Angels from the Realms of Gory

City of Bones
Cassandra Clare
Simon & Schuster

A few months ago, I wrote a fairly scathing review of the last three books in the Twilight series. Aside from the dismal writing, my main issue with Meyer's work was the fact that the main character, Bella Swan, was flat, uninteresting, and almost always defined by her relationship with her vampire boyfriend.  While the dangerous relationship had definite appeal, Bella was horrifically dull and I was glad when I turned the last page.

Not so with City of Bones.  I desperately wanted this book to continue.  Set in present-day New York, the novel introduces us to Clary, a bright, beautiful, artistic girl who likes to go clubbing with her BFF, Simon.  One night while they are out dancing, Clary's world changes forever when she sees the Nephilim -- or Shadowhunters -- who are protecting the city from the threats of vampires, werewolves and faeries.  The thing is, humans aren't supposed to be able to see these creatures and that is our first hint that Clary isn't as normal as she seems.

This book was a fantastic read -- there's teenage angst, unrequited love, jealousy, horror, blood and gore, and definitely lots of intrigue. Like all good fantasy novels, it also explores some pretty serious themes such as racism, homophobia, class inequality, and social justice.   If you liked Twilight, I would suggest that you give this one a whirl.  The characters are more fully drawn, the writing is a hundred times better, and you might just fall in love with an bad-boy named Jace.  Four shining swords out of five.