knowledge of it, she's beautiful and doesn't know it, extraordinary literary genius (to rival Clary's artistry). I like Tessa much more than I liked Clary, who threw herself headlong into danger without considering consequences. Tessa is much more mature and I can relate to her more than I could with Clary. The Jace of the series is Will. Will is arrogant and pretends like nothing bothers him. The only person he seems to care for his Jem. Honestly, haven't many redeeming characteristics in him so far. He's basically just an ass, but I know that he's hiding something, something that explains his behavior. So far, I prefer Jace. Jem is the Alec of the series and I absolutely adore Jem. He quiet, soft spoken, brave, and is foolishly loyal to Will. The two are parabatai, just like Jace and Alec. I could go one with the other characters, but if you've read both series, it's very easy to see the similarities in the other characters as well. They are more well written in this series, but I can't help but feel that they are recycled characters.
Bottom-line:
I really enjoyed this book. Depending on how the rest of this series goes, I might have to buy them. So far I think The Infernal Devices is better than the Mortal Instruments, but I'll hold out my judgement until I finish it. I highly recommend this to young adult fantasy readers. Onto the second book!
"Whatever you are physically...male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy--all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside." -Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
