Review: Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Guysssss. I liked this book. I liked it very much. It does sort of feel like I just read very many books, but when you have SEVENTEEN POV CHARACTERS and 880 (891 if you count the short story) pages. 

SPOILERS. Not super specific most of the time but enough that I wouldn’t read this if you haven’t read the book.

That set up for The Wicked Powers. The wait for 2022 is going to be killer. Ty and Kit and Dru and Kieran and Clary and Jace and Jace and Alec and Magnus and Ash and Jem and Tessa and Cristina and Emma and the rest of the Blackthorns. That is going to be an epic Shadowhunter Chronicles ending. I cannot wait to be literally 28 and still sad about what’s going on with these people. I will probably be a THIRTY YEAR OLD when the last Wicked Powers book comes out. 

Back to this book.

I felt the handling of the political climate in the books and in real life was great. I love that it has hope for a better path, that we see the people leading the way through that path, and I also love that it is not easy or achievable with a simple conversation. I read a review saying that this book was grim, and I disagree with that, I think this book looks at complicated issues and tries to handle them in a way that reflects real life around the time it was written. If our heroes had just jumped in and made the cohort and all it represents just go away easily, or if the cohort hadn’t been full of the nationalism and prejudice that we see in the world right now, then this book would not have landed as well. 

I have long wanted to write something about politics in fantasy books (maybe specifically YA) that I have read, and if I ever did tracking Cassandra Clare’s interest in the dismantling of fascism would be a pretty easy place to start. We have seen so many forms of fascism throughout the series that she has written, and her evolution of its ideals is really well done. She shows so many different faces of the same underlying hatred of plurality. If only I could study politics in books. That would be bomb as fuck. 

So much happened in this book I don’t even know where to start. I cannot summarize this plot, I would need more characters than my fingers are currently up to typing. But I was very impressed by the distinct voices of all the characters in this book. I was able to keep people and their relationships and plot lines straight in my head very easily and that is not always true in a large series with so many characters. And again, 17 POV characters in this book. And I love 15 of them, hate one (as a person, he was important to the narrative), and have no idea how to feel about the last.

I adored seeing all of our old friends. Do I want more Simon? Yes, I am obsessed with him. But I really enjoyed seeing a lot of Alec and Magnus, and Clary and Jace! Along with other TMI favorites. I am so interested in seeing more of Alec’s plotline. And the double Jace situation is going to be fucked up. I can’t wait. 

Kit and Ty bread your heart in this book. The ending conflict between them is a Problem That Can Be Solved With A Conversation™ but it is mostly understandable why that conversation didn’t happen. Also, it is wonderful that we will be seeing a lot more Tessa and Jem in The Wicked Powers. AND A BABYYY. I am 100% a Jem person. 

I am crazy interested in finishing all Shadowhunter Chronicles books, and The Eldest Curses which is obviously a part of this world but is not a part of the core five? I’m not exactly sure. But I am ready for it all. April 2nd for The Read Scrolls of Magic and November 19th of Chain of Gold. 

I have been pulled into this world too deeply and I don’t imagine I will be able to exit it before I have read every book.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads and finished it on January 6th, 2019. First book of the year!