The Copper Gauntlet – Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
*Warning – may contain
spoilers*
Author: Holly
Black and Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Scholastic
Press
First published: September
2015
Cover: Hardback
with dust cover
Pages: 264
Blurb: The enemy is close. Very close.
Callum
Hunt’s summer break isn't like other kids’. His closest companion is a
Chaos-ridden wolf, Havoc. His father suspects him of being secretly evil. And,
of course, most kids aren't heading back to the magical world of the
Magisterium in the fall.
It’s
not easy for Call…and it gets even harder after he checks out his basement and
discovers that his dad might be trying to destroy both him and Havoc.
Call
escapes to the Magisterium – but things only intensify there. The Alkahest – a copper
gauntlet capable of separating certain magicians from their magic – has been
stolen. And in their search to discover the culprit, Call and his friends Aaron
and Tamara awaken the attention of some very dangerous foes – and come closer to
an even more dangerous truth.
History of my copy: I received this book
for Christmas this year (2015) from my parents. I’ve been eagerly anticipating
it since reading The Iron Trial not long after it came out.
This book, and indeed the entire series, has received a lot
of negativity for being too similar to Harry Potter. I am an enormous Harry
Potter fan and yes, there are some similarities – a man character with black
hair (and containing the soul of the enemy), a magic school – but that is about
it. The Copper Gauntlet and the rest
of the Magisterium books deserve credit in their own rights. After all, J.K.
Rowling wasn’t the first to have a school for wizards. All authors gather
inspiration from other places, and you could spend hours comparing books with
others to find parallels, or you could just enjoy them for what they are.
Plot: The Copper Gauntlet carries on right where The Iron Trial finishes
off, which was a little difficult at first as I have forgotten some things that
happened in it, so I would recommend re-reading it before starting this one. It
follows Call and his friends through the summer and the beginning of the new term
as they hunt down Alastair who has the Alkahest. It is a relatively short
story, but a decent length for the plot it contains. Black and Clare kept the
plot fast paced and interesting and, although there were a few places where
they could have expanded the story a little more, they did a good job of not dragging
it out and making it boring.
Setting: The Copper Gauntlet is set in numerous places from the eerie caves
of the Magisterium to the extravagant house of Tamara’s family. The new
settings were described fairly well, although more words could have been
dedicated to re-describing the school, and perhaps adding a little more to
Alastair’s barn and the tomb at the end of the book.
Characters: This book focussed a bit
more on the background of Callum and his two friends, Aaron and Tamara.
Although known that Call’s father, Alastair, hates the Magisterium, it still isn’t
really explained why. However, the book shows a drastically different
relationship between father and son than before.
One
downside of this series is that none of the characters stand out as
particularly special. Yes, the main trio have both their good and bad sides,
but their personalities aren’t really described.
One problem I do have with the main
character, Callum Hunt, is that for the first half of the book he is just full
of angst about who he is, which does get a little dull after a while. Also,
even though it is addressed by Tamara at the end of the book, Call is severely
angered by Tamara lying, despite the fact he is hiding an even bigger and more
dangerous lie from them all.
To read or not to
read: Read. Despite my dislike
for the lack of development of the characters, I did enjoy the plot and story
of The Copper Gauntlet and thoroughly
enjoyed the read. Don’t bother if you disliked The Iron Trial as I wouldn't say
it gets better, but do try it out if you liked the previous book.
