City Of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
The Blurb On The Back:
Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned. Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the thrilling and long-awaited final instalment of the bestselling and acclaimed Mortal Instruments.
It’s several weeks after CITY OF LOST SOULS. Sebastian is moving against the Institutes, forcing those inside to become Endarkened and killing anyone he cannot use, including children. Panicking, the Clave orders all Institutes to retreat to Idris, where they build up their armaments and search for a way to reverse the effects of the Infernal Cup. Unable to enter Idris, Simon remains in New York, protected by Maia and Jordan while Jace, Clary, Isabelle and Alec try to persuade the Clave that Sebastian won’t move against them in open battle and they need to find a way to outthink him.
But Sebastian has dangerous allies with a grudge against the Shadowhunters and he’s always one step ahead. To defeat him, Clary and her friends must take their fight to the demon realms, even though going there means almost certain death …
The conclusion to Cassandra Clare’s MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES is a bloated and saggy affair, weighed down by the need to close off every character’s relationship while also setting up Clare’s new series. The main plotline is painfully thin with none of the main characters actually doing anything to try and stop Sebastian, instead choosing to shout at their parents and other adults about how they just don’t understand what is happening. The identity of Sebastian’s allies is painfully obvious and it was irritating how Clare doesn’t have any character ask obvious questions in order to keep it a mystery. I was bored by the many, many relationships in the book, all of which rely on characters not having conversations with each other or being interrupted when they start to have sex. The conclusion itself is pretty underwhelming and over very quickly (in contrast the epilogue goes on for way too long with Clare eschewing a bittersweet conclusion in favour of an artificial happy ever after). My biggest gripe though is that about a quarter of the book deals with introducing characters for the new series and their storyline adds nothing to this story and reduces pace. This is a shame because Sebastian is an interesting villain with an actual psychological rationale to his action and there are some chilling scenes - notably those between Sebastian and Clary. Ultimately, while this ties up the series, I think I’m done with Clare’s world as I’m not a romance fan and she doesn’t seem to have many other strings to her bow.
The Verdict:
The conclusion to Cassandra Clare’s MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES is a bloated and saggy affair, weighed down by the need to close off every character’s relationship while also setting up Clare’s new series. The main plotline is painfully thin with none of the main characters actually doing anything to try and stop Sebastian, instead choosing to shout at their parents and other adults about how they just don’t understand what is happening. The identity of Sebastian’s allies is painfully obvious and it was irritating how Clare doesn’t have any character ask obvious questions in order to keep it a mystery. I was bored by the many, many relationships in the book, all of which rely on characters not having conversations with each other or being interrupted when they start to have sex. The conclusion itself is pretty underwhelming and over very quickly (in contrast the epilogue goes on for way too long with Clare eschewing a bittersweet conclusion in favour of an artificial happy ever after). My biggest gripe though is that about a quarter of the book deals with introducing characters for the new series and their storyline adds nothing to this story and reduces pace. This is a shame because Sebastian is an interesting villain with an actual psychological rationale to his action and there are some chilling scenes - notably those between Sebastian and Clary. Ultimately, while this ties up the series, I think I’m done with Clare’s world as I’m not a romance fan and she doesn’t seem to have many other strings to her bow.
Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned. Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the thrilling and long-awaited final instalment of the bestselling and acclaimed Mortal Instruments.
It’s several weeks after CITY OF LOST SOULS. Sebastian is moving against the Institutes, forcing those inside to become Endarkened and killing anyone he cannot use, including children. Panicking, the Clave orders all Institutes to retreat to Idris, where they build up their armaments and search for a way to reverse the effects of the Infernal Cup. Unable to enter Idris, Simon remains in New York, protected by Maia and Jordan while Jace, Clary, Isabelle and Alec try to persuade the Clave that Sebastian won’t move against them in open battle and they need to find a way to outthink him.
But Sebastian has dangerous allies with a grudge against the Shadowhunters and he’s always one step ahead. To defeat him, Clary and her friends must take their fight to the demon realms, even though going there means almost certain death …
The conclusion to Cassandra Clare’s MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES is a bloated and saggy affair, weighed down by the need to close off every character’s relationship while also setting up Clare’s new series. The main plotline is painfully thin with none of the main characters actually doing anything to try and stop Sebastian, instead choosing to shout at their parents and other adults about how they just don’t understand what is happening. The identity of Sebastian’s allies is painfully obvious and it was irritating how Clare doesn’t have any character ask obvious questions in order to keep it a mystery. I was bored by the many, many relationships in the book, all of which rely on characters not having conversations with each other or being interrupted when they start to have sex. The conclusion itself is pretty underwhelming and over very quickly (in contrast the epilogue goes on for way too long with Clare eschewing a bittersweet conclusion in favour of an artificial happy ever after). My biggest gripe though is that about a quarter of the book deals with introducing characters for the new series and their storyline adds nothing to this story and reduces pace. This is a shame because Sebastian is an interesting villain with an actual psychological rationale to his action and there are some chilling scenes - notably those between Sebastian and Clary. Ultimately, while this ties up the series, I think I’m done with Clare’s world as I’m not a romance fan and she doesn’t seem to have many other strings to her bow.
The Verdict:
The conclusion to Cassandra Clare’s MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES is a bloated and saggy affair, weighed down by the need to close off every character’s relationship while also setting up Clare’s new series. The main plotline is painfully thin with none of the main characters actually doing anything to try and stop Sebastian, instead choosing to shout at their parents and other adults about how they just don’t understand what is happening. The identity of Sebastian’s allies is painfully obvious and it was irritating how Clare doesn’t have any character ask obvious questions in order to keep it a mystery. I was bored by the many, many relationships in the book, all of which rely on characters not having conversations with each other or being interrupted when they start to have sex. The conclusion itself is pretty underwhelming and over very quickly (in contrast the epilogue goes on for way too long with Clare eschewing a bittersweet conclusion in favour of an artificial happy ever after). My biggest gripe though is that about a quarter of the book deals with introducing characters for the new series and their storyline adds nothing to this story and reduces pace. This is a shame because Sebastian is an interesting villain with an actual psychological rationale to his action and there are some chilling scenes - notably those between Sebastian and Clary. Ultimately, while this ties up the series, I think I’m done with Clare’s world as I’m not a romance fan and she doesn’t seem to have many other strings to her bow.