The Infernal Devices – TRIPLE Book Review

Series: The Infernal Devices

Author: Cassandra Clare

Books:

1. Clockwork Angel
2. Clockwork Prince
3. Clockwork Princess

Previous books by this author:

1. City of Bones (My rating: 9.0)
2. City of Ashes (My rating: 8.9)
3. City of Glass (My rating: 9.3)
4. City of Fallen Angels (My rating: 9.2)
5. City of Lost Souls (My rating: 8.7)

Reviewer: Nick

When I started reading these books, a friend told me that The Infernal Devices was better than The Mortal Instruments. I was skeptical, first because I thought TMI was very good, and second because (excluding The Heroes of Olympus) sequel/prequel series are never as good as the first ones (See The 39 Clues: Vespers Rising, The 39 Clues: Unstoppable, Wolves of the Beyond, Deltora Shadowlands (although Dragons of Deltora was fine), Warriors: The New Prophecy, 

Warriors: Power of Three, and 

Warriors: Omen of the Stars. Did I miss any? Oh yeah: Warriors: Dawn of the Clans. How could I forget?) But SHE WAS RIGHT! It's is better!!!

If I had to describe Clockwork Angel, I'd say it was everything like City of Bones, but better! The main storyline is similar (more on that later). But the two main things that set the two series apart are the time periods and the characters.

First, the setting. One thing I loved about The Mortal Instruments (that I think went unappreciated) was the fact that Clare was so comfortable writing modern characters the the reader could relate to. Remember, Clare is an adult. So making Clary, Jace, and Simon seem like normal, modern teenagers despite the fact that they're, you know, supernatural beings was quite the feat. However, I think she did an even better job portraying Victorian London. Clare makes you feel like you lived in London in the 1880's—and boy, do you not want to leave.

At first glance, Tessa, Jem, Jessamine, and Jace—oops, I mean Will—are just carbon copies of Clary, Alec, Isabelle, and WillJace. But this is not the case. Tessa, Jem, Jessamine and Will are much better characters than their TMI counterparts. I've always thought of Izzy and Alec as being one-dimensional characters. They have a lot of potential, but Clare doesn't realize it in the TMI books. And Jace has far too many of the "tortured hot guy" clichés. On the other hand, Clare went all out in The Infernal Devices. Will takes self-destructive to a whole new level. Jessamine has an internal struggle about her whole identity (Tessa's not short on that either). And Jem proves you can be the good, dependable guy without being gullible. 

The supporting characters are a great improvement over TMI as well. You have the head of the London Institute, Charlotte, and her husband, Henry, who play a much bigger role than Maryse and Robert Lightwood. First of all, they're awesome characters. Charlotte is probably my favorite out of all the characters. A woman running one of the most powerful Institutes in the 1800's is a hard job, but Charlotte does it and is awesome at her job.

You can tell Clare loves to incoporate political themes into her books, and it really showed here. The inner workings of the Council and the Clave are showcased, and that's just a lot of fun.

Anyway, I have to wrap this review up because I forgot about it for a month and now have no idea what I was going to do with the rest of it. I think that, overall, The Infernal Devices was way better than The Mortal Instruments. Cassandra Clare definitely learned from her mistakes, and put those lessons into these. I'm going to predict that she will just keep getting better. And on that note, I can't wait for the third Shadowhunter series, The Dark Artifices, to come out in 2015.

Final score:

Clockwork Angel: 9.4 out of 10

Clockwork Prince: 9.5 out of 10

Clockwork Princess: 9.7 out of 10

If you liked this book, then you'd like:

• Blue is for Nightmares by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Next review: Blue is for Nightmares by Laurie Faria Stolarz

 — Nick