A generation ago, Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn’t succeed… but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt.
I’ve been a fan of this series from the word Go. I think it’s one of, if not the best middle-grade fantasy series and I even re-read the first four books which is pretty unusual for me! Plus, as this was my second read of this book, I’ve started picking up on the little things Holly Black and Cassandra Clare have added as foreshadowing and it just showed how cleverly written they are.
I love the character development that’s happening book-to-book. The kids are kids but they’re slowly growing up at a reasonable rate, and it’s just such a realistic timeline. There’s no jumps to suddenly being a grown-up, like some other books I’ve read. I’ve mentioned in previous reviews that the Jasper/Callum friendship is a treat and it continues to be great, they’re kids being kids!
“You’re the only one I can talk to, Call,” said Jasper.
“You mean because I’m chained to this floor and can’t get away?”
“Exactly.”
I really appreciated the addition of queer representation in this book as well. An established character told the story of falling in love and it wasn’t a big thing. It was just a man loving a man and it was so normalised. More of this, please. Although, I still wish there were a few more female characters. It’s really the only thing that lets down the series for me, but we’re talking two female to five or six male characters and I really hoped in my review of the third book that this would even out. It hasn’t, which is a bit disappointing.
Since starting, I’ve always been waiting for these books to go full Harry Potter dark on me, but I’m pleased to say that they haven’t. They keep up their overall optimism and I love them for it. They even balance out the sadness with some comedy which made me laugh out loud.
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