I got so excited about the three dimensional photographs on Cassandra Clare's site that I went back for another one. So much depth. The book...well I'll let you determine that yourself. The pace is good and you certainly will have plenty of action to keep up with. Clary is still reeling after the revelation that her lust bunny Jace is also her brother. Pause for appropriate gagging noise here. Now obviously there is a certain ick factor involved, whether incest is best or not. However when C.S. Harris did the same thing with Sebastian St. Cyr and Kat Boleyn in Why Mermaids Sing it wasn't quite so gross despite the fact that they'd been lovers for a decade. Jace and Clary share a few chaste kisses and it seems 100x worse. Two possible explanations, one they're kids really and it seems somehow more obscene, secondly Clare feels the need to sort of continuously rub our noses in it, the elephant is not just in the room, its stampeding nonstop.If I had to give one reason, and one reason only why I came back to these books it would be Magnus Bane. read the books and you'll understand why. He's an 800 year-old warlock who dresses like Joseph in his amazing technicolor dreamcoat with spiked, glittery blue hair and a wicked sense of humor. He pops in and out playing the role of gay lover, helpful magical resource, frat boy, jailer, High Warlock of Brooklyn, and relief from teenage angst. Simon also actually gets interesting in this one, in a big way. He and Clary give love a chance, but you know that ain't going to end well. His story changes the whole dynamic of the story.
Clary is starting to learn more about her new life as a Shadowhunter and her abilities though the number of unanswered questions still mounts. This story reads like a love story to the city, exploring the uniqueness of Manhattan and its environs. We also get a taste of the other Downworlder factions, werewolves, vampires, and faeries in this book which gives up more insight into some of the secondary characters like Luke. Valentine is as badass and crazy as ever, though her seems crueler and for less pragmatic than he was in the first book.
I think overall this one will be the pick of the litter, I see in the third book they'll be heading to the mythical city of Alicante, and I think the removal from New York will loose some of what gives these books heart, they're about the mean streets. Also the play of characters and unfolding of the story was well paced, lightening I'm not convinced will strike twice. Unsurpassed for drama, big explosions, shocking turns, and glittery makeup.
