Tuesday 14 June 2011

City of Ashes

 Please read the 'City of Bones' review for some more back-story.

Rating: 70/100


     City of Ashes takes off a little after City of Bones, maybe a week? I think the time spanning was good. It wasn't straight after the big hd/sd, meaning that the characters have had a chance to settle into the post-story life. And because it is not set too far apart from the City of Bones, we don't have any more big problems that have arisen while we were away.
City of Ashes, I think I have to say, is good, but not as good as City of Bones. It is slightly less epic, I think you'll find. It's still really good though, so do read it. This one's main plot device to push the story forward is... duh duh DUH!!!
     The Mortal Sword. (Please say this in a nasal, monotone voice to influence the use of humour in our society.)
This time, the Mortal Sword is properly stolen and is put on a ship, alongside protection, such as the Demon of Fear, various other demons and... other stuff. We find out more about Jace, but not as much as the next book, City of Glass.
     There isn't much that I can say, but yes, this storyline was slightly predictable again, but there is still stuff in their to keep you guessing and interested. The size is about the same as last time, so that was good. One thing that didn't really take me fancy, was the front cover. I didn't like the gray colour scheme, and it needed more red, besides from the bit of shine in the water at the front, and Clary's hair. Cassandra Clare's writing has definitely created a lot of hype, MANY teenagers and adults alike are loving this series. I believe that this book, compared to the others of the series I have read so far, is less epic than the others. It just doesn't seem as important. Sure there are some things, like the Inquisitor, the Mortal Sword, Madeleine and yet again, Clary's relationships that have to be addressed, but mostly, it's predecessor and sequel are much more entertaining.
     One thing I did notice, was that the point of view has a minor change to it. I didn't mind too much, but it was a change. I guess you could say it provided a little bit more insight into the story telling. For those who haven't read these books, City of Boners is set in third person, but primarily follows Clary  around. In City of Ashes, it is still in third person, and it does still primarily follow Clary around, but we also go into the minds of Jace and Simon, and maybe some other people, but I can't remember.
     The characters are still lovable, and the motives for the things they do aren't too questionable (They can usually be backed up by the back-stories and past encounters of the characters.)
     I must praise Cassandra Clare for her describing skills. She seems to have an unnaturally talented ability to describe the people and  places she wants to describe.
     Although this wasn't my favourite of the series, I still enjoyed reading it and I will go on to read the rest of the series, purely because I love it. I have become a firm fan of the characters and I am absolutely comfortable with admitting my love for Magnus Bane. He is just Too Awesome. I highly recommend this series to people who enjoyed City of Bones (Make sure you read that one first) and otherwise, people who enjoy a quality teen fiction novel series, with fantasy, action and twists to keep everyone gripped to the edge of their seats and carrying around every book available in the series, in their man-bags.
     Yet again, I congratulate Cassandra Clare on the intriguing world she has created, and hopes she knows that she has made a lot of people happy, and filled their lives with  little bit of sarcasm from our book-families.
     City of Glass comes next my friends! And get ready for THE BIG ONE!
     Will Valentine finally be defeated?
     Who is the mysterious Sebastian, so interested  in Clary?
     And will Clary and Jace's family problems finally be resolved? Or will they part forever?
     Stay tuned for the next review of Cassandra Clare's best-selling third installment in The Mortal Instruments series!
     Whoo!

_________________________________________________________________________________

Written by: Cassandra Clare
First Published: 2008
First Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Series: The Mortal Instruments #2
Pages: 453
How Wide?: About 3cm.

What The Hell's Going On With That Front Cover?: Miss flame red hair would just happen to be Clary, our protagonist. She has her new runes on her arms, and they are either just made up ones from the front cover designer, or they are actually the sign that Jocelyn gives Clary, and the one Isabelle draws on her. I'm taking a wild guess here, but that bridge may be Brooklyn Bridge, in which is mentioned slightly in the series. In City of Ashes, the main BIG fight happens on a ship in the middle of the river or whatever it is, so the body of water on the front cover is just slightly symbolic, don't you think? Yet again, there is the city in the background, which I do believe is New York City, and it gives... product? to the title.

