Friendship is a sacred bond, full of trust and fond memories. It is a versatile relationship, and the best friendships are built on the most solid foundations that can weather any storm. But there's also shadows and secrets that come with being a member of a tight-knit friend group. Sometimes, the shadows can be overwhelming. In the first novel of the new The Last Hours trilogy, the newest characters of the Shadow World learn the great joys and great costs of friendship and secrecy in a world demons are determined to destroy.Cassandra Clare is an American author with an adventurous childhood, advantageously applied to her fantasy collection The Shadowhunter Chronicles. She began her writing career in 2004, with City of Bones, the first book in the six-book series The Mortal Instruments. Since then, the Shadowhunter world has exploded, with spinoff trilogies The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices, and The Last Hours. With such a vast world of fantasy, it's easy to get lost. Here, I will be reviewing Chain of Gold, the first book in The Last Hours trilogy. If you find yourself interested in learning more about the Shadow World, click here for more information on where to begin. If you're interested in more of my reviews of Cassandra Clare's works you can find them all here.
It is 1903 London. The city is dirty, and yet beautiful in the eyes of its newest arrival, Cordelia Carstairs. Come to England to train with her parabatai-to-be, Lucie Herondale, Cordelia is determined to free her father from the hands of the Shadowhunter government. But she is dragged into Shadowhunter society in a whirlwind of pastel colors and demon attacks. Someone (or something) is out to attack her and the Shadowhunters of London. Becoming fast friends with James Herondale, Matthew Faichild, Thomas, Anna, and Christopher Lightwood, this new Edwardian Shadowhunting crew is off to save their home from the deadliest demon attacks the city has seen for decades.
Cordelia Carstairs is a stunning and acutely relatable main character. Being the new girl in town who is determined to show everyone what she's made of, she will not take no for an answer. She's resilient in the fight for her family, and in the fight for the friends she hasn't even known that long, but is loyal to regardless. Cordelia feels everything intensely, and it's hard not to empathize with her, especially during the first ball scene. Cordelia's heartbreak is every girl's heartbreak; her triumphs, our triumphs. This is especially further highlighted in the backstory of her sword, Cortana. She fights for the right to own the family sword, and then wins battles and saves her friends with it. She it truly the powerful heroine that fantasy is fueled by, combined with the relatability of every teenage girl who wants to be loved.
Even more lovable is the rag-tag group of boys, fondly nicknamed the Merry Thieves. Comprised of James Herondale, Matthew Fairchild, and Thomas and Christopher Lightwood, this group of four couldn't be more different. And yet, they are friends of the tightest bond, united by their mutual love and respect for one another. They are fierce warriors with different strengths that are only strengthened when they fight together. It is this group of four that teaches Cordelia what it's like to be a friend and to have friends. These four boys also remind readers of those things, while also gaining a laugh and a few literary references at the same time.
Past readers of Clare's works will be delighted by the appearances of older characters, including Tessa, Will, Jem, and Magnus from The Infernal Devices. They will also recognize the importance of the backstories given in an earlier collection, titled Ghosts of the Shadow Market. One of the biggest criticisms of Clare's Shadowhunter Chronicles is that to understand one series, you must read all the others. I wouldn't disagree with that -- having read all of the previous works by Clare, I can say for certain this series is more exciting because of familiar faces and previous Shadowhunter lore. And yet, it is not necessary that readers be familiar with these old faces or stories at all if they want to dive into Chain of Gold. This story is so uniquely Cordelia's, and James's, and Lucie's, and Jesse's, and Grace's, that it seems unfair to pin the success of this novel on knowing the stories behind the older characters. In fact, I think Chain of Gold did a better job than Queen of Air and Darkness in making new readers feel as if they understood all parts of the Shadow World as intimately as veteran readers.
Chain of Gold was also refreshing in its plot. It didn't feel as complex as previous Shadowhunter novels; in fact, I noted the predictability of some parts of the novel, including how Jesse Blackthorn's premonition at the beginning played out. And yet, I think the predictability made this novel more fun: it allowed readers to get a feel for the types of characters involved in this mystery, and what they were willing to do for one another to solve it. I think also this allowed Clare's storytelling skills to flourish: the prose was breathtaking, in that when one of the characters felt hurt, I felt hurt too. Or if one of the characters was excited, my heart was racing out of my chest as I tried to read as fast as I could.
After rereading The Dark Artifices and reviewing the books, I was impressed by Clare's inclusivity of so many different characters, with different backgrounds and experiences. It made me nervous, almost, going into Chain of Gold, wondering how the two series' might contrast: would Clare be able to be as diverse about her characters in 1903 London as 2012 Los Angeles? That worry was quickly squashed with the introductions of Anna Lightwood and Sona Carstairs. Anna, who previously appears in Ghosts of the Shadow Market, rejects the gender binary of the time by wearing fashionable men's clothing and dating women across the Downworld. She is sophisticated, and witty, and a great help to the Merry Thieves as they embark on solving their mystery. Sona Carstairs, the mother of Cordelia and Alastair, is a Persian Shadowhunter. She is often noted as wearing a roosari and has given her children an extensive Persian education, along with their standard Shadowhunter education. I really enjoyed how Clare weaved together the Carstairs Persian heritage with their Shadowhunter heritage, and how having two cultures as complete as those can coexist. I am looking forward to seeing what other cultures, lifestyles, and differences Clare can weave into The Last Hours trilogy as it further advances.
I love how the book itself was split into two sections, and each section was started with a quote from Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. I felt like this did a lot to further advance the story itself, in a different way than Clare has split her novels into parts before. Part 1 of Chain of Gold focused on the aspects of story relating to these questions: what is the mystery that needs to be solved? how are the Shadowhunters going to help? what is at stake? who do we each know that can help? All of these questions were tied together by the Great Expectations quote that gives the individual novels of the series their names -- all very individualistic, these questions and the quote that heads the section. Part 2 of Chain of Gold focused more on questions like: how do I feel about the events going on around me? what can I do to save us? what is my greater purpose being part of the Shadow World? All of these questions were tied together by the Great Expectations quote that gives the series itself its name: The Last Hours. These are the questions that are going to be encapsulated throughout the whole series, and I enjoyed that hint Clare gave us through the use of quotes-heading-sections.
Clare noted that this trilogy speaks to the other trilogies already written, about Cordelia's, Lucie's, James's, and Matthew's parents and ancestors. I think, interestingly enough, we could tell by the first book how these characters and texts were interacting with each other. Cordelia's determination to be the owner of Cortana is only just revealing itself, but we know from Emma's fierce protection and need for Cortana that the Carstairs family will always fight with this blade. James loves just as fiercely as his father loves, even though he's not quite sure who that adoration should be directed to yet. Lucie Herondale, Will Herondale and Jace Herondale all find solace in story. And yet, there are some striking differences. In Chain of Gold, Edwardian society plays a big role in how the characters interact with each other, which stands in conflict with the more warrior-driven mindsets of the past generations. The Infernal Devices focused less on society and more on the mandate of the Shadowhunters. I think this contrast is interesting to note, because I think it shows that Clare has grown as a writer, and in how to include important historical customs into a fantasy world that is so closely tied to our reality.
Readers leave Edwardian society behind reluctantly with the end of Chain of Gold, knowing that there is more to come with Chain of Iron next March. I am personally excited to see how this journey will more forward, and how the relationship between James and Matthew will be affected by James's and Cordelia's arrangement. Hopefully, it is full of more secrets, friendships, relationships, and mystery than we could have imagined possible.
If you're interested in more of my reviews on the books from the Shadowhunter Chronicles, you can find them all here.
*This review is also published on my Goodreads page*
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