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"Welcome and Congratulations. You have been chosen to become one of the Nephilim."
The Shadowhunter's Codex is a manual for new Shadowhunters. It is meant to guide them into their new, dangerous, usually short life. The life of a Shadowhunter is violent and often brief, but their role in containing rogue Downworlders and preventing harm upon mundanes by demons and the like is an important one. While most Shadowhunters are born into the life, some mundanes can ascend to become Raziel's soldiers. For those who have not been raised as a Shadowhunter, there is a lot to learn. The Codex is meant to guide those young, new Shadowhunters to prevent their even more untimely deaths.
This is a brief little book that is mostly unnecessary if you have followed along with the series up to its most recent book. It details everything from the Mortal Instruments to a Shadowhunter's weapons to the different kinds of Downworlders. While I didn't mind all this information, and enjoyed this little manual, it is pretty repetitive and would make only the most die-hard fans happy. The most important information you get is the history in the last part of the book. The history of the Shadowhunters has been touched on in bits and pieces throughout the series, but it was good to have it all together in one place.
The most entertaining part of this book wasn't the actual book itself, but the "notations" made by Clary, Jace, and Simon. They were funny little quips, especially about the parts where the Codex is lacking due to plot events from previous books. If I hadn't read the series, though, these little smart-guy comments wouldn't make much sense. I would use this book for a student who is going through the series but reads slow and might lose track of different names that are complex and unfamiliar. Using this as a dictionary/reference of sorts for those oddball items and names would help them keep up with the series at their own pace. It was a cute companion to the story, but if you read pretty steadily with the series, it isn't entirely necessary for your Mortal Instruments enjoyment!
Clary and Jace aren't exactly a normal couple. In fact, they have probably had the most traumatic and bizarre relationship as any couple in history. From assuming they were brother and sister, still being attracted to one another, being attacked, death, etc., they are a bizarre couple from the word go. And in The City of Lost Souls, the fifth book in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, their relationship doesn't get any easier.
Clary thought it was over. Sebastian, her real brother (and also known as Jonathan Morgenstern), was defeated, Lilith was killed (or as killed as the oldest demon in history can be), and Jace was safe. She couldn't have been more wrong. When she returns to the roof, both Jace and Sebastian, who was supposed to be dead, are gone with no trace. They can't even be located magically. After an exhaustive search, the Clave can't afford to keep everyone looking for Jace. They are ready to close the search, but Clary refuses to give up. She will do anything to find him, even go to the Seelie queen. When she tries to steal the payment for the Queen from the Institute, she sees Jace, with Sebastian. As thick as thieves, the boys who were once mortal enemies seem to be the closest of friends. Clary had thought any manner of things could have happened to Jace, but she never imagined he would turn to the dark side.
When Jace and Sebastian show up at Luke's apartment to get Clary to join them, it is clear to her that something had to have happened to Jace to change him. When they attack Luke and stab him with a demon metal knife, she knows she has to do something. But when it becomes clear that anything that happens to Sebastian also happens to Jace, their connection becomes even more frightening. One can't be killed without killing the other. Clary knows the Clave will consider Jace collateral damage in an effort to get rid of Sebastian, so she decides to do the only thing she can do- make them think she is going to join them in order to find a weakness in their connection. But what if there is no weakness?
You know when you follow a TV show for a long time and you start to think about how many times the main couple has broken up and made up, or how many guys the main girl has dated, or how many times the main characters have almost died, and it seems laughable? Like when you think about how many kids died in Buffy the Vampire Slayer over her years at Sunnydale High, but no one ever thought it was fishy? That is starting to happen to this series for me. I mean, really, how many times can Clary and Jace be in mortal peril or have their relationship completely destroyed, only to pick up the pieces and start again? Now, I have to say, I enjoyed the story, as always. But I am starting to go weary of Clary and Jace. In fact, I wanted to skip through their half of the book, but I just couldn't do it for plot's sake.
