Magic is dangerous - but love is more dangerous still.
When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray arrives in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Friendless and haunted, Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Drawn ever deeper into their world, she finds herself fascinated by - and torn between - two best friends and quickly realises that love may be the most dangerous magic of all. - From the back of the book.
I love Cassandra Clare. I think she's amazing. So, having read The Mortal Instruments series, I started to look for something else by her. And I found that she was coming out with a prequel series called The Infernal Devices. I was so happy. I knew it was going to be amazing and I was right. It was. And, I think it was BETTER than The Mortal Instruments.
This series is set in Victorian London. It is so different to the world we live in now, obviously, yet it felt so real and easy to imagine living in. Even though there were no vampires or Shadowhunters in Victorian London, the detail and realness of the writing made it seem believable that there were these things in that time.
Although it is a prequel, you do not have to have read The Mortal Instruments to enjoy this book. I haven't yet read City of Glass, though it is on my waiting list, and I was a little worried that there would be spoilers. I don't know why though, seeing as this was set before... Anyway, there were some small connections between the two, such as characters in both series with the same surname, but they weren't important. The one main connection though, was the appearance of one of the characters from The Mortal Instruments, Magnus Bane. I was very pleased to find him in this novel, as I have to say he is one of my favourite characters from TMI, so that was good.
Cassandra Clare does a brilliant job of explaining about the history of the Shadowhunters in TMI, but seeing it actually played out in The Infernal Devices is even better. TID gives you an insight to the characters from TMI, and this means we can learn even more about them, and where they came from.
Clare is an amazing writer. I cannot state this enough. She writes memorable and complex characters, and they feel like real people. Tessa Gray is quiet and ladylike, yet underneath, she has courage and guts, and I admire her for this. And we all know Clare does a great job of creating male characters... Will and Jem are definitely my favourite characters. I am definitely looking forward to reading more about them in the next books in the series, and following them in their stories.
Everything about this book is awesome. If you asked me which was my favourite bit, I wouldn't be able to tell you, same as I wouldn't be able to tell you which bit i liked least. The whole book was amazing; it was entertaining and interesting, and it kept me turning pages into the night. You feel as though you have left the world you live in now, and have woken up in a completely different place and time. The Infernal Devices is better than The Mortal Instruments, and I wish I could go out and buy the next book, but I can't. Whether you've read The Mortal Instruments or not, you will love this book!
I give it 5 Feet!
I don't know why, but at first I really resisted this book. I kept picking it up in stores and skimming pages and not really getting interested. Now I keep reading all of these rave reviews, so I'll have to check it out. It's on my list now. :)
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