not so very steampunk
So I may or may not have written reasonably large review of Clockwork Princess over on goodreads :P
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I just don't know anymore. I don't know. I used to love all her books, now I find it a chore to read them, to be honest I read and finished this so quickly was because I wanted to know the ending and couldn't be bothered skipping, I think if I'd skipped I would never have finished the book as the actual plot (you know, all that stuff with Mortmain and his clockwork army?) couldn't hold my attention at all. And it wasn't because I knew from reading TMI that the Shadowhunter world wasn't destroyed by a clockwork army, it was because I thought it contrived and thinking on it now, I think she only went with this plot because of the time period - if you're going to go steampunk go all the way - but whatever reason, that didn't interested me at all.
So why did I continue reading? Because I wanted to see how the ridiculously dramatic relationships panned out. And really, the only word I can use with all of the relationships is melodramatic. Will moaned, Jem was sad, Tessa didn't know what she wanted, Gideon was polite, Sophie was oblivious - they all spent most of the book running in circles and I didn't really feel much for any of them at all.
The best part of the book was the ending, I was annoyed that the Jem-centric epilogue had more Will in it than Jem, but what else can you expect of a book that's always favoured Will? I liked how she ended it, but it did end up being a bit of a cop-out in that Tessa still got to be with both boys and never really had to CHOOSE, which is what all love triangles need to be resolved, the main character making a CHOICE and sticking to it. Any situation where the choice just happens or one of the guys is taken out of the equation just feels cheap to me, and an avoidance of the problem that the author started in the very beginning.
But in these books I've always had the problem of not putting much stock into the "love triangle" mostly because I care about Jem and Will's relationship more than I've ever cared about how Tessa gets on with either of them. I don't care in a specifically romantic way but when Jem was saying goodbye I cared and was closer to crying when he said bye to Will not Tessa. Really, I just felt like they should all be together and live together and be happy together, I didn't get the point of her choosing when the boys loved each other more than her in the end.
Was anybody else getting Will/Lyra His Dark Material's flashbacks when Jem suggested they meet once a year? I thought that idea a bit of a copy.
It did give me closure and I did like the ending though.
The only surprise I had through the whole book was Tessa turning into her angel, that was my favourite part and I didn't see it coming. But I loved the whole concept and especially that she shone during that time and was magnificent.
View all my reviews
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I just don't know anymore. I don't know. I used to love all her books, now I find it a chore to read them, to be honest I read and finished this so quickly was because I wanted to know the ending and couldn't be bothered skipping, I think if I'd skipped I would never have finished the book as the actual plot (you know, all that stuff with Mortmain and his clockwork army?) couldn't hold my attention at all. And it wasn't because I knew from reading TMI that the Shadowhunter world wasn't destroyed by a clockwork army, it was because I thought it contrived and thinking on it now, I think she only went with this plot because of the time period - if you're going to go steampunk go all the way - but whatever reason, that didn't interested me at all.
So why did I continue reading? Because I wanted to see how the ridiculously dramatic relationships panned out. And really, the only word I can use with all of the relationships is melodramatic. Will moaned, Jem was sad, Tessa didn't know what she wanted, Gideon was polite, Sophie was oblivious - they all spent most of the book running in circles and I didn't really feel much for any of them at all.
The best part of the book was the ending, I was annoyed that the Jem-centric epilogue had more Will in it than Jem, but what else can you expect of a book that's always favoured Will? I liked how she ended it, but it did end up being a bit of a cop-out in that Tessa still got to be with both boys and never really had to CHOOSE, which is what all love triangles need to be resolved, the main character making a CHOICE and sticking to it. Any situation where the choice just happens or one of the guys is taken out of the equation just feels cheap to me, and an avoidance of the problem that the author started in the very beginning.
But in these books I've always had the problem of not putting much stock into the "love triangle" mostly because I care about Jem and Will's relationship more than I've ever cared about how Tessa gets on with either of them. I don't care in a specifically romantic way but when Jem was saying goodbye I cared and was closer to crying when he said bye to Will not Tessa. Really, I just felt like they should all be together and live together and be happy together, I didn't get the point of her choosing when the boys loved each other more than her in the end.
Was anybody else getting Will/Lyra His Dark Material's flashbacks when Jem suggested they meet once a year? I thought that idea a bit of a copy.
It did give me closure and I did like the ending though.
The only surprise I had through the whole book was Tessa turning into her angel, that was my favourite part and I didn't see it coming. But I loved the whole concept and especially that she shone during that time and was magnificent.
View all my reviews