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SEEING THE SHADOWHUNTERS
I found that Pocket Books were offering a free read of the first instalment in the Mortal Instruments series on their website. Not being one to pass up free offers, and having heard good stuff about this book, I started on it, and finished it in one shot. If you haven’t read it, and are looking for a free copy, it’s been offered on www.pocketbooks.com till August 10.
When Clary follows a knife-holding blond boy in a nightclub, little does she know that she’s about to embark on the journey of her life. The boy is Jace, part of a band of demon slayers called Shadowhunters, who are surprised to discover the existence of the Sight in a mundane (similar to a Muggle). When Clary’s mom is kidnapped and Clary nearly killed by a Ravener demon, she is taken by the Shadowhunters to their Institute. There she learns about the racist evil lord Valentine, and discovers the truth about her mom and herself.
“Could I get anything for you?” he asked. “Something to drink? Some tea?”
“I don’t want tea,” said Clary with muffled tone. “I want to find my mother. And then I want to find who took her in the first place, and I want to kill them.”
“Unfortunately,” said Hodge, “we’re all out of bitter revenge at the moment, so it’s either tea or nothing.”
These kinds of witticisms are spread throughout this book, which makes it a fun read. I liked the characterization and the settings of the book: modern and hip interspersed with ancient and mysterious. The book straightaway delves into the action, and doesn’t drag at any point, so it’s a brisk, easy read. There are similarities with a lot of other books: like Harry Potter, only special people can see the demon-hunters, the vampire-werewolf conflict is straight out of the Twilight series. Some things are somehow predictable: I knew Luke was going to be a nice guy, I figured the connection between Valentine and Clary, but others come as a great shock. The Jocelyn-Valentine relationship reminded me of the Cole-Phoebe relationship in the series Charmed, you know, good girl marrying the evil one and then being disillusioned by his cruelty. The book is somewhat like a rollercoaster ride through the urban fantasy jungle, where you come across every sort of creature you can imagine.
I liked Clary, she is sarcastic, has presence of mind and doesn’t need the hero’s crutch at every instant. Jace is your devil-may-care hero, reckless and proud, the sort of hero any teen will fall for. The supporting characters are also quite well thought, and supplement the leads well. The book rushes along at a heady pace, with more twists and turns than you can imagine. The ending is all firecrackers, a tempting hook for the next book. City of Bones is a thrilling action-packed journey, one I enjoyed a lot, and I’m raring so see how it proceeds.
Read another review at: Becky's Book Reviews
Today's Adventure
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I read City of Bones back before I began blogging about my reading - I recently picked up the next two instalments, and was kind of wondering whether I should re-read this first, but your review brought back my memories! I remember especially liking the beginning, at the dance club ...
I am also enjoying this thanks to the free e-version. I'm more than half way and I agree it is fantastic. Wonderful review.
Nely
glad you like this one. I have it on my list too. I know you could read it for free but I prefer having the book in my hands instead of reading it on the computer screen :) great review and thanks for the info.
I read my first thing by Cassandra Clare (a short story in Geektastic) yesterday and enjoyed it a lot. I think I should give this series a try.
Like you, I've heard lots of good things about this series. My daughter just finished this one and has bought the 2nd in the series. I need to just figure when I'm going to fit it in my tight schedule. Good review, Hazra. I love your blog.
I own this book, and I really really have to read it! Good post, Hazra. I'm really enjoying your blog.