Chain of Iron

As James Herondale and Cordelia Carstairs settle into their life together, someone is killing Shadowhunters throughout London. It falls to James, Cordelia, and The Merry Thieves to find out who is committing the crimes and stop them before it’s too late.

This sequel to Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare basically picks up where the first one left off and hits the ground running. There’s a lot more depth to it too; it’s natural to think that the first novel in a series would set everything up for later, but that’s not the case here. It’s almost all about the backstory. Backstories in themselves are interesting, but this is even better with all the dramatic irony happening in the present. In literature, dramatic irony happens when readers know something the characters don’t, and it’s so romantic.

That is to say the dramatic irony in this story concerns romance. And it’s what keeps the pages turning. The adventure is great too, but the relationships between characters are the most interesting part of this story.

The main relationship is basically a love square because it involves four people. Some characters’ love still goes unrequited, and some characters only use love as a manipulative means to an end the audience doesn’t yet know, because that’s essentially what they’ve been taught love is.

It’s also a story where characters begin to realize they don’t always have to do what they’re told, even if it’s too late to repair the damage to relationships that they’ve already caused. However, the character in question here, Grace Blackthorn, probably doesn’t have a redemption arc any time soon.

Another sort of theme in the story is alcoholism and the characters’ relationship to it. James’s parabatai — warrior partner — Matthew Fairchild is fun-loving and always ready for an adventure, but if he doesn’t have a drink in his hands, they’re shaking. Cordelia’s father also struggled with alcohol, but she was shielded from most of his antics growing up by her older brother, Alistair. Only now that she realizes the full extent of her father’s “illness” does she see some of the same symptoms in Matthew and worry for him. Cordelia is the only character to confront him about it; James and his other friends realize he has a problem, but when they bring it up, Matthew gets mad. Therefore, Cordelia is the only person who knows why Matthew has a drinking problem.

Hopefully the next book resolves most of this existing drama satisfactorily.