The Clockwork Prince

The book I want to talk about today, is Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. It is a sequel of the Clockwork Angel, by the same author. The main character of this book, Tessa, is trying to learn of her past. She has some strange powers like shape shifting and she does not know where it came from, since both of her parents were humans. Simultaneously, Tessa and a group of Shadowhunters are looking for a man named Mortmain who created a mechanical army. Somehow, Mortmain knows the Shadowhunters every move, so the only possibility is that a traitorous spy is with the Shadowhunters.

This blog will not be about Tessa or the search, though. I am going to focus on a Shadowhunter named Will.   He is a broken, sad young man with a despairing past. He freed a demon from a box and that demon cursed him: all who love him will die. The next day his oldest sister died. Terrified, Will fled away from home believing this curse was truly upon him. He was cleverly deceived, though. There was no curse. His sister died of the demon’s poisonous sting that she received. All this time he thought he had a curse upon him and made people hate him instead of loving him.

Whoever Will considered as a person that possibly may care for him or fall in love with him, he had put them down. He was always depressed and negative towards people, having bad attitude and usually insulted them. In this way he used five years of his life trying to make people hate him for nothing. Now, after he learned about the demon's deception, he is very sorrowful.

We often hurt our loved ones because of many different reasons. An insult is like throwing a stone, once it leaves your mouth, you can’t stop it. You can try to fix the wounds but there will always be a scar.  

Moral Dilema Study

1. The topic I chose was drunk driving. To be honest, I picked this topic because I thought it wold be the easiest. But when I started researching about it, I found out a lot. I found out that three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives. On New Year’s Day, 468 people were killed in car accidents. Alcohol-impaired driving contributed to 40 percent of them.In 2009, 14 percent of children ages 14 and younger killed in crashes died because of alcohol. The government is trying to stop drunk driving by putting up stricter laws and more police as patrols.

2. I think the government should try and stop this issue. I think that the stricter laws and more patrol police is a good way to try. By stopping this issue, children will be safer, other civilians will be safer, the increase of deaths will, drop, and will save lives. I choose the Common Good Approach because I am thinking what would be the best for everyone, and that is stopping Drunk Driving.

3. Here are some things the government did to stop this issue. Pass a national law that prohibits any open alcoholic drinks in public places. Make sure repeat drunk driving offenders are wearing electronic devices such as ankle bracelets at all times. Furthermore, all repeat offenders should have to install ignition interlock instruments (IIDs) in their vehicles. Attach a special marking to the license plates of repeat offenders. However, if someone else has to drive the repeat offender's vehicle, they could be mistaken for being a drunk driver. Since the high percentage of drunk drivers are young, restrict driving for young drivers including not allowing them to drive after a certain time. Increase DUI awareness and education for students in elementary and high schools. Creating a sense of responsibility in young adults and children is also key in further reducing drunken driving incidences in the future.

Clockwork Angel

         I have started reading a new book called Clockwork Angel. It is the prequel of the Mortal Instrument Series (The City of Ashes, The City of Glass) This book unlike the books before it takes place in London, England. A young girl names Tessa, travels to London to find her missing brother Nate. She then finds shelter at the home of the Shadowhunters or demon hunters where she discovers a secret power she has. Tessa is a Downworlder, which is a human infected by lycanthropy, vampiracy, or magic (vampires, werewolves, warlocks). She is a special type of Downworlder: she has the ability to shape-shift into anything she wants to. Now, the Shadowhunters and the demons have seen that she could be useful to them both and have started fighting over her.
         The author, Cassandra Clare has done a very good job of putting different genres in this book such as action, fantasy, romance,   tragedy and betrayal. I couldn't stop reading it. It was full of suspense. I think the thing I enjoy most in this book are the betrayals. When you're not expecting it, a character who seems like a good guy suddenly turns against them and sides with the demons. 
         I am really starting to like this book and hope to read the next one: Clockwork Prince.

Goliath

Goliath. What does that make you think of? It makes me think of something big, bigger than a human, and something very powerful. Goliath is the title of the book I started reading.
First of all, this is the third book of the series. The first two are Leviathan and Behemoth. If I remember well, Yaroslav read this book and said it was very good. To be honest, when I’ve read the first two books, I stopped reading the series. I'm not sure why. When I read Yaroslav's blog on this book, I wanted to start reading it again.The book is about an Austrian Prince during World War I. He was kidnaped away from home aboard an airship: The Leviathan. There he meets a girl (disguised as a boy to serve in the British air force) named Deryn. They became very good friends. They went through many adventures. In this book, they have heard of a weapon that could end the war and are trying to find the inventor, Nikola Tesla.In the book, the author invents many sophisticated weapons and war machines. There are more developed weapons, ships, airplanes, technology and more. I just can’t imagine how horrible World War I would have been if people really had those new, powerful weapons. So many people died because of poisonous gas and artillery. Imagine the number of deaths in World War I if soldiers used those weapons.Today, many people are trying to build new, stronger weapons.                                                                         


All these weapons and machines were made to kill. One bullet in the head-you’re a goner. Instead of building more things to help the environment, people are making things that will hurt the environment. If we put the same time and effort to make things better in the world, people would not die of starvation. Unfortunately the history of the two World Wars didn’t teach us much.   

