Over the course of nearly a decade fans of Cassandra Clare have fallen in love with stories of Herondales and Lightwoods and Fairchilds in the alleys of New York and the bridges of Victorian London. Now it’s time to head to Los Angeles for a story of Blackthorns and Carstairs. Open "Lady Midnight" by Cassandra Clare and return to a world of angels and demons and faeries and warlocks and catch up with Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn -- the child soldiers who grew up too fast.
" Lady Midnight" is about friendship, injustice, revenge, love, and first and foremost: family -- what you are willing to do to keep it together, the family you chose, and what the consequences of losing it are.
“Temper us in fire and we grow stronger. When we suffer, we survive.” In the finale of "The Mortal Instruments" book series they were tempered in fire; now it’s been five years since the events of The Dark War which left Emma orphaned and devastated and in desperate need of answers about her parents' sudden deaths. Being an older sibling can be rough. No one knows this better than Julian. With his parents dead and his older siblings exiled, he found himself left to look after four younger brothers and sisters with no help from anyone.
The story is brutal and tragic, but simultaneously funny and charming. The introduction of the newest series highlights how the writer has grown in skill since her first novel of "The Shadowhunter Chronicles" was released in 2007.
The things about Clare’s characters, which may be why readers are fiercely devoted to them even after their teen years, is that although they are not always likable, they are lovable. Even when you disagree with their choices, you understand why they have made them. Supernatural gifts aside, Clare’s characters are just so painfully human.
Clare writes heroines as strong as they are stubborn, and boys as tortured as they are handsome. Forbidden love and epic friendships aside, a common theme of "The Dark Artifices," "Lady Midnight" in particular is injustice. Imagine if it was illegal to have a conversation with your own brother; if saving him would be considered treason: Dura Lex Sed Lex. The law is hard, but it is the law. That is the shadowhunter motto. No one knows that better than the Blackthorns whose siblings were exiled for the blood in their veins are all too familiar with how hard the law can be. After the betrayal of some the Fair Folk (faeries) the shadowhunter government constructed a treaty that stripped the entire population of any and all rights they ever enjoyed. The author’s urban fantasy novels are known for featuring people of color and LGBTQ people, and using subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle metaphors for real-world issues. Any person who loves someone who places on the autism spectrum will find themselves relating to certain family dynamics at play here.
The character’s struggles leave you caring profoundly about these children who are living casualties of war, and wanting the best for them.
This book is written in a way that someone can dive in without having read "The Infernal Devices" or "Mortal Instruments" series and understand the shadow world completely. It is also because of this that longtime fans might find the reiteration of information they already know a bit tedious. Making up for that is that they may receive welcomed Easter eggs about characters from previous series. Amidst a three-year wait, new and old adaptations, at times tumultuous fandom, and the author’s own legal troubles, the novel did not disappoint. "Lady Midnight" is filled with twists and turns and heartbreaking moments, but since it is a Cassandra Clare book series, be warned: the heartbreak is probably only just beginning.