Why The Title?: I believe it is because at the end, Valentine's ship is blown up, and all that is left is ashes flying around everywhere. They get in everyone's hair and go all over the city. That is about as much as I can say about that...

How Did I Get My Hands On This Book?: I read City of Bones and I went to my school book club one day to discover that they had bought the entire series, plus Clockwork Angel. I quickly took them, hid away in a corner and marked them with my scent. They are MINE!!! I have accidentally actually made them mine in various way, like sleeping with City of Glass, and folding the cover in half, then I was reading and eating at the same time and got sauce in City of Ashes, I have continuously dropped the series in the mud and just plain on the floor. I feel very guilty.

Blurb: Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? Clary would love to spend more time with her best friend, Simon. But the Shadowhunters won't let her go - especially her handsome, infuriating newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil - and also her father. When the second of the Mortal Instruments is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor suspects Jace. Could Jace really be willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

Short Plot: Valentine summons the Demon of Fear.
Valentine steals the Mortal Sword.
The Inquisitor suspects Jace is on Valentine's side.
Simon and Clary are officially girlfriend and boyfriend.
Clary figures out why Valentine is stealing the Mortal Instruments.
Jace and Clary are still confused about their relationship.
Simon turns into a vampire.
Big hd/sd on a boat.
Simon drinks Jace's blood.
Clary blows the boat up.
Simon can walk in daylight.
Jocelyn is still in a coma, but a mysterious woman, Madeleine tells Clary she knows how to wake her up.

