Spin-off Saturdays: The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Spin-off Saturdays: On Saturdays, I will review a series that is a spin-off series. It is recommended that you read the original series first in order to get the most out of the spin-off series. Here is this week’s offering:

Infernal Devices Trilogy is a spin-off of the Mortal Instruments

SERIESous’ Top Book Series: #4
Series: Infernal Devices Trilogy
Author: Cassandra Clare
# of Books:3 (Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess )

This is a PREQUEL to the Mortal Instruments Series. It takes place approx. 1 century before the events of the Mortal Instruments Series

Complete?: Yes
Genre: Young Adult, Steampunk, Victorian, Action, Demon Hunters, Magic

Thoughts:

I recommend that you read this series after you have read the first 3 books of the Mortal Instrument Series (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass) just so you can recognize last names easily which is what I did (it was also because this book was released AFTER the first 3 had been published of the Mortal Instruments). But by no means do you have to follow this! It would probably be better to read this trilogy first but I find there are things hinted to in the later (books 3+) Mortal Instruments series that connect to the Infernal Devices that might not make sense if you read this series first.

I am a huge steampunk fan. It is definitely one of my favourite genres so this book was a win-win for me: a prequel to one of my all-time favourite series and it takes place in a steampunk world! This is probably why I enjoy this series more than the Mortal Instruments.

One reason I like this series so much is because it is so different from The Mortal Instruments. It’s not just a carbon copy, following similar plots and characters. The whole world Clare creates is different from Mortal Instruments and as such we don’t just see the battles between otherworld creatures and the like. It focuses more on magic and automations instead. It is a unique series on its own but still maintains connections to the follow-up series that fans of the series will appreciate. That being said, you can definitely expect some twists and turns along the way!

Another reason I like this series more is the characters. Like I said in my Mortal Instruments review, the characters make this series for me. However, unlike the Mortal Instruments, I really like Tessa as the heroine. She isn’t annoying to me and while I hate love triangles, I totally get her dilemma between Jem (James) and Will. It should be noted that the love triangle really only begins to make prominence in book 2, The Clockwork Prince though it begins to build in book 1, The Clockwork Angel. I also like all the secondary characters like Charlotte and Sophie as well and I devour their POV sections whenever they appear in the books.

UPDATED: I just finished Clockwork Princess last night and WOW. What a read! It was so hard to put the book down during the last 200 or so pages–despite the fact that I was dead tired I pushed on to finish the series.

I always get worried with prequel series–especially when I have read the sequel series first–because I don’t like predictable books. I like being surprised and I am glad to say that was the case here. While I suspected some things to happen I really had no idea how this book was going to end–and that made it all that more fantastic. It was a beautiful, albeit heartbreaking way, to end the series. I can only really recalling sobbing (shedding a few tears is nothing–so I am talking actual pain-in-the-throat-can’t-catch-my-breath tears here) for one other book (Beautiful Chaos, Beautiful Creatures Series #3) and I definitely did that here. I literally felt every emotion reading this last book and while it is hard to pick a favourite book, I think this last one would be it.

One thing that I love about Clare’s writing is how she ends her series. While the main climax ends (ie whatever they are fighting for), there are always a few additional chapters to tie up the lose ends in her characters’ lives (ie. romances, the Institute, etc.) and as a reader who loves these characters (and has invested a good portion of the last few years to them), I really love this. She doesn’t just give us one chapter to tie up the plot and thrust us into an epilogue. She gives us a solid few chapters of character progression and then an epilogue. The ending to this series was so satisfactory that I feel using the word “satisfactory” is an insult. It was a fantastic ending and readers who fell in love with this series will not be disappointed!

Conclusion:

An awesome steampunk read that really shows how the world Jace and Clary find themselves in centuries later is created. Fans of the Mortal Instrument Series will like this prequel and for those new to the series, this is a great way to get a feel for the world in the Mortal Instruments! A Must Read!

Rating: 5/5 (If I could rate this higher, I totally would)

Similar Reads: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments Series) and The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross (Steampunk Chronicles, #1)

WARNING: IF YOU HAVE not FINISHED (original series) SERIES THE FOLLOWING SYNOPSIS may have SPOILERS!

Synopsis for Clockwork Angel (from Goodreads):
Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa’s power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm’s length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.