Review: Chain of Gold

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off: Cordelia Carstairs on that cover OMG

And hey, at least it's not another 700-900 page opus this time. Not that I'm complaining about, say, the Dark Artifices novels having such daunting lengths, but it's great that Cassie's not going NEARLY to the level of overwork for which SJM's become known in recent years. Especially since, like SJM, Cassie's had her share of health issues lately too...


But yeah. Chain of Gold, the long-awaited start to the latest series of the Shadowhunters universe, The Last Hours. Sorta post-steampunk, following the next generation on from our Infernal Devices faves in 1903...except, though, for a few flashbacks that sneak in every two or three chapters or so. Flashbacks key to introducing certain ghostly characters who have a particular impact on the lives of James and Lucie in particular - seeing how they have angel and demon DNA both at some level, it's only natural that they tend to break the rules of metaphysics more easily than most Shadowhunters. 

To be honest, this isn't one of Clare's best works, though I have a feeling a lot of that owes to me reading it around the time so much of the world (including California) decided to shut down in the face of the coronavirus. Which actually makes the quarantine storyline hit pretty hard, but at the same time, I feel like the quarantine was just so much in the background as to hurt the story a bit overall. The characters, also, tend not to pop off the page the way Clare's usually do - there's nobody here quite as instantly iconic or relatable as any of her previous protagonists, though Cordelia makes the strongest case by far. Helps that she rather uncannily resembles a Persian version of Clary, with her combination of red hair and brown skin. And so do the ghostly characters who keep on coming in to entice James and Lucie, as mysterious specters are so wont to do.

I don't know how long it'll be until Clare gives us her next book, but hopefully, they'll finally stop shutting the economy and society before then. Or they'll bring Shadowhunters to ward us all against the virus. Whichever comes first.

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