Extended Plot: It starts off... maybe a week after City of Bones finished. Yet again, it it set in third person, but instead of solely following Clary around, we start to get more perspective and different locations of other people. For example; Jace, Simon, Alec, etc.
First thing in the prologue, we meet Valentine again. He is with a young warlock (15 or 16) with webbed fingers and big scary wings. The kid's name is Elias, and he is drawing a pentagram on the floor to keep the demon he is going to summon, contained. The demon, Agramon (The Demon of Fear) escapes the pentagram (Because that is what Elias feared) and kills Elias. Valentine uses the Mortal Cup to control Agramon, and in a way, recruits him even though Valentine hates demons.
Meanwhile. Jocelyn is still in a coma and Simon and Clary go to Luke's house  where they watch anime (Hooray!) and eventually they end up flicking to a vampire show. It might be a Dracula one. Simon totally freaks out and goes into the kitchen, and Clary follows. Simon ends up kissing Clary right there and then, and Clary obliges.
Isabelle and Alec's parents and younger brother, Maryse, Robert and Max Lightwood, have returned to the Institute and Maryse is slightly uncomfortable with Jace's presence, now that she knows that he is Valentine's son. She ends up kicking Jace out.
Jace ends up at the Hunters Moon, a werewolf pub, where Maia, a young werewolf girl (Yet again about 16) is there with her pack. She is a member of Luke's pack, and for a while she talks about her past with her ex-boyfriend who Turned her, and how she wasn't sad when her brother died. Jace starts a fight with one of Maia's werewolf friends, and ends up creating a whole-pub-rumble/fight. Maia's friend gets sent outside, and Jace is left inside because he is Nephilim. Later, Maia's friend races back in, shouting that there is a dead werewolf child (15 year old I believe.) Everyone races out to see the kid, except Jace who doesn't care. Luke saves him from the pack and takes him to a back room. Luke tells Clary that Jace is causing trouble, and Clary and Simon rush down to Hunters Moon to have a chat with Jace. Simon stays outside the room though, and meets Maia. Jace reveals that he was thrown out by Maryse, and Luke and Clary decide to go with him to ask her why. When they go to the Institute, Maryse tells them she just wanted to spare Jace from meeting the Inquisitor, who wants to talk to Jace because of Valentine. Jace decides to stay to talk to the Inquisitor, because he has nothing to hide.
Clary, Simon and Luke go back to Luke's house, where Clary is currently living. Maia comes over for a second and Simon says that Clary is his girlfriend. Da da DUHHHH!!!
Simon and Clary have a pretty heavy make out session (But we don't really get any details, Clary just says it.) and Simon stays over for the night. Clary goes to clean up in the bathroom, and ends up getting a text message from Isabelle.
Sometime during this I think, the Inquisitor came over to interrogate Jace. Using his sarcastic wit and quick temper, Jace accidentally makes himself look like Valentine (In the eyes of the Inquisitor) and so she decides to put him in a cell in the bottom of the Bone City for a night.
Back to Clary, Clary receives a frantic text message from Isabelle, saying that Jace has been locked up. Clary rushes over to the Institute and meets with Isabelle and Alec, who decide they are going to break Jace out.
Meanwhile, Jace is in full darkness and has a handcuff/ manacle thing on his right wrist (Jace is left handed so he's alright with it.). He is slightly scared to begin with, even though he isn't scared of anything, but when he starts to hear screams from above, he practically goes hysterical and rubs his right wrist raw. Brother Jeremiah comes running down the stairs screaming (Silent Brothers do NOT make noises.) and his mouth is bleeding from where he has pulled out his stitches by opening his mouth. He dies in straight in front of Jace, for no particularly visible reason. A short while later, Valentine and Agramon enter Jace's cell. Valentine gets a bit taunty with Jace, then leaves with Agramon. Clary, Isabelle and Alec find Jace and take him out, only to find that all the adult Shadowhunters are back from investigating a fay child murder.
The Inquisitor is not impressed by Jace's escape and demands he be locked up again. Alec decides to call Magnus, who has a good history of keeping criminals in his house for the Shadowhunters. Magnus agrees and also heals Jace.
