Science Fiction Book Club discussion

I may have been prejudiced about this book even before I started it because I was expecting it to be amazing. I found the London setting of the book quite different from the New York setting in the Mortal Instruments trilogy. However I also found that some of the characters were slightly less likeable then those in the MI series. There were some brilliant characters still, including: Will Herondale, Jem Carstairs and also a couple of characters from the Mortal Instruments: Magnus Bane and Church. This book also had quotes every chapter rather than just every section of the book like in the MI series. I like quotes.

I found this book slightly tedious. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed reading it, but it was almost exactly like reading City of Bones. All Clare seemed to do was change the names, setting and the "big issue" but the storyline and premise was exactly the same. Even the unrequitted love cliffhanger was the same.

It wasn't as good as the Mortal Instruments but I guess I just like the world she's created. I like entering it via the stories even if some aren't that great. But that's just me.

I like the world she has created and I like the stories. My only negative thought is that the two stories are just so similar that its no longer original. I still enjoyed the book but IMO Clare could have come up with a different character dynamic. I found that Jem, Will and Tessa were carbon copies of Simon, Jace and Clary.

Fair point. I guess it is kind of the same story told altered and in a different setting.