City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2)

#548
Title: City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Year: 2008
453 pages

More angsty than its predecessor. At many points the plot advances solely because the emo adolescent protagonists are too sunk in ruminative contemplation of their own experiences and therefore can't seem to attend to clues, signs, warnings, or even actual in-the-moment danger. Psychologically, Jace is too opaque for me to really believe in or identify with, so his actions don't always make sense. In this volume it becomes clear that the quest is to collect objects of power. Another theme is Clary and Jace's self-discovery, here primarily expressed as revelations about their unique characteristics. The Clave starts looking a little more sectarian and dingy here, which increases the reader's identification with Valentine and his goals, if not his methods. I will not conduct a psychoanalytic textual study to explore why the bad guy/fallen angel is named "Valentine."