Barbara S. (barbsis) -
Helpful Score: 2
It jumps right into the story and oh what a beginning. Tessa is kidnapped by two old ladies who force her to Change and then attempt to foist her off on the Magister. Lucky for Tessa, she is rescued from the evil sisters by Will and his gang of Shadowhunters. All of this in the first 50 pages, just imagine what will happen in the next 428!
Tessa is brought to the Institute along with Will, Jem and the others. Tessa is not a Shadowhunter but quickly finds herself drawn to both Jem and Will. Jem is an enigma, surprisingly insightful and mature for a teenager. On the other hand, Will is a complete mystery. He flashes hot and cold without apparent reason.
The story is filled with danger for the Shadowhunters and Tessa specifically. She is something different and special that the Magister will do anything to possess. The Shadowhunters are drawn into a war against the vampires, demons, warlocks and even an automaton army. This is action packed from start to finish. An interesting novel with something different from the typical urban fantasy offerings. I do wonder why Will ends up at Magnus Bane's door. hmmm, interesting development.
Tessa is brought to the Institute along with Will, Jem and the others. Tessa is not a Shadowhunter but quickly finds herself drawn to both Jem and Will. Jem is an enigma, surprisingly insightful and mature for a teenager. On the other hand, Will is a complete mystery. He flashes hot and cold without apparent reason.
The story is filled with danger for the Shadowhunters and Tessa specifically. She is something different and special that the Magister will do anything to possess. The Shadowhunters are drawn into a war against the vampires, demons, warlocks and even an automaton army. This is action packed from start to finish. An interesting novel with something different from the typical urban fantasy offerings. I do wonder why Will ends up at Magnus Bane's door. hmmm, interesting development.
Helpful Score: 1
Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.
When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.
Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.
Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. (part of summary from book)
It all starts with Will Hereondale, and Jem (James)Carstairs. Will, with his deep striking blue eyes and black hair (sound familiar? Like Alec maybe??) , with a personality very much like Jace Herondale (Lightwood/Wayland) So, we wonder if Jace is indeed related to Will, most of us think so, but you can decide for yourself. With Will we do get glimpses of when he is at his most vulnerable and makes you feel for him. There's just something holding him back from opening up to people, hopefully that will be explained further in the trilogy. Jem is the complete opposite of Will. He is so kind and loving and poetic with his words--really insightful. I could see Tessa falling for him eventually if Will doesn't get his act together.
Clockwork Angel is the first in Cassandra Clare's new Infernal Devices Trilogy, it's very descriptive, and enjoyable. I am sure it will be another knockout trilogy. It's set in the Victorian era, and takes about 30-40 pages I would say, to get to some familiar ground that we all would be looking for. But when it does, it takes off, and sucks you into the world of Shadowhunters in the 1800's London. You will get to know many ancestors of the current characters in The Mortal Instruments. Cassandra manages to sneak in plenty of humor alongside some of the darker and riskier action scenes. Will, is so witty, and fun, but so broken too, again you really do feel for him. There are many mysteries and secretes to these new characters, and for Tessa it is her heritage, and Will and Jem both have hazy backgrounds, that raise many questions. I am sure we will discover them as the next books come out, as I believe they are to become bigger issues later on.
Tessa's humor is dry and clever, and very funny. The way she can "handle" Will is pretty fun to read. There is a joke in there about a seven fingered dwarf named Nigel that cracked me up, had me laughing out loud, and embarrassing myself when reading that part in public. Lol
I thoroughly enjoyed Tessa, especially watching her mature and break free of the ideals for women in this era. She opens her eyes and understands that women are capable of more than swooning, batting of eyelashes and all the other delicate habits of the female persuasion in the 1800s. She learns to fight and stand up for herself. Very nice, strong lead character for sure.
I love that Magnus Bane and Camille are in this series, they are immortal after all. We get to learn more about Magnus, which is interesting.
Now, the Clockwork creatures were pretty scary, certainly far more frightening than their creator and master, who I was really disappointed in.
Magnus Bane is totally fabulous and I really enjoyed the witty banter between the two main characters.
I also loved that Church the cat, was alive in the 1800's , and Jem and Will were the ones to "rescue" him from some evil warlocks. So it gives us another mystery around Church, and how he is alive still, and how he ended up in the New York Institute in TMI.
Overall, it's a great read, a great new series, which ties nicely into TMI (The Mortal Instruments) series. But, still separate. I recommend anyone who liked TMI series, to read this one, you will not be sorry.
If you have not read any of the TMI books, that's ok, you can start with this series if you like. It's really a prequel to TMI anyway, but not something that HAS to be read to enjoy TMI.
When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.
Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.
Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. (part of summary from book)
It all starts with Will Hereondale, and Jem (James)Carstairs. Will, with his deep striking blue eyes and black hair (sound familiar? Like Alec maybe??) , with a personality very much like Jace Herondale (Lightwood/Wayland) So, we wonder if Jace is indeed related to Will, most of us think so, but you can decide for yourself. With Will we do get glimpses of when he is at his most vulnerable and makes you feel for him. There's just something holding him back from opening up to people, hopefully that will be explained further in the trilogy. Jem is the complete opposite of Will. He is so kind and loving and poetic with his words--really insightful. I could see Tessa falling for him eventually if Will doesn't get his act together.
Clockwork Angel is the first in Cassandra Clare's new Infernal Devices Trilogy, it's very descriptive, and enjoyable. I am sure it will be another knockout trilogy. It's set in the Victorian era, and takes about 30-40 pages I would say, to get to some familiar ground that we all would be looking for. But when it does, it takes off, and sucks you into the world of Shadowhunters in the 1800's London. You will get to know many ancestors of the current characters in The Mortal Instruments. Cassandra manages to sneak in plenty of humor alongside some of the darker and riskier action scenes. Will, is so witty, and fun, but so broken too, again you really do feel for him. There are many mysteries and secretes to these new characters, and for Tessa it is her heritage, and Will and Jem both have hazy backgrounds, that raise many questions. I am sure we will discover them as the next books come out, as I believe they are to become bigger issues later on.
Tessa's humor is dry and clever, and very funny. The way she can "handle" Will is pretty fun to read. There is a joke in there about a seven fingered dwarf named Nigel that cracked me up, had me laughing out loud, and embarrassing myself when reading that part in public. Lol
I thoroughly enjoyed Tessa, especially watching her mature and break free of the ideals for women in this era. She opens her eyes and understands that women are capable of more than swooning, batting of eyelashes and all the other delicate habits of the female persuasion in the 1800s. She learns to fight and stand up for herself. Very nice, strong lead character for sure.
I love that Magnus Bane and Camille are in this series, they are immortal after all. We get to learn more about Magnus, which is interesting.
Now, the Clockwork creatures were pretty scary, certainly far more frightening than their creator and master, who I was really disappointed in.
Magnus Bane is totally fabulous and I really enjoyed the witty banter between the two main characters.
I also loved that Church the cat, was alive in the 1800's , and Jem and Will were the ones to "rescue" him from some evil warlocks. So it gives us another mystery around Church, and how he is alive still, and how he ended up in the New York Institute in TMI.
Overall, it's a great read, a great new series, which ties nicely into TMI (The Mortal Instruments) series. But, still separate. I recommend anyone who liked TMI series, to read this one, you will not be sorry.
If you have not read any of the TMI books, that's ok, you can start with this series if you like. It's really a prequel to TMI anyway, but not something that HAS to be read to enjoy TMI.
Helpful Score: 1
I'm a fan of The Mortal Instruments series. Not classic lit, but good fun, so I thought I'd give this one a try. It was an ok-attempt at Victorian writing from a modern author, but I didn't really *feel* the era in the spoken words or thoughts of the characters much. I also thought that it was a bit too similar to the Mortal Instruments: lead female protagonist meets people in an institute: one snooty gal and two hunky guys. Oh, wait, guy # 2 is into her too, so that's different. A little disappointed but I will continue the series just to see Magnus again. :)
Jennifer W. (GeniusJen) reviewed Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices, Bk 1) on + 5322 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com
Tessa goes to England to find her brother and ends up being kidnapped by the strange and mysterious Dark Sisters. As members of a secret organization, the Pandemonium Club, the sisters have a plan for Tessa and force her to experiment with a power she didn't even know she had; the power to transform into another person.
The Shadowhunters rescue Tessa and she finds herself drawn into their world of demon hunting. Her search to save her brother uncovers a plot that may destroy the world. Tessa and her new friends will put their lives in danger as they struggle to overthrow the evil forces.
This prequel to THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series is full of beautiful prose and exciting adventure that pulls the reader into Victorian England and holds them there long after they close the book.
The twists and turns of the plot kept me guessing, hoping, longing, and ultimately satisfied. I loved CLOCKWORK ANGEL and can't wait for the next book in THE INFERNAL DEVICES series.
Tessa goes to England to find her brother and ends up being kidnapped by the strange and mysterious Dark Sisters. As members of a secret organization, the Pandemonium Club, the sisters have a plan for Tessa and force her to experiment with a power she didn't even know she had; the power to transform into another person.
The Shadowhunters rescue Tessa and she finds herself drawn into their world of demon hunting. Her search to save her brother uncovers a plot that may destroy the world. Tessa and her new friends will put their lives in danger as they struggle to overthrow the evil forces.
This prequel to THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series is full of beautiful prose and exciting adventure that pulls the reader into Victorian England and holds them there long after they close the book.
The twists and turns of the plot kept me guessing, hoping, longing, and ultimately satisfied. I loved CLOCKWORK ANGEL and can't wait for the next book in THE INFERNAL DEVICES series.
