Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

The Dark Artifices #2 (Shadowhunters)
Lord of Shadows was not the book that I expected it to be.   While your traditional “evil villain” is still there, causing trouble and waiting in the wings, the true enemy if far more sinister and working in plain sight.  This book was much more about the secondary characters, and less about Julian and Emma (though they still play a pivotal and central role), with great character development for those who stuck more to the background in Lady Midnight.  Kieran and Diana play larger parts in this novel, and we learn much more about their personality, motivations, and background.  The younger generation also gets a lot more attention, especially Livvy, Ty, and Kit, and I loved reading more about them and their unique dynamic.  Alec and Magnus also show up in this book, playing a bit of a larger role than I expected (though I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, up till now Magnus has played a large role in all three of Clare’s Shadowhunter series).  And we finally meet Jamie, though I hope to see much more of him in the next installment.

Clare’s pacing is excellent, especially for the large ensemble cast that she has established.  There are far more threads to maintain in this novel than in any of her previous work, and I felt she wove them together quite well.  She shifts back and forth between groups of characters and simultaneous storylines quickly and efficiently,  never leaving any group for too long.  My only complaint is that sometimes the timeline seemed to get lost between scenes (i.e. is this the same day, a different day, etc), but it didn’t happen often.

My biggest complaint about the novel, was that I didn’t feel like it had a “real” ending.  It felt much more like part one of a single story, and not a novel unto itself.  Usually Clare’s novels have a distinctive story arc, with the end of the novel seeing the culmination of a particular goal (or at least a large step in the progress to a goal), but Lord of Shadows didn’t have that.  Instead we had a series of action and investigative scenes that progress the story, but to not lead to a singular climax (at least not in this book).  Then our story ends more on a down note, with a sudden burst of action and cliffhanger end (which I can only describe as a “shit hitting the fan” moment).

Overall, I really enjoyed the character development and the story, though I would have liked a more definitive conclusion.  There are a lot of questions left at the end of this novel, and it’s going to be tough waiting two years for the conclusion to be released.