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An inheritance of shadows. A love in chains. An unconquerable foe.
Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to London in hopes of preventing the family’s ruin. Cordelia’s mother wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is determined to be a hero rather than a bride. Soon Cordelia encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms, secret assignations, and supernatural salons, where vampires and warlocks mingle with mermaids and magicians. All the while, she must hide her secret love for James, who is sworn to marry someone else.
But Cordelia’s new life is blown apart when a shocking series of demon attacks devastate London. These monster are nothing like those that Shadowhunters have fought before–these demons walk in daylight, strike down the unwary with incurable poison, and seem impossible to kill. London is immediately quarantined. Trapped in the city, Cordelia’s friends discover that a dark legacy has gifted them with incredible powers–and now forces a brutal choice that will reveal the true cruel price of being a hero.
Synopsis of “Chain of Gold”
It took me forever to finish reading Chain of Gold, the latest instalment in Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter world. It wasn’t a bad or boring book. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. My inability to concentrate on it might be chalked up to the state of the world right now. It’s only June, and so far this year Australia has had record-breaking wild fires, 11 new volcanic eruptions, including the Taal Volcano erupting in the Philippines, South America is beset with earthquakes, the world has been ravaged by a global pandemic, widespread protests against systematic racism and police brutality, killer wasps… honestly, there’s so much that I haven’t even listed there. It’s no wonder if I’m exhausted and turning to the comfort of old, familiar stories rather than new material.
That being said, this book deserves my honest assessment.
Characters
This book has a large cast of characters. The protagonists are, of course, James and Cordelia, but the other main characters include Lucie, Thomas, Alastair, and Christopher. Notable secondary characters include Anna, Alastair, Charles, Ariadne, Jesse, and Grace. This series may also have Cassandra Clare’s biggest LGBTQA+ cast yet. Just among the main and secondary characters, there are two (possibly three) gay men, two lesbians, a non-binary person (female pronouns used), and a bisexual character. Magnus Bane makes an appearance and continues to be a bisexual icon.
Each character was well-rounded and interesting, with their own flaws and motivations. I also liked that some characters had the same flaws, so that we could see how their individual personalities dealt with their flaws. Who takes steps to improve, and who does not.
I went into this book with a deep dislike of Alastair from reading his actions in the story collections Ghosts of the Shadow Market and Tales from Shadowhunter Academy. However, I ended up liking him by the end. Here is a complex character who has made a myriad of poor decisions in the past, some selfish, and some well-meant. He now has to face the people he has hurt by his choices and learn that forgiveness is not easily obtained just because you are sorry and you have grown as a person. The harm that he caused was still harm, and his victims are not required to forgive him. I’m sure this drama will rear its head in the next two books as well.
I also went in with a distrust for Grace, which morphed into deep dislike mixed with pity. Like Alastair, she has made poor decisions regarding the people around her, largely motivated by her own self-preservation and desire to save the one person she cares deeply for. Unlike Alastair, she continues to harm people around her in the present while rationalizing that it is “necessary” for her goals. While I pity her for being raised by Tatiana, who is deeply disturbed and malicious, some of the things Grace has done are absolutely horrible.
Charles, though. I expected to like Charles because I love his parents, Charlotte and Henry. I do not. His self-preservation choices I could forgive if he weren’t an unbearable ass on top of it. No thank you.
Plot
The plot was intriguing, if a bit complicated. Some mysteries were neatly wrapped up by the end of the book, but there are some ongoing mysteries given the fact that it’s the first book in a planned trilogy.
I won’t regale you with my dislike for love triangles since that’s a YA genre problem and not book-specific. Honestly, James and Cordelia’s romance would be so sweet, beautiful, and healthy if not for interference from Grace and Tatiana. It might even be one of my favourite (heterosexual) romances that Clare has written to date. The characters have a deep respect and affection for each other, even as Clare puts them through the romantic trials and tribulations demanded by the YA genre. I am excited to see how their problems will be resolved in future books.
One thing that exasperates me is that apparently Cassandra Clare cannot write a series without someone being brought back from the dead, or where someone is obsessed with bringing someone back from the dead. The only exception I can think of is The Infernal Devices. I have no problem with this theme, but it gets repetitive when it’s every. Single. Time. There are other things to write about and other ways to add drama.
Overall, I enjoyed the book despite my current difficulty concentrating. I recommend it if you like action, romance, and spooky mysteries that involve ghosts and demons.
