Looking back, the books were lulzy. I honestly only think I liked it because I got caught in the fanvidding hype behind them. (http://youtu.be/32OHMDuMajc - this is the vid that peaked my interest in the books) Like, Clare really doesn't even know how to handle characters properly when they aren't prepping Clary or Jace.
In the 2nd book, she introduces this werewolf named Maia who joined Luke's pack. Vampires and werewolves hate each other on pure instinct, so watching her develop a relationship with Simon when she initially wanted to kill him was interesting to me. And she was given an awesome background story, too. She's biracial but grew up in a conservative neighborhood so she dealt with a lot of racism. And she doesn't like Jace at all because, physically, he's the white version of her sadistic older brother, Daniel, whom she absolutely hated (but he died before she was introduced to the story). She was turned by her abusive ex-boyfriend who bit her and then left her to fend for herself. Her life was so terrible that she ran away to Manhattan at 15 when she found Luke's pack.
When Maia touched Simon, she feels this rush of hateful emotions towards him but they both end up getting kidnapped by Valentine and I remember there was a moment where they were across the room from each other, tied against the walls and touching fingertips for comfort and it was just beautiful and heartwarming.
Fast-forward to the 3rd book and Maia literally only appears twice because CC is too busy prepping Simon/Isabelle. Long story short, Isabelle gets the "development" treatment because she feels responsible for the death of her younger brother. She tried sleeping with Simon and shit but he doesn't want to take advantage of her or something. And I was so mad during the entire 3rd book because Maia has nothing but potential but she got the shaft only because there was no time for her to play around with Simon. Like... biiiitch! And then to add insult to injury, the book ends with both girls vying for Simon's attention under the fireworks.
The 3rd book was supposed to be the final book but CC is obsessed with Clary/Jace and the entire Shadowhunter world she created so there are like 4 or 5 more books, a Shadowhunter companion or something and an entire Victorian-era spin-off that was cleverly introduced in the end of the 3rd book. I haven't read ANY of that mess but I hear Simon was playing the field with both girls in the 4th book, but of course, Isabelle won and now Maia is dating some guy and being irrelevant in the background. Which is astounding to me because CC initially created the sequels to the original trilogy with the idea that they were going to follow the story from Simon's side a little more (Raphael, Isabelle, and Maia were supposed to be vital characters) but it's all Jace and Clary again.
Sorry, I know you don't care but I had to rant because I fucking love Maia. That's about the only think CC did right and she couldn't even follow it up in the next book.
Also Valentine was weird. Like...I still don't get his motivations? I guess power and shit but idk, he's a pretty poorly developed villain. He wasn't a good villain (in the movies at least) because he wasn't memorable. He wasn't sympathetic and he wasn't so evil that it's genius. He was just...there. Like a lot of characters.
See, Maia sounds INTERESTING. And of course she would get thrown to the background. From what you're saying, it seems like CC can only manage to develop one or two characters at a time and the rest fall behind. I remember reading CC's famous LOTR fic and she's pretty decent at wordplay, and it's a shame she's so sloppy with characters. Are the books worth looking into? Everyone I talk to either hate them or love them.
Valentine was no great villain in the books, either. He was definitely clever but that's about it.
CC shows that she is somewhat capable of developing characters but she shows too much blatant favoritism in her writing. Interesting characters like Maia don't stand a chance. I would rec them with the annotation that it will frustrate you. Deus ex machina resolutions aside.
In the 2nd book, she introduces this werewolf named Maia who joined Luke's pack. Vampires and werewolves hate each other on pure instinct, so watching her develop a relationship with Simon when she initially wanted to kill him was interesting to me. And she was given an awesome background story, too. She's biracial but grew up in a conservative neighborhood so she dealt with a lot of racism. And she doesn't like Jace at all because, physically, he's the white version of her sadistic older brother, Daniel, whom she absolutely hated (but he died before she was introduced to the story). She was turned by her abusive ex-boyfriend who bit her and then left her to fend for herself. Her life was so terrible that she ran away to Manhattan at 15 when she found Luke's pack.
When Maia touched Simon, she feels this rush of hateful emotions towards him but they both end up getting kidnapped by Valentine and I remember there was a moment where they were across the room from each other, tied against the walls and touching fingertips for comfort and it was just beautiful and heartwarming.
Fast-forward to the 3rd book and Maia literally only appears twice because CC is too busy prepping Simon/Isabelle. Long story short, Isabelle gets the "development" treatment because she feels responsible for the death of her younger brother. She tried sleeping with Simon and shit but he doesn't want to take advantage of her or something. And I was so mad during the entire 3rd book because Maia has nothing but potential but she got the shaft only because there was no time for her to play around with Simon. Like... biiiitch! And then to add insult to injury, the book ends with both girls vying for Simon's attention under the fireworks.
The 3rd book was supposed to be the final book but CC is obsessed with Clary/Jace and the entire Shadowhunter world she created so there are like 4 or 5 more books, a Shadowhunter companion or something and an entire Victorian-era spin-off that was cleverly introduced in the end of the 3rd book. I haven't read ANY of that mess but I hear Simon was playing the field with both girls in the 4th book, but of course, Isabelle won and now Maia is dating some guy and being irrelevant in the background. Which is astounding to me because CC initially created the sequels to the original trilogy with the idea that they were going to follow the story from Simon's side a little more (Raphael, Isabelle, and Maia were supposed to be vital characters) but it's all Jace and Clary again.
Sorry, I know you don't care but I had to rant because I fucking love Maia. That's about the only think CC did right and she couldn't even follow it up in the next book.
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See, Maia sounds INTERESTING. And of course she would get thrown to the background. From what you're saying, it seems like CC can only manage to develop one or two characters at a time and the rest fall behind. I remember reading CC's famous LOTR fic and she's pretty decent at wordplay, and it's a shame she's so sloppy with characters. Are the books worth looking into? Everyone I talk to either hate them or love them.
Reply
CC shows that she is somewhat capable of developing characters but she shows too much blatant favoritism in her writing. Interesting characters like Maia don't stand a chance. I would rec them with the annotation that it will frustrate you. Deus ex machina resolutions aside.
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