Instead, the true gems for me are in the supporting characters. The relationship between Alec and Magnus is simply fabulous (well, honestly, Magnus is simply fabulous and by influence, so is Alec!). I love having a serious gay couple in young adult literature where they aren't romanticized or too perfect, but rather experience the same insecurities any couple faces, gay or straight. This is a great for all young adults to have experience with. In addition, Simon and Isabelle are a great couple. As complete opposites both supernaturally and humanly, they are full of twists, turns, and surprises. I honestly felt these characters were more interesting than the same old Clary and Jace nonsense, and would have been happy to just have their stories in this book. But alas, there are bigger things at work, and we must have Clary and Jace together again for the big, final, epic battle that is surely to come in the final book of the series. (Wait. Didn't it end already?!)
While the series seemed to end neatly with the third book in The Mortal Instruments, it seemed Cassandra Clare wasn't ready for it to be over. Continuing the story of the Shadowhunters brings Clary, Simon, Jace and the others back again to make sure the world doesn't end at the hands of evil... again.
As the Shadowhunters try to adjust to life as kids, not heroes saving the world, they find themselves struggling to continue as thought everything is normal. Now that Jace and Clary are sure they aren't related, they feel like they can finally show their feelings for one another, but it isn't as simple as that. Since returning from the big battle, Jace hasn't been acting like himself. Suffering from terrible nightmares, he is almost terrified to even be around her. In his dreams, the awful things he does to Clary are so terrifying, he would rather avoid her than put her in danger.
But there is more going on than just a difficult adjusting. Shadowhunters are being murdered. At first, it seems like a simple attack from a Downworlder, but the story can't be simple as the bodies continue to pile up. When their investigations start coming up short, they enlist Simon as help, the newly adjusting Daylighter, a vampire who can walk in the sunlight. With every vampire faction, every evil being, clamoring to get Simon on their side, they have access to even the most elusive of creepy crawly, but Simon isn't as predictable as he used to be. Being a vampire requires blood, and the hunger is instinctual. While he can't imagine hurting someone, he might not be completely in control of his urges. Predictable or not, Simon is at the heart of the evil goings-on and the Shadowhunters must once again rely on the younger members of their order to get to the heart of the dark forces threatening their kind.
I am not sure how I felt about the continuation of this series because I really felt the third book was final and very complete. I know Clare has a penchant for beating a dead horse, and I assume this was her way of continuing with the familiar since it seemed to work so well in the past. With that said, I can't say I didn't enjoy this book, because I really did. I think the whole Jace angle was a bit much, but I liked that Simon played a larger role in this book. I think his story line has really evolved and I hope to hear more about him in the next two books to come. I do, however, hope Clare does give this series a deserved end and doesn't keep it dragging on until I regret reading them. It is so frustrating when an author just doesn't know when it is time to let go of a series.
The Shadowhunters have a huge responsibility for such a young group of people: they must protect mundanes (you and I) from ugly nasties that go bump in the night. But life as a Shadowhunter isn't just dangerous because they hunt vampires, werewolves, and demons; it is dangerous because everyone they ever loved could be in danger because of their calling. Cassandra Clare's third book in the Mortal Instruments series, City of Glass is another thrill ride to keep you coming back for more.
Jace doesn't want Clary to go to the City of Glass on the hidden Shadowhunter island; she is determined to go even though it is illegal to travel to the city without being invited. Despite the dangers, Clary knows the answers to her mother's disappearance are on that island, and she isn't scared of the consequences. When Jace and the others leave without her, she drags Luke with her to the island, but the presence of a werewolf in the city is more than just illegal- it is dangerous. While the Shadowhunters Clary knows are comfortable working with some Downworlders like Luke and newly vampirized Simon, the Clave members and their families on the island have very different, very sheltered understandings of what it means to be a Downworlder.
In addition to her unwanted presence on the island and her missing mother, Clary is still reeling from the news that Jace is actually her brother. It was bad enough learning she is the daughter of Valentine, the maniac in league with demons to scare the Clave into waging full-scale war on the Downworlders, but to learn Jace was also his son was too much. She knows the island has deep answers, but the answers she has gotten so far have only made her life more complicated (and uglier). But everyone knows there is more dangerous evil out there than any Downworlder walking around: Clary's father.