Back at the Institute, Clary realises the reason Valentine is collecting the Mortal Instruments, so she gets Simon and Alec and they go to Magnus' apartment to tell him.
He decides what they are saying is true, and later Isabelle texts them, saying tat the Faerie Queen is requesting their presence in her court. Our team obliges, but Alec agrees to stay in Jace's places at Magnus' house, so that Jace can go with them to meet Isabelle.
When they get there they find Isabelle who is currently dating a faerie knight, and using a pond, go inside the Faerie Realm. Jace has to pull Clary away from the dancing faeries, and Isabelle puts a blindfold over Simon.
When they get to the queen, Jace talks to her a bit, and they are offered faerie drinks. Jace tells everybody not to drink them, but a little faerie bites Clary, and she licks the wound.
The Faerie Queen agrees to do what she can against Valentine, but when everybody is leaving, Clary finds that she can't. The queen says that Clary must kiss the one she truly desires, so Simon steps up. The queen says no, and eventually they work out that Clary must kiss Jace. Awkward much! Jace kisses Clary, and they get a bit passionate, but when they leave, Simon stomps off before even saying goodbye.
Isabelle, Jace and Clary all go back to the institute, and Jace and Clary go up to his room to get Clary a dry shirt (As they are all wet from the pond.).
They end up having a fight because of their feelings for each other, and Jace has a shower while Clary falls asleep on his bed.
A short while later the Institute bell rings. Clary thinks it might be Simon, but it is actually Raphael. He is holding a dying Simon and gives him to Clary. He tells them that Simon came to the Hotel Dumont/mort, and asked if he was coming a vampire. The vampires in the Hotel attacked him and drained him, commencing the Change process.
Simon dies in Clary's arms and she insists that he be buried in a Jewish cemetery, for him to rise in.When he does rise, he attacks Clary, but gets pulled off her and is fed blood out of little baggies by Raphael.
Clary leaves and the next chapter begins a few days later.
Clary is a bit freaked out by how different Simon is, but feels guilty because of how upset he was when she
kissed Jace. Simon comes over to Luke's house to talk about whether he is going to tell people and stuff, and when Luke comes home, he is carrying Maia and there is a squashed demon under his car.
He pulls out the spikes out of Maia's wound but she still needs warlock help.tries to talk to Maia, but she is rude to him because Simon has become a  vampire, and werewolves and vampires do not get along.  Clary calls Jace, who grabs Alec and Magnus, and they teleport to Luke's house.
Luke goes back outside to fix the car, but a short while later, Clary gets worried because he hasn't come back inside. While Magnus is healing Maia, Clary goes outside with Simon and Jace, to look for Luke. His car has been parked, and the engine is still running, and he has been injured in the garden. They take him inside to Magnus, then go out again to look for the demons that attacked him. I need to add that a little while ago, while Clary was dreaming, her mother visited her and brandished her with a special mark! Back to the plot...Clary, Jace and Simon find the demons and they get into a fight. Jace is attacked by the first one, and Clary the second, but for some reason (Maybe the fact that the demons saw Clary's special mark) they randomly run off. Simon, Clary and Jace all return to Luke's house and explain the situation. Magnus heals everybody, and Maia stays the night at Luke's house. During the night, Raphael delivers a vampire motorcycle to Jace, and Jace rides it around until he notices a random boat in the middle of the big body of water found under the Brooklyn Bridge (Please excuse my lack of facts!). He gets on the boat, and is confronted by the owner of the ship,... Valentine! They talk for a few hours, with Valentine giving a preview of the scary demons to come, and what he's going to do with the Mortal Sword.
The next day, Maia jumps out the window and goes to find Simon because she wants to apologise for being rude to him. While she is walking, she is stopped and attacked by Agramon, who appears as her dead brother who abused her. He almost scares her to death, and Valentine kidnaps her to later use her as part of a blood ceremony.
Back at Luke's house, Jace has returned and nobody has realised Maia has left yet. The Inquisitor randomly arrives and accuses Jace of allying with Valentine, providing proof with the fact that she put a tracking rune inside a piece of the portal mirror Jace keeps with him at all times so he can try to see Valentine in Idris.
