Tag Archives: shadowhunters

Quick Review: Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare

Posted on by
Reply

This was the last book in the Last Hours trilogy and honestly, it’s a good thing. I don’t think I really connected to any of these characters as much as I have with other characters in Clare’s other Shadowhunter’s novel. It’s not that I think they were not interesting. I appreciate that she continues to populate her books with a diverse set of characters, even in Edwardian London but maybe there are so many times you can save the world. I realize that these books takes places in different eras throughout history but it’s like the later generations have no idea of what happened before them. Which is weird since history since so important to Shadowhunters. So this was fine. It ended as I expected. They saved the world. Mos of them survived. Set up was made for not just the previous books that we already know what will happened and the next series coming out in a couple of years. Maybe I’m ready to move on from series as they are becoming predictable.

Quick Review: Chain and Gold by Cassandra Clare

Posted on by
Reply

In this new series in the Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters universe follows the children of Tessa, Will, Cecily, Gabriel, Sophie, Gideon, Charlotte and Henry as well Elias Carstairs who was introduced in the finals chapters of the Infernal Devices trilogy. The new group of you Shadowhunters are James and Lucie Herondale, Cordelia and Alaister Carstairs, Matthew Fairchild, Anna, Christopher and Thomas Lightwood and Grace Blackthorn. London hasn’t had any demon attacks in over a year so when the attacks come again they are not prepared. Especially since they are a demon they haven’t seen before. Now if you read any of the other Shadowhunter books, this will be familiar. It has a lot of characters with complicated plots and full of romance and drama. For fans this is was a fun read and everything you want in a Cassandra Clare. She continues to fill her stories with a wide array of characters. For a novel that takes place at the turn of the 20th century it is filled with diversity from race and LGBTQ. Something that she has had some push back from fans who have argued you wouldn’t have so many LBGTQ and Brown people in Edwardian England. Which is ridiculous because the British Empire was in full force and LGBTQ people have always existed. However you feel about Miss Clare, she has never shied away from diversity in her novels. So yeah, it was a fun read but I think it’s for fans only.

Reality is Stranger than Fiction

Posted on by
3

I thought I would circle back to this post from almost three years ago. As you know I am a fan of Cassandra Clare’s books. I have read all of her books in the Shadowhunter-verse and find her character’s compelling. In 2016 another author I read, Sherrilyn Kenyon accused Clare of copyright infringement and stealing elements of her own series the Dark-Hunters. I’ll admit that I haven’t been paying attention to the outcome of the suit but it was recently brought up again due to stranger the fiction happenings in Kenyon’s life. (more on that later) Clare went to Tumblr to set the record straight and the frustrations of having your work questioned with little coverage on the outcome. You can read them here and here. It turns out that the suit of copyright was dropped in 2016 after Clare and her legal team were able to prove that elements of Clare story she felt was stolen from Kenyon was either written and/or published before Kenyon or was inaccurate. The part of the suit that was settled in 2018 was for the trademark that had more to do with Clare’s publisher’s marketing materials and the Shadowhunter’s TV show then it did with Clare herself. It’s a shame that the dropping of copyright lawsuit wasn’t as widely covered as the initial lawsuit because that is two years that Clare had to deal with rumors and accusations that her work was not her own. In the time passing from there and now I head many comments about how Clare is a plagiarist and it wasn’t even true. I’m glad that she was able to clear it up and hopefully she and everyone else can move on.

So what brought this on, you say. Well Sherrilyn Kenyon in her January newsletter to fans revealed that she has been poisoned by her husband and his mistress that is also their kids tutor in an conspiracy to take her money and life’s work. It reads like one of those bad Lifetime movies that you watch in the middle of a Sunday when there is nothing else on. Is it true, who knows? In the letter Kenyon mentions that it was her husband that had brought suit to Clare and not herself. (It’s also worth noting in the letter Kenyon says that the lawsuit was settled and not dropped but from Clare’s posts we know that is not true) Kenyon also claims that her husband is suing her for the copyright of her characters and this is why some of her books have been put on hold. I’m a big fan of her Chronicles of Nick series. The latest book in the series or spin-off series, I’m not sure how to categories it. The latest book was supposed to come out last September but September came and went without any news of it until December when I read it had been taken of the publishing schedule altogether without a reason. So it makes sense if she is in a legal battle over her books characters that they would be put on hold. If true, then Wow! Her husband is one piece of trash. The audacity to claim any kind of ownership over her work is truly appalling. I do hope it gets settle quickly and if allegations are true that he has been poisoning her then I hope he goes to jail. Anyway, the letter is one crazy read and reminder that sometimes reality is stranger than fiction.