The interesting thing about reading this book so late is that I know there are 3 more books in the series, but at the same time, this installment ended with such finality. It almost makes me think the next three books were just an afterthought for Clare who has been notoriously stuck in this world for 5 or 6 series at this point (most upcoming)! Still, the stories are exciting. You can't deny that. They are entertaining, they are exciting, and they keep you wanting more. So even if you think Clare needs to move beyond this world, you still find it your guilty pleasure to join her in it time and time again!
The series is great for a range of students. It is always action-packed, but the books are really long, and so could bog down a struggling reader. I once had a student who was very dyslexic but was addicted to these books, and he used to listen to the audio books. He loved them! Devoured them! So consider these books for a variety of ages and demographics, because they are just pure, easy fun!
Clary has never been more confused. The man who threatens all the Shadowhunters is actually her father, Valentine, the boy she couldn't stop thinking about is actually her brother, and there is a whole world her mother kept from her that is full of warlocks, vampires, demons, and werewolves, among other creepy beasties. Having been brought up as a mundane, Clary must find her way in the Shadowhunter world or quickly be devoured by it in City of Ashes: Mortal Instruments, Book Two by Cassandra Clare.
Clary doesn't know what to do about Jace now that they recently found out they share a father, and an evil father no less. She has trouble reconciling her feelings for Jace, but she knows her friend Simon, a simple mundane, is the less creepy option. Meanwhile, Jace has been thrown out of the only home he ever knew with the adoptive Lightwood family. Lost and alone, Jace is being punished for the sins of the father he never knew or had allegiance to. But now a war is brewing between Downworlders. A werewolf child and a warlock child were found dead, bled to death, and there is no one more logical to blame than the vampires.
The vampires swear they had nothing to do with the deaths, but everyone suspects them. When Jace is investigated by the Clave and held prisoner in the Silent City, his father breaks in. He comes to see Jace and ask for Jace's help, but his own son was not his purpose for visiting the city and killing all the Silent Brothers. He was after the Mortal Sword. With or without Jace's help, Valentine plans to reverse the allegiance of the sword from good to bad so he can control the demons and finally fulfill his purpose- the extermination of the Downworlders who threaten the lives of humans and Shadowhunters alike. Even if the Clave doesn't believe in Jace's innocence, Clary and his adoptive siblings refuse to let him suffer for the evils Valentine has acted on. But will they make it in time to stop the conversion of the Mortal Sword?
These books sometimes seem overwhelming because they are quite large, but whenever I read one of Clare's books, I am immediately dragged right into it. I regret to admit I started this series almost 2 years ago and haven't kept up with it since. However, I have been keeping up with the Infernal Devices series, which renewed my interest in this series. Clare does a good job of giving you enough background that you can pick up a book even if you haven't read the one before it in a long while, and for that I was grateful (lately my ever-growing pile of books prevents me from much rereading). And after a few brief pages of catch-up, I was thrown right back into this story with a vengeance. The story was interesting and exciting, and as with all her books, she ends it with a satisfactory conclusion (no real huge cliffhangers) but still keeps you wanting more and leaves the end open for the next installment.
The stories are perfect for anyone who likes supernatural or paranormal stories. They are full of mysterious creatures, many of whom balance between their true evil nature and the life the Clave forces them into. There is a god deal of death and violence, but it is mostly of the supernatural type and isn't particularly gory. I love the excitement and in particular, the characters. Jace is that typical bad boy who really has a heart of gold despite his crusty, snarky exterior and you can't help but love him. My one icky-factor is the weirdness between him and Clary, who now appears to be his sister. So we have a Luke and Leia moment, but why is it continuing? And why aren't they grossed out now that they are brother and sister? I can only imagine this will resolve itself eventually and Clare won't have a Flowers in the Attic moment, but who knows where this plans to go... just please make them not be brother and sister because I am all in on team Jace!
