Chain of Gold

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare doesn’t quite pick up where The Infernal Devices left off. This first book in The Last Hours trilogy is set a generation later, in Edwardian London. It introduces a whole new set of characters, including but not limited to Will Herondale and Tessa Gray’s children, James and Lucie.

Collectively, James and his friends are known as The Merry Thieves, a reference to the legends of Robin Hood. When she’s not being pulled into The Merry Thieves’ schemes, Lucie enjoys writing stories for her friend and future parabatai — a Shadowhunter’s warrior partner — Cordelia Carstairs.

This story is much more than Robin Hood and rainbows. It’s a story of complicated unrequited love, newfound family heritage, and the Shadow world generally going haywire. Demons are coming out during the day and poisoning Shadowhunters that they happen to injure. It’s up to James and his friends to figure out what’s going on and put a stop to it.

These new characters are a lot of fun. James is the leader of his ragtag crew. James’s cousin, Thomas Lightwood is the oldest, known for being kind and honest. Their cousin Christopher Lightwood is the not-quite-mad scientist, always trying to incorporate mundane technology into Shadowhunter weapons. Despite being the Consul’s — the leader of the Shadowhunter government known as the Clave — son, James’s parabatai Matthew Fairchild is the troubled bad boy who finds comfort with Downworlders and is almost always drunk or drinking.

The girls can more than keep up with the boys. Lucie can exert power over ghosts, commanding them to do what she wants if the need arises. And Cordelia has Cortana, a sword that can cut through anything. This book is actually Cortana’s origin story. The sword first appears in the hands of Emma Carstairs during the events of The Dark Artifices trilogy.

The unrequited love in this story is really frustrating. Some of the characters are blind to what’s right in front of them because they’re busy pining after someone who’s not good for them at all. Others have to hide who they are with the hope that the person they love won’t forget about them.

Family heritage and the fact that the Shadow world is currently topsy-turvy are somewhat related. Chain of Gold’s epilogue promises a wild ride for the rest of the trilogy.