I think a little before this though, Clary created a 'fearless' rune, to try and prove that she could create new runes, and tried it on Alec who said he couldn't feel anything.
For a reason I can't remember, Maryse and Robert Lightwood turn up. Because of the 'fearless' rune, and because Magnus is there, Alec decides it is a fitting time to come out of the closet to his parents. I believe Magnus knocks dear Alec out for a few seconds to save him from making this regretful decision.
The Inquisitor takes Jace and puts him inside a Malachi Configuration. An electrified cell made from special swords stabbed into the floor in the points of the compass.
Clary realises that Maia has gone, and then again realised that she has probably gone to see Simon. She rings up Simon who says she hasn't arrived, and a little into the conversation, Simon admits that he the thinks someone might be trying to break into his house (Might I say all a bit too casually). To Clary's commands, Simon commits himself to barring himself up inside his room, until eventually his door is bashed down by... YOU GUESSED IT! Valentine.
Valentine kidnaps Simon, who drops his phone, while Clary is still listening.
Meanwhile, sometime, Alec comes to Jace's aid while the Inquisitor talks with Maryse, who are planning on using Jace as a hostage for Valentine's cooperation. Valentine OBVIOUSLY declines, because he doesn't not have he same humane feelings for his 'child' than the Inquisitor metaphorically does (Because her child is dead). The Inquisitor is completely caught off guard by Valentine's lack of heart and kind of goes into shock. Jace uses his weird ability to jump straight out of the Malachi Configuration.  Jace and Clary contact each other, and Jace tells her and Luke to pull up outside the Institute. They arrive, and Clary witnesses what she thinks is Jace committing suicide by jumping out of a window, when it is actually Jace jumping out of a window using his new ability to jump big distances, safely. He gets in the car, and along with Magnus, who they meet at the docks, they turn the car into AquaTruck, or whatever it is they call it, and drive straight out onto the water and across it until they are near Valentine's boat. They are attacked by Valentine's flying demons, and Clary is abducted by one and taken to his ship.
Meanwhile (Do you notice I'm using a lot of meanwhiles?), Simon and Maia are tied up inside Valentine's boat. Enter Valentine. He throws silver dust on Maia to stop her from stopping him, and slits Simon's throat and wrists, while also collecting the blood. Simon is left to die but is separated from Maia.
Jace, in pursuit of Clary, with Luke, gets on Valentine's boat, thus commencing a massive battle, and because Clary drew the 'fearless' rune on him, he isn't showing any restraint or will to preserve his life (Which is not healthy, kiddies).
Meanwhile (Another one!), Clary finds herself with Maia, and Clary burns a hole in the wall using a rune, and helps Maia escape. Meanwhile again, Jace finds Simon, and noticing that he is drained of blood, makes Simon drink from him. The two has an emotional moment then go off to find Clary. When they do find her, she is facing off with Valentine, I think, and Jace and Valentine pick up where they left off in the first book (Fight, bitches!). Meanwhile again, all the available Shadowhunters have made their way onto the boat to fight the demons. Clary draws the 'open' rune on a wall of the boat, causing the entire boat to pull itself apart and explode and all that. Valentine is nowhere to be found, and a lot of the Shadowhunters, including Clary are saved by mermaids and river faeries, thanks to the Faerie Queen. Valentine has escaped with the Mortal Sword, and Clary is unconscious in the AquaTruck. When she wakes, the dawn is just approaching, and Simon has to come to a very quick realisation that he is about to die for a second time, but when the light hits him, he doesn't burn. What a miracle! How could this be?
For a while, all is well except for the fact that Jocelyn is still in a coma, but as Clary is leaving the hospital, she is approached by the gray haired woman, who introduces herself as Madeleine, an old friend of her mother's. She tells Clary that Jocelyn is in a self-magically-induced coma, and that she knows how to wake her up. Da da DUH!!!  Also, Simon breaks up with Clary because he can see that she doesn't love him romantically, she loves him like a brother. Then the book ends.

