Review - Clockwork Prince

by Cassandra Clare
publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
date of publication: December 6, 2011
format: hardcover
pages: 502
source: gift from friend
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

From Goodreads:

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

What I Thought

What can I say about Clockwork Prince that hasn't already been said?  Though I doubt that my thoughts on the book are at all original, I will still attempt to put to words my impressions and the things that I liked most about this second installment in The Infernal Devices series.  When I read Clockwork Angel earlier this year, I was immediately hooked on everything: the characters, the setting, the plot, and the humor that is injected into the story.  Having been my first Cassandra Clare novel, Clockwork Angel sparked an interest in me that would not be satisfied until the release of Clockwork Prince.  Now that I have finished Clockwork Prince, that spark has grown into a fire and I can not wait until another long year passes and I am able to find out what happens next.

Clockwork Prince picks up right where things left off in Clockwork Angel.  Though the Institute has lived to fight another day, they have an entirely new set of problems to deal with thanks to an inquiry into the competence of the Institute's head, the Branwells (namely Charlotte).  This complication, along with the revelation of a spy in their midst adds a new layer to the plot that was so tantalizing in Clockwork Angel.  It was enough to add new dimensions to the story and allow the characters to face new challenge, thus allowing a continuation in development.  The story is just as action-packed and chock full of romance and that dazzling humor that graced the pages of Clockwork Angel.  I was very, very happy to see those elements carried over into Clockwork Prince.

Tessa, Will, and Jem have just as much chemistry as they did before.  Now, however, feelings are deepening and new complications arise to test them all.  I chuckled at their banter, smiled at their joys, and teared up when they were faced with sorrows.  It is very difficult not to become invested in these characters, as they simply leap of the page and are so very easy to imagine.  What's more, each managed to surprise me in ways I wouldn't have quite imagined prior to reading the book.  I was especially intrigued by the new depths revealed in Will and Jem's characters, along with the chance that was given to get to know Charlotte and Henry Branwell even better.  It all made for a riveting story and I loved every moment and every interaction that I read.

There is so much more that I can say.  However, I don't wish to repeat myself, as I fear I would do if I were to discuss the setting, having already reviewed Clockwork Angel this year.  I also fear giving away too much, which I definitely would not want to do.  I am of the staunch opinion that everyone should read this series.  It is too full of wit, action, romance, and fantastic world-building not to.  I realize that I say this a lot, but if you haven't yet read either book, then you definitely should.  Whether you are a fan of The Mortal Instruments series or not, you owe it to yourself to read these books, especially now that Clockwork Prince is here.  It has built upon the Clockwork Angel so well that I am entirely too anxious to read the next book.  If the greatness of this series grows much more, I'm going to become very, very spoiled.  Thanks to Will, I would have to sum up this book in two words: demon pox.  Have I gotten your attention yet?  Good!  Go!  Read!  Enjoy!

Review: Dark Inside

by Jeyn Roberts
publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
date of publication: November 1, 2011
format: hardcover
pages: 336
source: purchased
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

From Goodreads:

Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

What I Thought

What can I say about Dark Inside without over-simplifying?  To say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book feels like taking the quick and easy way out with regard to my feelings after reading it.  There are so many parts of this book that led me to alternately get lost in my own imagination and sit upon the edge of my seat with bated breath.  It is such a tangle of thrills, sadness, and horror that I am left unsure as to what aspect I enjoyed the most.  Suffice it to say, Dark Inside featured the best of all aspects that make a book appealing to me.

The plot that runs throughout this book will stay with me for quite some time.  It is truly terrifying in that it doesn't involve zombies or monsters.  The threats involved are Mother Nature, herself, and the very darkest recesses of the human mind.  The fact that some unknown catalyst is causing the majority of humanity to turn into ruthless killers is altogether chilling.  As I thought about the possible causes and ramifications of such an event, I felt even more disturbed.  This isn't a story you will be likely to forget for a long, long time.

The characters whose stories we get to view are each compelling in their own ways.  Mason, Aries, Michael, Clementine, and the mysterious narrator known as "Nothing," each bring something different to the table.  Each has a different heart break, a different strength, a different motivation, a different personality, and a different outlook on life, all of which lead them in the same direction as time goes on.  I can't choose a particular favorite from amongst this cast of characters due to the sheer greatness of all of them.  These characters are so well-written and imbued with such spark that it is very easy to become invested in each one.

Finally, let's talk about setting.  Dark Inside begins with 4 different towns in which the 4 different characters live.  Each town is hit by catastrophe in different ways.  This goes to show just how far-reaching the mysterious events behind the end of the world truly are.  Though each town is a different size and affected in different ways, they all share a common problem: the Baggers (the term used to describe the killers at several points throughout the book).  Whether the town falls to earthquakes, bombs, or a type of genocide involving the unaffected, each setting is the same in that nothing will ever be the same again.  As the characters travel across their countries and make their ways toward each other, we catch glimpses of other places that have been struck by disaster in different ways.  It is a truly horrifying landscape against which the story takes place, and the descriptions given make each come to life in the mind's eye.  This aspect of the book is so well done that I have absolutely no complaints.

If you are a fan of dystopian or post-apocalyptic fiction, then you have absolutely got to read Dark Inside.  There is so much action, description, and character-building taking place within the pages of this book that you won't be disappointed.  Though a second book hasn't been mentioned so far as I can tell, I hope that we will be able to continue following these characters throughout this tragic, horrible world they are left with.  This was a truly satisfying read that I can see myself reading over again in the future.