Friday, 18 January 2013

Book Review: CLOCKWORK ANGEL

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare




Clockwork Angel is the first of the Infernal Devices Series, prequel to the Mortal Instruments Series (however, it is not necessary to read one before the other; each series can be read alone without any prior background knowledge).


**SPOILERS AHEAD**


The protagonist of Clockwork Angel is Theresa Gray, also known as Tessa, a sixteen-year-old girl from America. It follows her as she arrives in London after her aunt’s death, summoned by her brother, Nathaniel Gray (Nate), who works in London. She is unable to meet her brother, however, before she is kidnapped by The Dark Sisters, and finds out that she has the magical ability to shape-shift and take the forms of others through their belongings, whether they are dead or alive. She is trapped and forced to transform for them for six weeks, during which she is told that she will be married to “The Magister”, the main antagonist. Before this can happen, however, she is saved by Shadowhunter Will Herondale and his fellows, and brought to safety.


What I like about Clockwork Angel is that Clare tries to create her own world. She creates the Shadowhunters to serve as her protagonists; they are the Nephilim, half-angels, who make it their life’s mission to kill demons and protect the humans, or the “mundane”, as the Shadowhunters call them. There are also the Downworlders, which consist of vampires, werewolves, and warlocks (children of demons and humans). There is a delicate balance between all these forces that the Shadowhunters have to struggle with – they can kill the demons, but they cannot hurt the Downworlders unless they break the rules by hurting humans, and yet many of the Downworlders hate the Shadowhunters, because they think the Shadowhunters are “playing God”. I enjoy reading the conflicts between the Shadownhunters, demons and Downworlders, and the fine line the Shadowhunters have to walk between all these forces.
I also like the main characters in Clockwork Angel. Tessa, who originally appears to be a mundane, has surprising powers as a shapeshifter that hints there are that she is in fact a warlock (at the end of the book she is revealed to be an engineered warlock, created specially by the Magister for his purpose). Tessa is not a weak protagonist, a damsel in distress who always needs to be saved; she is more than capable of using her own powers to save herself. At the start of the book, when she is tied to the bed by the Dark Sisters, she takes the form of a girl smaller than herself, managing to slip her hands through the ropes and free herself. She also assists the Shadowhunters by taking the shape of a vampire and sneaking into a Downworlder party where they allegedly kill humans. Since she is a character who is capable of fighting for herself, it is easy to support her and hope that she will overcome her challenges, since she clearly deserves it.


The two male leads, Will and Jem, are also fascinating characters. Both are Shadowhunters, and they are also best friends. However, their personalities are polar opposites. Will is brash and appears to care for nothing; he freely bites vampires despite knowing that ingesting their blood will kill him, and treats everything as a joke. Jem, on the other hand, is gentle and warm; he treats everyone well and is especially supportive of Tessa. Both characters have their pasts and secrets – although Jem’s is revealed within this book, Will’s is not, and that elevates the air of mystery and intrigue around him. Both characters are interesting, and regardless of what they may say or do, they are always more than ready to protect Tessa. Both of them are strong characters as well – although both clearly have their problems in life, neither of them is willing to lie down and be defeated. Instead they try to make the most out of life, making them respectable characters that we can root for.


Another thing I like about Clockwork Angel is the way Clare has written it. She moves at a good pace, and she is good at writing twists and surprises. She is able to hide the truth long enough so that the suspense is heightened, and then drop the bomb right at the climax, giving us that satisfying “AHA!” moment. At the same time, she always gives hints to the truth beforehand, in a very subtle way, such that it is difficult to guess the truth. For example, one of the biggest reveals comes at the end, where it is revealed that Tessa’s brother Nate is working together with the Magister, and the Magister is not, in fact, the vampire De Quincey (whom the Shadowhunters suspect at first) but Mortmain, Nate’s employer, who was previously thought to be a mundane. As the characters in the book note, all the evidence pointing to De Quincey is circumstantial and could easily have been fake; in fact, the very idea of De Quincey being the Magister is planted into their heads by Mortmain. This makes for a very satisfying read, as we piece together the missing pieces to reveal the truth at the end.


However, one negative point about the book is that I could not understand several of the characters’ motivations, in particular Jessamine and Nate. Jessamine is a Shadowhunter who lives with Will and Jem after her parents died in a fire; however, she has no desire to be a Shadowhunter, and throughout the book, is only shown fighting twice (she goes down easily the second time). She shows hatred for all the other Shadowhunters, and although it is explained that this is because she wants a normal life, I think it is not sufficient explanation, since it is the Shadowhunters who take her in, and does not explain why she hates them instead of being grateful. Nate, who is later revealed to be a traitor and who purposely draws Tessa to London to be kidnapped, is another mystery. I do not understand why he hates Tessa so. The book states that the Magister has told Nate Tessa is not his real sister (if she is a warlock, she must have a demonic father, but Nate is a human), but I think that after so many years of living together as family, it would be unlikely for Nate to profess such deep and utter hatred for her. I can understand why he betrays her – he is a greedy man, and has been promised power and wealth, but I cannot comprehend why he speaks of her with such vehement hatred in the book.


All in all, I think that Clockwork Angel is a good book worth reading. It does have its flaws, but the pros outweigh the cons.


Rating: 4 out of 5


For ages 14 and above




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