Lord of Shadows

Last updated
Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2)
Lord of Shadows book cover.jpg
Author Cassandra Clare
Audio read by James Marsters [1]
Cover artist Cliff Nielsen
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series The Dark Artifices
GenreFantasy
Publisher Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date
May 23, 2017
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback), ebook, audiobook
Pages699
ISBN 9781442468405
OCLC 951070885
Preceded by Lady Midnight  
Followed by Queen of Air and Darkness  

Lord of Shadows is a young adult urban fantasy novel by Cassandra Clare. It is the second book in The Dark Artifices , which is chronologically the fourth series in The Shadowhunter Chronicles . The book is set in the Los Angeles area in 2012. The titles from each chapter are derived from the poem Dreamland by Edgar Allan Poe. [2]

Contents

Plot

A month after the events of Lady Midnight , Clary Fairchild and Jace Herondale visit the Los Angeles Institute to ask Mark Blackthorn about the entrance to Faerie, as they believe that Clary's brother, Sebastian Morgenstern, had left a weapon at the hands of the Seelie Queen. Clary confesses to Emma Carstairs that she has been dreaming about her death. The Shadowhunters investigate Malcolm Fade's house and find out that he had been consorting with the Unseelie King. When they return, the Institute has been taken over by Centurions, graduates from the Scholomanche, led by Zara Dearborn, who reveals that she is engaged to Diego Rosales. This upsets Cristina, since she has just reconciled with him. Meanwhile, Kit, having learned that he is a Shadowhunter named Christopher Herondale, tries to leave the Institute several times, but is dissuaded by Jace and Ty. He is, however, barred from visiting the local Shadow Market because of his status. Clary and Jace subsequently leave for Faerie.

Emma, Julian, and Mark are visited by Gwyn of the Wild Hunt, who pleads with Mark to save Kieran. Kieran had killed the Unseelie King's right-hand man, Iarlath, and is about to be executed. The trio and Cristina enter Faerie, where they navigate through its deceptive environment as they are confronted by their desires: Emma's and Julian's forbidden love and Cristina's and Mark's newfound love for each other, which binds the latter with a curse. When they reach the Unseelie Court, the group challenge the King for a trial by combat for Kieran's release, with Emma becoming a champion. She briefly hesitates when her opponent assumes her father's face, but manages to kill him. As the group leave with an amnesiac Kieran, they are pursued by the Unseelie faeries until a Seelie faerie, Nene, arrives at the last second to take them to the Seelie Queen. Nene is revealed to be Mark's aunt, sister of his mother, Nerissa.

Back in Los Angeles, Kit, Ty, and Livvy spy on Zara, who wants to take over the Institute and plans to destroy all Downworlders. When they return, they see the Blackthorns' uncle, Arthur, rambling incoherently, and are told about his condition by Diana Wrayburn. The Institute is subsequently attacked by a resurrected Malcolm Fade, still demanding a Blackthorn sacrifice. Arthur sacrifices himself while Diana portals herself and everyone else to the London Institute. Malcolm kills Arthur to bring back his lover, Annabel Blackthorn, who immediately kills him before walking away with the Black Volume.

The entire event is watched by Julian. The Seelie Queen offers Julian a way to break his parabatai bond with Emma in exchange for retrieving the Black Volume, then asks the others for help to overthrow the Unseelie King. She chooses Kieran to become ambassador between the Shadowhunters and faeries. Kieran in turn pledges fealty to Cristina. To keep him contented, Mark and Emma agree to stop pretending to be in a relationship with each other. The group then ride with the Wild Hunt towards the London Institute, where they reunite with the others.

After getting his first rune, Kit meets the ghost of Jessamine Lovelace and obtains information about Malcolm's former home in England, located in Polperro. Heading there, Emma and Julian learn the full story of Malcolm and Annabel's past: the two were captured when they attempted to leave with the Black Volume, with Annabel being executed after she was led to believe that Malcolm abandoned her. Annabel briefly visits Julian but refuses to hand over the Black Volume. From a faerie, Julian and Emma learn about the church where Annabel was resurrected in Talland. However, it turns out to be a trap and the two have no choice but to burn the church down using a heightened form of their parabatai bond.