Characters: Clarissa (Clary) Fray: is struggling with the fact that she and Jace are siblings. Her relationship with Simon seems to be a bit awkward too. Clary seems to be growing as a character too, though occasionally she gets put back in her place when she is accidentally rude or obnoxious. Clary also discovers that she has a magical ability (The whole rune thing) in this book, and so begins a plot device in which we wonder, why an how does she have this gift? 
Jocelyn Fray (Fairchild): is still asleep throughout the book, even as we find more and more twists to her past. It is revealed that she actually induced the coma herself to protect the Cup.
Lucian (Luke) Graymark (Garroway): spends everyday sitting at Jocelyn's bedside. It is revealed that he is actually in love with Jocelyn, but he has never told her or pushed his feelings on her.
Jonathon (Jace) Christopher Morgenstern (Wayland): is still in love with Clary. At the battle on the boat, he gets marked with the 'fearless' rune, making him get extremely injured. What else can I say about him? Stay tuned, because the next book holds surprising secrets about him! We also get the whole romantic sibling love thing worked out in the next book, so DO stay tuned.
Valentine Morgenstern: with the help of Elias, summons the Demon of Fear. In City of Ashes we find out his proper plans for the first two Mortal Instruments. When Jace sees Agramon, he sees him as Valentine, which surprises Valentine himself. In the final battle when Clary blows the ship up, Valentine's body cannot be found. Jace has a saying that is something about not saying your enemy is truly down for the count until you see the dead body for yourself. And so, I think we can expect our dear evil guy to reappear in City of Glass.
Simon Lewis: becomes a vampire in this book. He no longer needs his glasses, and his looks apparently become more stylishly rugged. In City of Fallen Angels, Isabelle describes him as looking like he just got out of bed... someone else's bed.
Isabelle Lightwood: is dating Meliorn, a faerie knight, but dumps him after her episode with the queen. What can I say? She's as bitchy as ever...
Alec Lightwood: is still partially in love with Jace, but starts to truly realise his feelings for Magnus, and starts to act upon them.
Hodge Starkweather: is nowhere to be heard or seen of.
Brother Jeremiah and the Brotherhood: meet a grizzly fate at the hands of Valentine and Agramon. The are aid to have died from fear, as they burst open their mouth stitches, screaming.
Raphael: is Simon's sire. He buries him too. 
Magnus Bane: is bi as ever. And determined not to ruin Alec's life by letting him admit his relationship with Magnus at the wrong time. He saves Alec's life at the end of the book too.
The Inquisitor (Imogen Herondale): is a widow and mother of a dead child. Pity her. She is said to be extremely cold and cruel, but there is a surprising twist in her family traceries, so keep tuned to her family tree people. She is killed my a demon on Valentine's boat when she throws herself in front of Jace to protect him from an oncoming demon attack. She dies in front of him (Or in his arms, I forgot) and whispers her last words into his ear. She has greying hair and wears grey clothes. 
Maryse Lightwood: is Alec and Isabelle's mother. She is described to look like an older Isabelle with grey streaks in her hair, and she often has it harshly tied back. She is said to be cold, but a loving mother and a skilled Shadowhunter. In her glory days, she was a devout follower of Valentine and the Circle, and due to fears, decided not to leave. Because of their child, they were given a slight bit more leash in their punishment than Hodge.
Robert Lightwood: is Alec and Isabelle's father. He is married to Maryse and used to be in the Circle. In the big hd/sd he is injured and is bed ridden for a long time (Until the next book, where he is fine again.)
Max Lightwood:  is Isabelle and Alec's younger brother. He likes manga, and Clary has promised to take him to Forbidden Planet. Cute as... something cute.
Madeleine: appears at the very end of the book, telling Clary she knows how to wake Jocelyn up. Clary notices her several times before this eventual meeting though. She has gray hair, but is around 35 years old.
The Faerie Queen: is a right bitch. She tricks Clary into a tricky trick where she has to kiss Jace to get out of the Faerie Realm. This is quite high on Clary's ranking of C. R. U. E. L. Later though, she pays out by using her influences to save the Shadowhunters when the ship blows up and people are strewn all through the water, left to drown. She reappears in the next book as well, and is also a character in Holly Black's 'Tithe' series.
Elias: a teenage warlock with black wings, employed by Valentine to summon Agramon. He meets a grizzly fate, due to his fear that Agramon would escape his protective pentagram.
Agramon: is the Demon of Fear. He is summoned by Elias and because of the Mortal Sword, he is under Valentine's control. He kills people by scaring them to death. Eventually, he himself is killed by Jace who sees him as his father. Jace has encountered his twice. The first time it was Clary, injured.
Maia Roberts: makes her debut performance in City of Ashes. She has braided, curly brown hair and naturally tanned skin. She is biracial and has a dead brother, who when he was alive, assaulted her in places that can't be seen when wearing clothing. She was turned into a werewolf by his boyfriend, who had rapidly turned violent. He left afterwards, and Maia Turned. She then joined Luke's pack and continued with her life. She becomes friends with Simon, and seems to hold a romantic interest for him. Valentine kidnaps her and plans to use her as a werewolf sacrifice, but she is saved.

Quirks To Make You Think, OMG!: The faeries in the faerie court, as well as the queen are all characters in Holly Black's Tithe series.

Sequels and Prequels?:
City of Bones
(The Mortal Instruments #1)

City of Glass
(The Mortal Instruments #3)

City of Fallen Angels
(The Mortal Instruments #4)

City of Lost Souls (Not Out Yet)
(The Mortal Instruments #5)

City of Heavenly Fire (Not Out Yet)
(The Mortal Instruments #6)

Clockwork Angel
(The Infernal Devices #1)

Clockwork Prince
(The Infernal Devices #2)

The Dark Artifices series (Not Out Yet)

Movie Adaptations or Vice Versa?: City of Bones will come out in 2012. I believe it will be called the Mortal Instruments.

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