Warrior Times Weekly
Clockwork Prince: Book reviewFriday, February 10, 2012 By Emma Lipasti
Clockwork Prince is the second installment of the Infernal Devices series written by Cassandra Clare. In it we return to Tessa Gray, who is now safely under the protection of a close-knit family of Shadowhunters in London. Not surprisingly, this does not last long as traitors within the Clave plot to have Charlotte and her family removed from the Institute. Charlotte must find hard evidence of the whereabouts of the mysterious and dangerous Magister, Mortmain. With Will and Jem’s help, they begin to delve into Mortmain’s past, finding that his motive is not so frivolous. The Magister holds a deep-seated hatred for the Shadowhunters for destroying his home and killing his adoptive parents, and has vowed to destroy all Shadowhunters with his vast army of clockwork creations. Throughout this, Tessa is falling more and more for Jem, though her lingering feelings for Will remain. They are led on a furious chase always ending with the Magister one step ahead of them. It is not until they encounter one of Mortmain’s clockwork monsters at the place where Will’s family is being held captive that they realize they have been betrayed by one of their own. This book is, without a doubt, another masterpiece of Cassandra Clare’s writing. She is able to captivate the imagination with her own version of Victorian London. She manages to create a wonderfully three-dimensional place without getting caught up in long-winded descriptions. But where Clare really excels is in the way she crafts each character. Each one comes across completely realistic and human with a history behind them. A treat in this sequel was the growth found in the relationship between Charlotte and Henry and the development of Sophie into a crucial character in the plot. The one thing that bothered me in this book was Tessa’s indecisiveness. Throughout the story, she was constantly fluttering between her feelings for Jem and Will, which distracted from the plot a little bit. The plot in this second book was definitely first rate, and brought to the table exactly what is expected of a sequel. Mortmain was kept at a distance, saving his actual appearance for later. His role and the history given about him were fascinating, but not all that threatening. Throughout the book, the plot prepared for the final confrontation sure to come in the third book, which is as of yet unpublished. Each page of this book was as gripping as the next, a definite success. Clare managed to keep the action and romance scenes fairly well-balanced, not overwhelming either side of the book. Once I began reading it, I had trouble setting it down. So all in all, I would have to give this book five stars. |