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67 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enthralling, despite flaws, April 16, 2009
The fantasy genre is well known for taking rich, varied, and well known mythology and twisting it up in new ways. Or at least, attempting to twist it up in new ways. Because let's face it, the vampire has already been invented. Now it's all about what you do with him.
So first, the really good- Cassandra Clare does a mighty fine job of taking rich and varied and well known mythologies and giving them a brand new spark of life that has not been written into the ground already. I enjoy that she picks bits of mythology from all over and uses it to create a world full of truths and half-truths and the people who have to deal with it all. This isn't just another fantasy novel. It reminds me of The Dresden Files for young adults.
The other really good thing about this book, is that the characters are a lot less cliched and stereotypical than most books in this genre. The main male character, Jace, might be pretty and the love interest (more on that in a moment) but he is also haughty, cocky, unlikeable and reactionary. She writes him so well that I sometimes find myself irritated with him- a beautiful and well drafted flaw. Who says our heroes need to be perfect anyway? This is also somewhat of a problem for her though too, because she tries so hard not to write predictable characters that they tend to fall out the other side of the extreme.
I'm also delighted by her fight scenes, which are clear and well written but not long and drawn out. Fight scenes have a tendency to be repetitive. She knows when to get on with it.
The bad- some of the prose is a little watered down. Contrite but clearly written with pleasure. Clare has never met a metaphor she didn't like. Still, the book was a page turner- I ferreted away in an empty cubicle at work to devour it during my breaks, flowery language or not.
The weird (and ugly)- The romance is bizarre. It's not even thinly veiled incestuous desire...it's right in your face and deals with it in a way that is going to make a lot of people uncomfortable. It makes me uncomfortable. I was at first horrified by her choice. Why would an author do this? But I am a little impressed with her ballsy choices for romances- a very homosexual blooming romance and a heartbreaking passion between two people who only recently found out their brother and sister. That's gutsy, and I can't say I haven't been craving some gutsy romances lately. But like I said, the incestuous romance is so weird it's not good. It reminds me a lot of the incestuous romance in The Royal Tennenbaums. I'm pretty sure we'll find out they aren't brother and sister, but honestly, the damage has been done.
Finally- I like Clary. She's weak and flawed and easily scared and up until the end of the second book, she's sort of a liability in every dangerous situation she's been in. And that makes sense, up until a very short while ago, she was a normal girl getting dressed up to dance at a goth club. It does surprise me though that no one offers to help her become less of a liability, until her powers manifest over night to make her super uber awesome. This is tragic. I'd rather have a main character who is just ok but brave and smart than one who can bring the world to its knees with no apparent explanation and no hard work.
But in the end, I was still captivated and still enthralled and I devoured it in a couple of days, to the neglect of everything else. In the end, that's what matters most to me.
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41 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Less derivative, although the fanfic roots still show, May 3, 2008
This review is from: City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments) (Hardcover)
Less derivative than CITY OF BONES, this sequel suffers from the same purple prose problems, characterisation is sometimes patchy and the internal logic creaks.
Clare works harder to make the material here her own. Valentine is less cliched as a villain, with Clare doing a decent job at showing someone so utterly convinced that he is right that he can't even begin to think that he might be wrong and I could just buy into his being willing to use demons to further those ends. Unfortunately the Inquisitor feels like a rehash of `old' Valentine, a single-minded Shadowhunter who holds Jace responsible for the sins of his father and refuses to listen to any views different to her own.
Jace will appeal to teenagers - moody, handsome and with hints at special powers. His dialogue sometimes doesn't fit his age, but his scenes are confidently handled. I wish I could say the same for Clary. She remains passive and reactive and her own special powers take her too close to Mary-Sue territory. The incestuous feelings between Clary and Jace are the main theme in the book but the subject's handled in a shallow manner as neither character seems interested in the consequences or emotional implications of their feelings and Clare drops anvils as to its resolution, which robs the love triangle between Clary, Jace and Simon of tension.
Simon suffers a great deal in this book and it's a shame that Clare does not set out the scene where he's forced into a terrifying transformation. There have been hints of this since the first book but the main catalyst here happens off page and without any real build-up, which is frustrating as it robs the book of some real drama and shock-value. The dilemma that this transformation causes for Simon is resolved by the end of the book in a way that's too pat and I think it's a missed opportunity.
The prose is purple and repetitive at times and sometimes stunts the action. There are some inner-story logic problems, notably where Jace visits Valentine, finding him easily even though he's managed to evade all of the other Shadowhunters. Best scenes in the book are a dream sequence between Clary and her mother and Valentine's attack on the Silent Brothers. The cliffhanger ending is a cheap device but will leave fans panting for the concluding volume.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Reads Like Book Two., September 5, 2011
City of Ashes in the second book in Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series. Clare welcomes you back to her world of vampires, werwolves and down-worlders with open arms and a brand new story. But in saying that, City of Ashes certainly reads as unnecessary exposition, ahem, I mean, book two in a planned trilogy.
In this story, Jace and Clary are back to their old antics as they continue their struggle against the infamous crusader, Valentine. Joined by the old gang, Jace and Clary travel from place to place, argue, travel, argue... and that about sums up the story. I'm not saying that City of Ashes was a bad book. In fact, I loved it. I think the premise is intractably constructed and Clare writes with artistic brilliancy. However, the story is really driven (haha) by travel and arguing.
There was also plenty of twists and turns as I have come to expect from Cassandra Clare. The characters are well-developed and believable - though I do question the authenticity of the Inquisitor's motives. The Jace/Clary relationship is slightly disturbing and I felt that it was a bit of a distraction from the overall flow of the story. Other than those small irritants, the story flowed pretty much flawlessly.
In terms of originality, Clare nails it. She does borrow a few of the more overused mythological creatures in popular culture, but it doesn't affect the structure of the story. If you loved book one, then you'll probably love book two. I'll be reading book three, but not any time soon. City of Ashes left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed. That's just of my own opinion.
Story: 6/10
Characters: 9/10
World: 8/10
Impression: 6/10
Overall: 7.5/10
(Check out my blog attached to my profile for more fantasy reviews!)
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