The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – Novel by Cassandra Clare
via Wikipedia.org
As many of my loyal readers know by now, there is nothing I enjoy more than a riveting YA fantasy series. In stating that, I really wanted to like The Mortal Instruments series, and after reading the first installment City of Bones, it wasn’t that I didn’t like it… I just wasn’t obsessed. Personally, I like a book that I can’t put down. I like story that is so engaging I think about it when I am not reading it and long after I have finished. I like a novel that is a quality piece of work and stimulates the mind, and inspires me to write.
Cassandra Clare’s series is just… eh. The story is ok, and even nonsensical at times, and the writing is nothing to call home about. While other YA authors such as Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games) and Veronica Roth (Divergent) aren’t necessarily better technically, Clare doesn’t suck the reader in a provide enough page-turning material to make this truly worthwhile. However, I did find myself consistently going back to this book and, albeit not desperately, wanting to know the truth about Clary and her relations to the demonic world of Shadowhunters. I can see the audience this book can reach and why it has a following, but in a way I think I am just too old for this.
While the ending to this story was a cliffhanger in the traditional sense of the word, it didn’t really leave me hanging. I was quite confused by the direction the novel took and wasn’t completely sure how the integrity of the story would redeem itself, but I wouldn’t completely shun the idea of finishing the rest of the series. Honestly, there are just too many other books I want to read, and none that I want to sacrifice for the second installment of this series.
“The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” – Directed by Harald Zwart
via Wikipedia.org
This movie, to be quite blunt, was awful. I couldn’t even finish watching it. I am a firm believer that even if the book is just mildly invigorating, the movie can be much better (ie: my Mook review of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief”) and I was hoping that expectation would be met in this movie. I was wrong. Lily Collins, while beautiful, is kind of pathetic as Clary and Jace, while mysterious, is flat and lacking any kind of depth.
The biggest problem I had with this film was pace. It was like this movie was on speed. The first 30 minutes spanned a huge portion of the book and left the viewer with no explanations, no insight, and no passion. I know I am not the only person with this opinion either, as it completely tanked at the box office and filming for the second movie “City of Ashes” was put on pause (the movie has since been reinstated).
I almost feel that I am not even at liberty to give this Mook a rating since I couldn’t finish watching the film, but I don’t think it would have made much of a difference. Fellow mookologists, what did you think of this film?
Mook Rating – ★
mookology. 