City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #6)
- May 5, 2015
- 5 min read
It's up to Clary and her friends to save the Shadowhunters - and the world - from Sebastian. Armed with the Infernal Cup, Sebastian is sweeping across the world to turn or kill every Shadowhunter who ends up in his path. The Shadowhunters are forced to withdraw to Idris to keep them safe, but with them gone, who will protect the world from demons who have also begun to rally to Sebastian's cause? Clary, Jace, Simon, Izzy, and Alec are forced to take matters into their own hands and hunt Sebastian after the Shadowhunters are betrayed by some they thought were their allies. The group has one major problem, however: Jace has the one thing that could kill his adoptive brother, but he doesn't know how to use it.
This book was like a gold mine for information about Sebastian. Of course I still don't totally understand him, but I did learn more about his personality, and I enjoyed the development. Sebastian is like a star. He's shinny and pretty, but he's also very cold and lonely, and there's no doubt that he'll go out with a bang. Sebastain craves the company and approval of Jace and Clary, maybe partly because they're related to him and maybe partly because they understand him when nobody else does. Of course, maybe part of it is that he wants the couple close to him so he can keep an eye on them since they can hurt him, but I don't think that's all of it. He's not always the kind of guy who strikes me as acting in cold logic, since he does care for his siblings.
In the end, I just feel really sorry for Sebastian. He feels like his mother abandoned him, which she sort of did when she left him with Valentine, and that his sister hates him, which she does. Valentine made him into the monster he was when he filled his son's veins with demon blood, so Sebastian never got a say in what was going to happen to him when he was a child. And then there are the names. Sebastian isn't even his real name, but rather the name of a boy he killed. Nobody calls him Jonathan. And part of the reason is because Jace has the same name, and his friends don't want to feel like they're talking about Sebastian or comparing him to Jace in any way. So Sebastian doesn't even get to go by his own name. I pity him, and the fact that Cassie Clare can make me sympathize with an evil character just goes to show what a great author she is.
Looking back, Clary has had some great development as well. She's so different from the normal girl she used to be, going from an everyday girl who loved art to a demon hunter. It's actually a bit sad, because she doesn't draw anymore. It's a pity that she hasn't had the time or the heart to draw with everything that's been going on around her. In one chapter of the book, I saw the deepest wishes of the friends, and Clary's was sort of heartbreaking. She wishes that her family was whole and that she was accepted for who she is instead of being shunned for being Valentine's daughter. Clary wants peace and, even more tragic, she wishes that Sebastian could have been a normal older brother who watched out for her and cared about her. (Well, he does, but not quite in the way she wants.) Clary says she can't forgive her brother, and I agree that the thinks he's done are too horrible to be forgiven, but I don't think she hates him. She pities how broken he is. To take a page out of Ender's Game, Clary understands her brother, and when you truly understand someone, you also love them.
Speaking of people who understand Sebastian: Jace. Jace is haunted by what he did under Sebastian's control, and he wonders if he liked doing it, despite what he tells himself about it being wrong. Now that he has the nasty habit of setting things on fire, he doesn't trust himself not to hurt Clary and must put up the emotional walls that she managed to break down, least he lose control and hurt someone. If not for Clary, I think he'd put those walls back up completely. Clare manages to do this without him taking many steps back, however, which is nice and keeps him from being frustrating.
Last, but certainly not least, is Izzy. The Lightwood daughter might be a brave, strong young Shadowhunter, but she doesn't have much experience with love because she's too scared she'll get her heart broken and doesn't let people get close enough to her. The fact that she's let Simon in is heartwarming, showing that she's learning not to be so scared. At times, she and Simon are a little awkward, but that's because Simon has as little experience as she has. In a way, that makes them good for each other. Beneath her tough exterior, however, Izzy is still a bit insecure and can't let go of Simon's past almost-relationship with Clary, and she'll have to let go of that. She's a very relatable character in her worries, and that helped me identify with the warrior.
I'm heartbroken to see the series go. City of Heavenly Fire is over 700 pages long, but I devoured it too fast and it flew by! There was tons of action to keep my heart racing and fighting mixed with humor side-by-side with thoughtful, heartfelt conversations that both made me laugh and touched me. I admire the complex, layered characters and they're all very real, leading me to cry at all the deaths - even the ones you might not imagine being sad about! The series is a phenomenal blend of modern-day New York and fantastical Idris, chock-full of creativity and magic with beautiful storytelling, a complex plot, and plenty of deep thoughts and quotes to illustrate the story and the characters' thoughts, leaving the series and characters both entertaining and thought-provoking. Even the chapter titles are mysterious, and the covers are glossy and whimsical. 5/5 stars! I don't think I can wait until 2016 for Lady Midnight, the first book in Cassie's next trilogy about the Shadowhunters. If you're craving more Clare magic, be sure to read her prequel trilogy, The Infernal Devices.
By the way, the series is being turned into a TV series called "Shadowhunters". I wonder what it's going to be like. I do hope that they have a different cast than they had in the movie. It wasn't at all like what I had hoped it had been. Especially Jace. Did you see that monstrosity of a casting choice? For my Jace?
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