The City of Glass

I have started reading the book City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. It is part of a series called the Mortal Instruments. The series is about a girl named Clary that gets mixed up with a world full of monsters. A group called the Shadowhunters bring peace in the world of fairies, werewolves, vampires, and demons. Clary learns that she has Shadowhunter’s blood, when her mother is kidnapped. Now, she is going to the capital city of the Shadowhunters, which is called Alicante, to find her mother.

When I’ve read the title: The City of Glass, I’d thought about New York with all those skyscrapers and buildings made of glass and steel. The thing is that the city of Alicante does not have any glass buildings. It is a normal, wood and brick city. This is very interesting because the author gives this title, but in reality the city is not of glass at all. I hope that later in the book there will be something to clear this out.

I think that this mysterious title, City of Glass, means something else than just the glass as a material. Glass is very smooth and shiny. This can suggest that some of the characters might be nice on the outside (smooth and shiny), but really they are deadly, just like glass is. You can see through glass, but also it gives you some shadowy reflection. Glass and mirror’s reflection are always misleading: your right is left in the mirror. Many of the characters lie to each other, although they try to show themselves clear like a glass. There is also one more characteristic of glass: when is broken, it is sharp and can hurt.

There is a little bit of dramatic irony here: as we read, we learn some things about the characters, but they don’t know that yet or may not ever find out. Life around us is exactly the same: we hide our bad habits, showing only our “good side", but other people talk behind our back and draw a picture of us much different from our own.  

So, I am really into this intriguing story and hope that Clary will uncover the truth by “seeing through” other characters and find her mom. But hope is again like glass, can be easily shattered.      

The Power of Six II

I finished this book and liked it a lot, maybe even better than the first one. In the first post about this book, I said what the book was about. So if you’re reading this and have no idea what I’m talking about, just read my first post about The Power of Six.

This book is told from two perspectives: John Smith, aka Number Four and also a girl named Marina, who happens to be Number Seven. John is still running away from the Mogadorians and the police, while Marina is incognito in a monastery. They have different ideas and different priorities. The author presents them to a reader and leaves it to his/her emotions. At the end of the book, Number Six meets up with Marina and John finds Number Nine. Now, they want to meet up and fight back against the Mogadorians because they are ready. Their powers have been completed and they have many allies.

I’ve studied these four aliens and I had learned a lot about their race. Each of them has different powers called Legacies. For example, John has telekinesis (the ability to move objects with his mind.) Six has the ability to become invisible and Marina has the ability to heal rapidly. Most Loriens (the name of their race) love only one person for life, but John it’s different. Before he loved Sarah but now he starts having feelings about number Six. This makes them more human. They also have different characteristics, which are more like human characteristics. John, for example, is determined, funny, hopeful, and loyal. Marina is patient, loving, optimistic, loyal and hopeful. Maybe you are like this or have a friend with these characteristics? The more these aliens stay on Earth, the more they become human like, with special powers of course.  

So, once again we humans think that aliens are so similar to us. Is this because we are so proud and sure we are the best, although still short of special power? Was the Superman an alien or human? Anyway, the book is fun to read and good to study human traits. 

The Power of Six

Three are dead. I Am Number Four. I have to say, I really enjoyed I Am Number Four by Pitticus Lore. It is full of action and suspense. I finished that book a couple of days ago and now am reading the sequel: The Power of Six. Usually, I think in a series, the first books are the best but I might have to think about that. This book, at least so far, is better than the first. It has a better plot and it is even more action packed. I’m already up to half of the book! I’m not saying the first book is boring. Well, maybe some parts are a little slow. However, both are good.

First I should tell you what I Am Number Four is about. Nine, very special aliens are sent to the Earth to escape from another species of aliens: the Mogadorians. The Mogadorians are hunting them down because they know those nine aliens are the only ones to stop them from destroying humanity. Three of the aliens are dead. The main character, John, is number four. He meets up with the sixth alien, a female. Now John, the Number Six, and Sam, John’s best friend, are running away from the Mogadorians but also looking for the other aliens.

       During their runaway, feelings start to grow. John is starting to think about Number Six more than about his girlfriend, Sarah. It seems like he is starting to have feelings for her. This might cause problems.

First Sam has a crush on Six as well, so he might be jealous. Second, they are heading back to where Sarah lives to find something Sam’s dad hid. When she learns that John likes Number Six, it could lead to problems. Sarah is not telling the police the truth because she thinks John still loves her. If she realizes that he doesn’t anymore, she might tell the police and betray them because of her anger. If she does this, the police will most likely capture them and that will bring the Mogadorians to them.  I don’t think it’s such a good idea to go back. All these things could happen. On the other hand, if they do find what Sam’s dad hid, it might bring all of John’s kind together which will be a great advantage against the Mogadorians.   

It is so interesting that the author puts the very “human feelings” into the alien character. It means that love, hate, jealousy or anger are “universal feelings” in the Universe.  Is this a call against evolutionists? Would it be possible that different species from different worlds have the same feelings and values, or we are all created into an image of the Universal God?