Review: Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Posted on by
2

Earlier this week I told Kate that I keep trying to Quit Cassandra Clare and her Shadowhunters but just can’t. This was after a discussion of authors continue stories of characters after the story had ended. She felt that Clary and Jace, Simon and Alec’s story ended up after the original trilogy. Not that I totally disagreed with her. I didn’t really like the second Mortal Instruments trilogy as much as the original but it did bring about some interesting characters that wouldn’t have existed if Clare had stop after the first three. I keep reading her Shadowhunters novels because Clare knows how to write characters. The secondary characters in The Dark Artifices are so well constructed it really brings to life the story. I have nothing against Julian and Emma but I was far more interested in Diana, a transgender shadowhunter who lived in fear of being found out. Despite her own fears she remained a well respected in the community. As cliche as it sounds, it took the Gwyn the fame leader of the Wild Hunt to see her as she is and without question to give her the strength to stop hiding. Ty a shadowhunter with autism. Shadowhunters have long shunned mundane medicine, so Autism isn’t something that they know or understand. Of course that can be said for us Mundanes as well. To Shadowhunters he seems strange and slow but he is actually quite brilliant. Change is not something that deals with easily so when his twin dies at the end of the last book and how he deals with it is so heartbreaking. And then there is Christina, Mark and Kieran. A Shadowhunter, a shadowhunter half fairy and a full fairy prince in a full blown three-mance. (is that a word? Well it is now because I not sure how to explain their relationship) Of course there is Magnus, the high Warlock of all our hearts still about. Helen and Aline a married shadowhunter couple coming back from exile and so many more. I know that Clare has been planning these books out years ago so she knew where the story was going to back in 2012 when she first introduced the Blackthorns. She couldn’t have known that her story of Shadowhunters using fear and bigotry to lead them towards fascism and tyranny would be so timely. Sadly. It only makes the wide variety of characters from different backgrounds, cultures, races, beliefs and lifestyles that more vibrant. The story would not have worked or would have not been as enjoyable without such a diverse and inclusive cast, just as our world is far better off with wide array of voices and viewpoints. No matter what people tell you. So while, I do agree that some of her characters stories have passed and it’s time to move on, I’m glad that she has continued the story to include so many more voices because it has definitely kept me interested.

Review: Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Posted on by
3

lord of shadows

**This Review May contain some Spoilers**

I read a lot of fantasy novels and lately many of them have been relevant to what’s currently going on in our world.  I would say that some of it is a reaction to today’s political and cultural climate but books and art have a history of being predictive.  The Handmaid’s Tale was written over two decades ago and is just if not more relevant today then it was then.  Cassandra Clare’s The Dark Artifices might be her most political and timely series out of all her Shadowhunter series but it was years in the making first set in motion 10 years ago with the release of City of Bones.  One of the main threats in Lord of Shadows comes from within the Clave itself.  At the end of the The Mortal Instruments Series City of Heavenly Fire, the Clave started the Cold Peace.  A harsh punishment against Fairies for their involvement in the Dark War.  This has lead to anti-downworlder’s sentiment to spread among Shadowhunters.  Once again proving that people, even supernatural people do not learn from their own history.  Less then five years ago, they defeated Valentine, who’s group wanted to bring back the “golden age” of shadowhunters by ridden the world of downworlders and now the Cohort, a group of Shadowhunters are asking for downworlders to be registered and put into camps.  They movements should be marked and controlled.  Does that sound kinda familiar? It shouldn’t surprise any of you that the downworlders, particularly fairies are not happy and plan in invasion.  While all of this is happening, the Blackthorns and Emma are dealing with their own issues.  With each new book, they get more and more complicated with so many story lines that Clare is almost at George R.R. Martin level but not as many deaths.  I’m not sure all are necessary but it does make for interesting reading.  That being said to me the most interesting character is Julian.  Here’s a guy who at seventeen runs the LA institute. He takes care of his younger siblings and is utterly ruthless.  He will do anything for his family and his Parabati, Emma.  Who he is also madly in love with as she is with him but that’s forbidden and for good reason.  Parabati bond is pretty strong and only enhances strong romantic love to the point it drive them crazy.  Yikes.  As for the ending, I knew the character was going to die as soon as she admitted she was going to be friends with another character.  It sounds silly but the way it was written it sounded so final as her arc was over at that moment.  I was sorry to see that character go but boy there will be hell to pay now.  Too bad we have to wait 2 years to find out what happens next.