by Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson
Released May 21, 2013
by Simon & Schuster Audio
Length: 1 hour, 18 minutes
Read by: George Blagden
Source: received a free download for review.
Summary from Goodreads: Magnus Bane has a royal role in the French Revolution—if the angry mobs don’t spoil his spells. One of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles. While in France, immortal warlock Magnus Bane finds himself attempting to rescue the royal family from the horrors of the French Revolution—after being roped into this mess by a most attractive count. Naturally, the daring escape calls for invisible air balloons…
My take: I'm fascinated by stories of the horrors of the French Revolution -- in fact, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly is one of my favorite YA books of all time. So I was excited to discover that this side story about Magnus Bane takes place in eighteenth-century Paris. Can't you just picture Magnus hanging out with Marie Antoinette? I can, but I never pictured the two of them together in a hot air balloon. Hang on, I'm getting ahead of myself. In this story, Magnus is approached by a Swedish nobleman named Axel, who begs for Magnus' help in smuggling the royal family to safety. I wasn't sure if this was going to be alt-history or just a weaving of Magnus into real history, and I don't want to tell you which. But the story was poignant and beautifully read by George Blagden. I thought he did a fantastic job with the many and varied accents that were required.
by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan
Released on July 9, 2013
by Simon & Schuster Audio
Length: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Read by Andrew Scott
Source: received a free download for review purposes.
Summary from Goodreads: When immortal warlock Magnus Bane attends preliminary peace talks between the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders in Victorian London, he is charmed by two very different people: the vampire Camille Belcourt and the young Shadowhunter, Edmund Herondale. Will winning hearts mean choosing sides?My take: Those of you who have been reading these mini-stories, waiting and waiting for some characters you might recognize will find satisfaction in this third installment of the Bane Chronicles. Magnus is in London, where he meets three intriguing new people: Camille Belcourt, vampire, Edmund Herondale, Shadowhunter, and Linette Owens, Welsh heiress. When Edmund and Linette meet, sparks fly. And trouble ensues. Fans of the Infernal Devices series will recognize many familiar names -- Morgenstern, Fairchild, Starkweather….
While I loved meeting young Edmund and Linette, their romance did happen offstage (this is a short story) and I felt sad knowing what would become of them. I also wasn't crazy about the reader of this one. He was a little mumbly at times, and it didn't seem like the accents he did were always consistent.
Still, I think diehard fans of Cassie Clare are really going to enjoy this story.
I LOVE the title for the third one. I haven't read the Clare books at all and I'm not much interested but I still like seeing your thoughts on them, which are intriguing without knowing anything about the books.
ReplyDeleteDid you see the City of Bones film? I will watch it on TV but right now I'm obsessed with the soundtrack song "Almost Is Never Enough." It is very appealing to the teenager in me.
(I am working on some thoughts to wrap up Pimpernel and how to post about it and will send you an email probably this afternoon/evening.)
I have not seen it, but I'll check out the song...
DeleteI'm still deciding whether or not to read these.... were they stories or vignettes?
ReplyDeleteThey're pretty short -- 40 pages or so. They are self-contained stories.
DeleteI REALLLY need to read these, don't I? Lol. Nice reviews!
ReplyDeleteHappy reading
Jackie
http://www.nobentspines.blogspot.com
If you are a big fan of the series, I'd say yes ;)
DeleteGlad you liked them overall.
ReplyDeleteAndreea
Not sure if I want to read these or not.
ReplyDeleteI guess I've made the executive decision to wait until all these Bane Chronicles publish into a single book next year,because GOD KNOWS, Magnus Bane is my favorite character in both the TMI and TID series. But it's cool that you're vetting them for me early, Jen, appreciate that;)
ReplyDeleteI've still yet to read Revolution, but I scored an ARC at my local HPB, so I will get to it eventually. All the love for it makes me want to read it that much sooner. I'm not sure if I care about read the Bane Chronicles or not. I love TMI and TID, but after the final TMI book, I think I'm done for awhile. Is that terrible?
ReplyDelete