Tuesday, February 18, 2014

City Of Glass by Cassadra Clare


Title: City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Published: March 29, 2009
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
Source: Easons

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

 As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?




That's how I felt after finishing this book.
'City of Glass' is the fantastic third book in the Mortal Instruments series, a great sequel to 'City of Ashes', and an all-round awesome read! It's chalk-full of exciting fight sequences, yet sprinkled with surprising, and well-appreciated humor. It harbors a romance aspect, but one much more interesting than those of most other books, and is home to a great bunch of entertaining characters. The plot is nicely woven with just the right amount of everything, perfected with a smooth-flowing and easy to read writing style. This book was brilliant.

In my opinion, the first two books in this world-renowned series, were slightly over-hyped. I read and enjoyed them, but wasn't left with the absolute certainty that they deserved all the fame. This book, however, completely changed my perspective. It follows Clary, through a now, more plausible example of character development, as she tries to cope with the madness around her. She's distraught as her Mother is yet to wake from some magical coma, she's walking on thin ice with the fragile relationship between herself and best friend Simon, she has a fair bit to learn when it comes to her new role as a shadowhunter, and finally she is trying to end the battle with herself over her love for 'brother' Jace.

I'm aware that these books aren't actually focused on one particular character, that the point of views tend to drift over the stories of the main characters, but it was easier for me to just put Clary in the lead. It's for that reason, that I noticed more of a change in her character, than in any of the others. Okay, maybe except for Jace, but anyway. 'City of Bones' Clary and 'City of Glass' Clary are, for me, two completely different people, and the journey from the first book, to this point, made for a great read. I loved how Clary handled everything she came against, with maturity and reasoning. Even at that, however, I think would have held her in higher regard, were the books solely written from her point of view.
Clary may have been my favourite character in this book, but the character of Jace was definitely the most impressive. It's quite distinct, the difference that is, between his character two books ago, and at the end of the third book. Even from the start of this book, to it's closing pages the difference in character is still rather evident. I speak only for myself, mainly because I don't want Jace-loving fans after me, in saying that Jace's character in the first two books, and some of the third, just came off as petulant, a little overly sarcastic, and really annoying. I had no respect for the guy. But after finishing the book, I saw him in a whole new light. Everything came together, the character development was much more clear and concise, and I actually liked him.

Speaking of clear and concise, can we just talk about the plot in this book for a sec! Wow! In the past, the author, Cassandra Clare, didn't seem too sure of where she was taking the story, and that kind of irked me. But 'City of Glass' showed obvious signs of careful planning, as well as undeniable creativity. The twists in the story, especially nearing the end, had me utterly and genuinely baffled, and for a while I was unable to believe the cleverness of it all. All the insight into relations between Shadowhunters and Downworlders, the history of how Valentine experimented on his children with demon and angel blood, everything was just so intriguing and very well written.

I think I made the right decision by buying all the books in the series at once, because right now I just want to start 'City of Fallen Angels'! Just to re-iterate this whole review, I thought this book was brilliant, and was very impressed with Cassandra Clare.




What you guys thought of this book, particularly the plot, is what I want to know! Haha
Thanks for reading guys!

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