Back at London, Kit, Ty, and Livvy visit the former Blackthorn Manor and find a crystal containing Annabel's memories. Afterwards, they visit the local Shadow Market, meeting a warlock named Shade, who helps them extract the memories. When demons attack them, Magnus Bane arrives to help them return to the Institute. Kit and Ty discover a hidden passage to the Cornwall Institute and leave behind a letter for Annabel. Cristina gets close with Kieran and follows him when he visits his brother, Adaon, to convince him to take over the Unseelie throne upon their father's death. However, they are ambushed by another brother, Erec. Kieran kills Erec, but not before the latter tells him that their father has sent the Riders of Mannan to hunt the group.

Dru is secretly visited by Diego's brother, Jaime, and lets him see Cristina. He tells her that Zara is engaged to Diego so she can take the Rosales family heirloom, the Eternidad, which is currently in Jaime's possession. Dru touches the Eternidad and is briefly transported to Faerie, where she meets a boy named Ash. When Cristina and Kieran try to contact Adaon again, they are linked to the Unseelie King, who tries to manipulate Kieran by returning his memories. Kieran is upset, but is convinced by Cristina to forgive Mark.

Meanwhile, Diana heads to Idris to talk with Consul Penhallow. She begins dating Gwyn, confessing that she is transgender, which is the reason why she refuses Penhallow's offer to lead the Los Angeles Institute, as she does not want to be outed. The two save Kit, Ty, and Livvy when they are attacked by the Riders, who also attack Emma and Julian until the former manages to kill one of them. Diana discovers that patches of dying lands have appeared in Idris and learns that they are not an isolated incident. Magnus brings Emma and Julian back to the London Institute. There, the Riders once again attack but are defeated by Annabel, who received Ty's message and came to their aid. She agrees to testify at the Clave and give Julian the Black Volume, which he takes a copy with his phone, if she is protected by Magnus and given the Blackthorn Manor. Magnus removes Cristina's and Mark's curse and also advises Julian to talk to the Inquisitor, Robert Lightwood, so Emma and Julian can voluntarily exile and legally have a relationship.

Emma, Cristina, and the Blackthorns set towards Idris, while Diego takes Kieran to the Scholomanche for his safety. The Blackthorns reunite with their eldest sister, Helen, now married to the Consul's daughter, Aline. When it is Annabel's turn to be interrogated, Magnus suddenly falls ill, rendering him unable to protect her. She is repeatedly insulted and experiences flashbacks of her previous interrogation. Freaking out, she steals the Mortal Sword and kills Robert with it before engaging in a frenzied murder among the Clave. Confronting her, Emma surprisingly manages to destroy the Mortal Sword with her own sword, Cortana. However, Annabel uses the shards to kill Livvy. As Julian is left to cradle Livvy, Emma tries to follow Annabel but fails, only glimpsing her taking off with the Unseelie King before disappearing to parts unknown. [3] [4]

Characters

Reception

RT Book Reviews gave the book four and a half stars, marking it as a top pick and stating "The Infernal Devices devotees will find this a bittersweet return as current characters find reminders of their Victorian predecessors while they wrestle with present adversity." [5] A reviewer for the Deseret News also reviewed Lord of Shadows, writing 'Aside from the traumatic ending, readers can expect to enjoy a quick read despite the book's length — this is the sort of book readers can expect to read well into the night.' Booklist claimed that not all of the characters are developed and the book drags on for 700 pages but it has enough to satisfy fans of the series. [6] Common Sense Media [7] also reviewed the book, claiming that it was melodramatic but it had enough intrigue to keep the readers interest.

It was a Publishers Weekly 2017 bestseller. [8]

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References

  1. Ganz, Jami. "Buffy actor James Marsters reads Cassandra Clare's new novel: Listen now". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  2. "Cassandra Clare". Cassandra Clare. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  3. "Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare". Recaptains. 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  4. Clare, Cassandra. Lord of shadows (Paperback ed.). London. ISBN   9781471116674. OCLC   1038065138.
  5. Sutherland, Kerry. "LORD OF SHADOWS". RT Book Reviews. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  6. "Lord of Shadows". kcls.bibliocommons. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  7. Carrie R. Wheadon. "Lord of Shadows: The Dark Artifices, Book 2". www.commonsensemedia.org. Common Sense Media Inc. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  8. "2017 Children's Bestsellers: Thriving Backlists, Popular Tie-Ins, and More". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz LLC. February 27, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2017.