Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
My rating: [rating=4]
This is not going to be a lengthy review. Lord of Shadows is the middle book of a series and I want to avoid revealing too much detail both about this book, and its predecessor (Lady Midnight). I want to remind you that I am not one of those guys that reads a lot of romance novels. Granted this book hardly qualifies as a “romance” novel but it does have a few fanciful moments.
The quick breakdown of the book is the conflict with the Unseelie King continues while the Shadowhunters also track down Malcolm Fade. Amidst all the turmoil between the Faerie Courts, the Centurions and the Shadowhunters, Emma and Julian’s affection for each other continues to grow. They know the law and the law forbids romantic relationships between parabatai. In fact not only is it forbidden, it’s dangerous. It almost as a Jedi-esque quality.
Biggs Review
I think this is a solid middle book. The journey into the Faerie world was especially intriguing and there is quite a bit of action, especially at the end of the book! I could have done without the author’s editorial on transgender personified in one of the characters. It provided no relevance to the story and was clearly a device to illustrate her political stance on the topic. In fact it was so irrelevant, I forgot it even happened within two chapters.
The last couple of pages in this book are probably the biggest shocker in all of her novels. By the end you are left wondering “who IS Emma Carstairs??” and what does Cassandra Clare have against children?! Reading the other series isn’t necessarily a prerequisite but certain parts of this book make more sense if you have. If you have read her other series, then I would recommend continuing with the Dark Artifices. I can’t wait for Book 3.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss