Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Unwelcome to New YorkCity of Ashes takes place in the emptiest vision of New York City we've seen since Stanley Kubrick tried to trick us into thinking Eyes Wide Shut was filmed there. Clary gets r...
What's Up With the Title?
In City of Bones we got to visit the Bone City, aka the Silent City. It's a creepy place made of bones—what, you were expecting gingerbread?—and watched over by the Silent Brothers, keeper...
What's Up With the Epigraph?
This Bitter LanguageI know your streets, sweet city,I know the demons and angels that flockAnd roost in your boughs like birds.I know you, river, as if you flowed through my heart.I am your warrior...
What's Up With the Ending?
Both Clary and Valentine suffer major setbacks at the end of City of Ashes while Jace and Simon come out ahead.First, Valentine's evil plot, while not necessarily thwarted, is somewhat diminished w...
Tough-o-Meter
City of Ashes cranks up the dramatic intensity from its already super-intense beginnings in book one—Will they or won't they?! Gross, gruesome new demons! A crazy cliffhanger!—but the basic rea...