Review: City of Glass

City of Glass is the third and final book to the Mortal Instruments Trilogy, released in early 2009. Time to break out that champagne if you actually made it this far.

The plot in City of Glass flows marginally better than in the previous books – the majority of loose ends are tied up nicely. Revelations abound here: Clary discovers she and Jace have angel blood in them, Alec and Magnus come out of the closet, Clary reunites with her mother, and the dynamic duo finally discover that they’re not blood siblings, though she does end up snogging her actual brother, Sebastian (d’oh!) when he tries to sway her to his side. Valentine’s evil plans are foiled by plucky heroine and her angsty beau – whoa, did anyone see that coming?

Characterization hit an all time low here. Jace, in particular, seemed oddly determined to cultivate a consumptive sort of appearance (which may or may not parallel your intelligence slowly wasting away as you trudge along the story). I enclose snippets so that you may judge for yourself:

“The black sweater he was wearing only made his bruise-marked skin stand out more, and the dark lashes, too; he was a study in contrasts, something to be painted in shades of black, white, and gray…”

“His skin was drained of all color, showing the dark rings around his eyes.”

“He half-closed his eyes. There were crescents of gray shadow under them, she saw, the remnants of sleepless nights.”

“He looked tired. There were shadows under his eyes, and his pale gold hair was untidy.”

And much, much more. I only caught these through skimming – imagine if I actually went through this book with a fine-toothed comb! There’d be no end to this review.

Clare’s writing style remains unchanged in this final installment of the Mortal Instruments Trilogy. Dialogue falls flat in the midst of mounds and mounds of terminology and a largely predictable plotline (though Sebastian’s true identity was a nice twist in the story). A few amusing moments here and there, but nothing that would make you laugh out loud. The ending had me feeling so utterly ambivalent that I had to switch on a graphic horror movie to check if my emotional circuits were still functioning properly.

But alas, all things must come to an end. Savour that sense of dissatisfaction in the pit of your belly as you turn the last page, and gaze mutinously at the person next to you with a “wtf?” expression on your face. Yes, that is the expression you must bear when you stray to the dark side and purchase a book just because you think the cover art is pretty. Now go, journey forth! Cast this book into the fires of Mount Doom, and let us never speak of it again.

See also: City of Bones, City of Ashes

Plot/originality: 3.5/5

Characters: 2.5/5

Writing style: 2/5

Total score: 8/15

Review: Blood Bound

Blood Bound is Book 2 in the Mercy Thompson series and thus the sequel to Moon Called. New adventure but mostly same old characters, and same old unresolved love triangle. The Adam/Mercy/Samuel thing is starting to get old and tedious, especially since it looks as if it will last a few more books down the series. More on Stefan the mysterious vampiric friend in this book, since the baddie’s a vampire with special powers (wow.) that has nothing better to do than cause havoc in town. New power revealed for Mercy, magic resistance. Something a little overused in this genre, but the explanation here is at least somewhat logical. There is the presence of inter-species politics again, blah blah and could Stefan possibly be a new love-interest? Love square! However, there is no expansion in this area yet. Possibly saving it for the later books. Plot resolution is a tad anti-climatic, and oh, did Mercy make new enemies? Again?

Blood Bound follows pretty much the same formula as Moon Called, and while not exactly fantastic, still keeps to Brigg’s usual style. So if you liked Moon Called, then you would already be reading this. If you didn’t, then don’t read this. If you haven’t read Moon Called, then go read it first. No one likes a book-skipper!

See also: Moon Called, Iron Kissed, Bone Crossed

Plot/originality: 2/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing style: 3/5

Total score: 8/15