Same Book, Different Era?

Last time, I wrote about a marvelous new book by Cassandra Clare called Clockwork Angel. Well, I found a better book by the same author: City of Bones, the first book of the Mortal Instruments trilogy.  Not only was this book better, but it was set in modern-day New York City instead of Victorian London.  With slight modifications of characters and relationships, the story is basically built on the same skeleton as the newer book.

Currently, I'm reading the second book of the Mortal Instrument trilogy, City of Ashes, which develops the theme from the first book.  I just hope that the sequel to Clockwork Angel isn't a re-telling of City of Ashes. Otherwise, I'll have to assume that we have an author of young adult books following in the footsteps of Danielle Steel: same basic story, different cities, different names, different occupations, but bottom line, the same plot.  Don't get me wrong--I must have read at least eight of Steel's books before I stopped.  The entire time I was hoping to see something novel, but no such luck.  For YAs, I suspect the better readers will spot the sameness right away, leaving an unread and forgotten book under the bed, gathering dust balls and essence of dirty clothes.  Or maybe not.

Let me tell you a bit about City of Bones. This book introduces the Nephilim, or Shadowhunters, that half human, half Angel warrior race that protects humankind (called mundanes by all other races) from invasion by the demon world.  Clary, the 15-year-old heroine, is in a teen night club with her best friend (but not boyfriend), Simon.  Out of the corner of her eye, she spots a beautiful girl disappear into a doorway marked "No Admittance."  After a few seconds, two young men whose handsomeness matches her beauty ease through the same door.  Clary decides to investigate, and comes face to face with her very first other-worldly creature, who is promptly dispatched by the trio she saw entering the room.  Interestingly, Clary should not have been able to see the trio or the monster, as they were using a glamor to hide from human eyes.

Clary returns to Simon, whom she had abandoned without explanation about her hasty exit.  Suddenly, she gets a frantic call from her mother to stay away from home--to go anywhere but home.  This, of course, makes Clary all the more anxious to get home and help her mother from whatever it was that brought an end to the call with her mother screaming.  Clary runs home to find a strange-looking monster in the apartment.  It had torn apart every room in the apartment except for her own bedroom.  Now it seems interested in having Clary for a snack.  It corners her and knocks her down.  She hears it talking: "Tasty."  Without knowing what she is doing, she manages to shove a cellphone-like device into the creature's mouth.  Clary had forgotten to return the device to its Nephilim owner, Jace, and now it seems to be getting hot in her pocket.  Maybe it will explode.  But no. The monster begins to choke instead.  Clary manages to get out from under its weight and runs from the house, not knowing where to go next.  She does not want to go to Simon's home, because the monster or others might follow her. She tries calling her mother's best friend, Luke, who often stays with her or has her stay with him if her mother is away for an art show.  Luke is not picking up.  Suddenly, Jace appears.  So the adventures begin.

In not too long, we discover that Jace and his partners, brother and sister pair Alec and Isabelle, came by because of a reported demon sighting.  After checking the apartment for more monsters, the three suggest that Clary spend the night at their home, a stone manor magically disguised as a church.  From there, the story is much the same as in Clockwork Angel, but with better monsters, a somewhat better "understory," and interesting twists of the screw.  Before long, the Shadowhunter teens and Clary discover that they are looking for a magic chalice which they must keep away from a middle-aged Nephilim-turned-evil, Valentine, whose main interest is to rule the world.

Needless to say, Clary and Jace have an attraction for each other.  Simon, Clary's best friend, is meanwhile trying to tell her that he is in love with her.  For a little while it seems that Isabelle is interested in Simon, and Clary is not sure how she feels about that.  While all this life is going on, the teens are racing to find the chalice before Valentine can find it.  And near the end of the book, surprising information comes out that not only affects the outcome of this book, but sets up a tension for the second book.  This is a well-engineered series so far.

I am almost finished with the second book of the Mortal Instruments trilogy, City of Ashes.  It, too, is a good read--even better than City of Bones, perhaps because the characters are developed further as the new quest is completed.

Happy reading!!