Early Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

*This title will be released on August 31, 2010*

Book Description

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, 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 of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa 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.

 Review

Book 1 in The Infernal Devices Series

CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare is the first book in The Infernal Devices series which is a prequel series to The Mortal Instruments. The setting is London during the late 1800’s and follows a new group of Shadowhunters as they match wits with vampires, demons, warlocks, and the sinister ‘Magister’ in this steampunk flavored paranormal adventure that will please old fans of Cassandra Clare while creating a whole army of new ones.

Before you start thinking you can’t read The Infernal Devices without having read The Mortal Instruments, here is what Cassandra Clare had to say on the subject:

There is nothing in the Infernal Devices that will spoil The Mortal Instruments for you, and additionally, no information in the Mortal Instruments that you absolutely must know before you read The Infernal Devices. The two series stand alone, complementing but not spoiling each other.

The world in both series is the basically the same. Nephilim, human-angel hybrids who protect our world from demons.  Shadowhunters, as they call themselves, also police the Downworlders: warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and faeries, while keeping humans (aka mundanes) ignorant of their existence. CLOCKWORK ANGEL does inject a healthy dose of steampunk into the mix, however, and London setting is fantastically fractured with Dickens-like details.

The main characters in CLOCKWORK ANGEL Tessa, Will, Jem, and Jessa are very reminiscent of Clary, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle from The Mortal Instruments.  No one turns out to be related this time, at least not so far, but the relationship dynamics between Tessa/Clary and Will/Jace are almost identical.  I liked the character development and romance between these too, I just wish it hadn’t been so familiar.

Overall, I would say the writing is okay, but the plot and pacing are better than most.  Just when I thought I figured something out, the story would shift and surprise me with something better.  The characters are very familiar, but I still liked the subtle differences and personal back stories (especially Jem’s) and appreciated the lack of a Star Wars-like twist in the romance.  I’m already anticipating reading the next book in The Infernal Devices series, The Clockwork Prince in September 2011.

Sexual Content: References to prostitution. Kissing.

My Rating (out of 5):
Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & pre-order the sequel.

Click HERE to read an excerpt from CLOCKWORK ANGEL

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (August 31, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416975861
• ISBN-13: 978-1416975861
• Cover Art: N/A 

*Disclosure: I received this book courtesy of Simon & Schuster

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