The Lost Book of the White
The Lost Book of the White
Authors: Cassandra Clare, Wesley Chu
Series: The Eldest Curses 2
Genre: LGBT, Adventure
Get: Kindle Edition ; Paperback
The Lost Book of the White = Book of White is missing?
The Book of White is the same book that Clary found in the Mortal Instruments series, if you watched the series or read the book, you will be familiar with it. Hence the story begins not long after The Red Scrolls of Magic , where Magnus realises that his best buddy Ragnor is still alive and working with Shinyun Jung. Since it is a progression story, you need to read the first book before going onto The Lost Book of the White.
A Closer Look at the Cover
My biggest issue with the cover is that the co-author, Wesley Chu’s name is a lot smaller than Cassandra Clare’s. It is as his contribution is less than hers, or the publisher is using her name to draw in buyers. Either way, it’s not that great. The picture shows Magnus, because he’s the one with power, and looking slightly unlike his glamourous self. If you have been a faithful follower, you know that his powers do not manifest as red. That is actually in the story, so I am happy that someone read the book while designing this. Despite not looking his best, Magnus shows that he can still kick ass.
Story
The Lost Book of the White is still about preventing Demons from ruling the Mortal Plane, only this time Magnus and Alec is in charge. Our favourite characters show up as supporters, but the heroes are definitely the two gorgeous men. This time, Magnus faces another problem: he has been hit by a mystical mace by Shinyun Jung, twice… if he does not willingly receive the third strike he will die. But if he accepts another thorn, he will be a willing slave for Sammael, who is somehow not the same as Lucifer.
Christian lore is really hard to understand I think…
So Sammael is a Forsaken/ Greater Demon Lord who is stuck in a different plane trying to get back to the Mortal Plane. During the start, ShinYun Jung says that she has a plan to bring him back and let him dominate Earth. She’s mad, we all know that.
Thoughts
My first thought is that this book is disappointing for a Shadowhunter series, there’s always a lot of issues and problems, they seem to resolve itself by the end of the book. In other series, there is a sense of foreboding or a panic that I love about Cassandra Clare. Perhaps the collaboration is not a strong one? Or maybe I am asking too much, because by now every Shadowhunter series feels like a rinse and repeat storyline.
Not that I don’t like good versus evil, but I used to love knowing more about Magnus, or at least see how the challenges affect his relationship with everyone. What irks me is that Alec has been nothing but supportive, not much yelling match. Seriously… a little too vanilla.
Even Clary and Jace had their moments of doubt. I just don’t feel that their relationship is genuine enough to experience real challenges. I don’t want to think Alec and Magnus have fewer problems as a couple because the authors are afraid of backlash. I mean, all relationships have problems, and why there’s none in this book? The last one had plenty of screaming matches.
Verdict
The Elder Scrolls series is disappointing. At first I thought the first book was a slow start, but this one too fell flat. The ending is not terribly drawing me to want to read the third book, and I am questioning if the Shadowhunter World needs fresh blood? There are a few series within the franchise already, hence I am not very enthusiastic about this one =(
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