Clockwork Angel

Supposedly it's William Herondale on the
cover of "Clockwork Angel"

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. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

I’ve put reading Cassandra Clare’s prequel to The Mortal Instruments off for a very long time. If you’ve read some of my previous reviews for TMI you know that I’m a huge fan of the series. I was a bit sceptical about reading The Infernal Devices, because it’s a prequel (a series written after TMI, but the events take place before the events in TMI) and how can something, which takes place almost a century and a half before be better than TMI?

The heading of the first book in TID series is “ClockworkAngel“. The events take place in the 19th century in London. The main characters are Theresa (Tessa), William (Will) and James (Jem), plus some othere important and less important characters. The beginnig of it was pretty intriguing, because in TMI Clary is a Shadowhunter, but Tessa’s not. She’s not quite human either. She’s a shapeshifter and is held hostage and prepared to marry the Magister. Tessa does not know that, of course, and thinks that she has to suffer and hear humiliation and shift by command in order to save her brother Nathan, who supposedly is being held hostage, too. The girl is saved by the Shadowhunters, but it’s not the end, it’s just the beginning.

Other musings. At times, I felt like I was watching a Walt Disney cartoon, “The Beauty and the Beast“, to be exact, where Tessa was the Beauty and William was the Beast. Why? Tessa and Will are both bookfreaks. No, not nerds, but freaks! I thought I loved books, but I cannot quote all the books I’ve read. It’s not the only parallel. Tessa’s kind-hearted, bold and stands on her ground. Will, on the other hand, pushes everyone away (except Jem, who’s his parabatai) and is extremely mean towards Tessa. He’s also sarcastic and arrogant. Yes, one can tell that he really likes Tessa, but like the Beast, Will cannot let anyone in (except for Jem, who, by the way, is dying anyway).

Jem plus Will plus Tessa equals the love triangle. What’s interesting about it is that Will and Jem are best friends for life; even more than that – they’re parabatai and in love with the very same girl. Neither of them knows about how the other one feels. Tessa falls for Will, obviously, but how he treats her is pretty bad and, at the same time, Jem is very sweet and kind. I think you get the picture.

It’s difficult to imaigne the clockwork army. Funny, too. I didn’t excactly get what the point of them was – to bring down the Shadowworld, conquer England and then the whole world? I guess so. Anyway, I wasn’t sure who was behind all of this, but I had some ideas.

It was an up-tempo book (if you don’t consider the beginning of it), but TMI left a bigger impression on me and the first book of TID was not as good as all the TMI books, therefore, I felt like there was something missing. Best thing about TID is Magnus, who, again, is one of the main characters and it’s great to read about him. Oh, and Demonpox and ducks are the favorite subject of Jem and Will to discuss.

The attic scene between William and Tessa in Will’s point of view. Excerpts:

Will rolled up his sleeves. "We'll probably have to knock down the door--"
"Or," said Jem, reaching out and giving the knob a twist, "not."
The door swung open onto a rectangle of darkness.
"Now, that's simply laziness," said Will.

Will: "Nice place to live, isn't it? Let's hope they left something behind other than filth. Forwarding addresses, a few severed limbs, a prostitute or two ..."
Jem: "Indeed. Perhaps, if we're fortunate, we can still catch syphilis."
"Or demon pox," Will suggested cheerfully, trying the door under the stairs.

“Sometimes, when I have to do something I don't want to do, I pretend I'm a character from a book. It's easier to know what they would do.“

“You know," Gabriel said, "there was once a time I thought we could be friends, Will."
"There was a time I thought I was a ferret," Will said, "but that turned out to be the opium haze.”

Book trailer. Rate: 3/5.

Reading order:

1. Clockwork Angel
2. Clockwork Prince
3. Clockwork Princess (spring, 2013)