I just put City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare, the conclusion of her 6-book series The Mortal Instruments, on my iBooks. You know what I’ll be doing the next few days! Quickly scanning through the previous 5 to be up-to-date on the story again and then starting on the 6th book to FINISH the series. I’m very excited! As soon as I’m finished, I’ll post the review.
What’s been going on so far? (taken from TMI Source)
In 2007, Cassandra Clare’s first novel, City of Bones, was published and readers immediately found themselves enamored with the secret world of the Shadowhunters – a secretive race of humans born with angel blood that rid the mundane world of demons.
Originally meant to be a trilogy – with City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass – Clare continued the series with a second cycle of books with the same characters readers had grown to love, but with the emergence of a new enemy in City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls. The final installment – City of Heavenly Fire – saw a March 2014 release.
To date, Clare’s books have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and have been translated into more than 35 different languages. With the release of the first movie adaptation in 2013 and the first episode of Shadowhunters the TV show just out, it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
It’s more forgivable if you haven’t heard of this series, than say Harry Potter, but still … It probably means you haven’t read much, shopped in book stores or have been to the movie theater in recent years. Anyway, if you haven’t already, go check it out right now! Especially if you’re a fan of good storytelling and a story with all the hallmarks of a classic Young Adult novel!
If you need some more convincing, what better way than the author’s own words? Here is a small summary of The Mortal Instruments series from Cassandra Clare’s own website:
A thousand years ago, the Angel Raziel mixed his blood with the blood of men and created the race of the Nephilim. Human-angel hybrids, they walk among us, unseen but ever-present, our invisible protectors. They call themselves Shadowhunters. The Shadowhunters obey the laws set down in the Gray Book, given to them by the angel: their mandate is to protect our world from the interdimensional parasites they call demons, who travel from world to world, razing and destroying everything in their path. Theirs is also the task of keeping the peace among the warring Downworlders: the human-demon crossbreds we know as warlocks, vampires, werewolves and faeries. In their duties they are aided by the mysterious Silent Brothers. Their lips and eyes sewn shut, the Silent Brothers rule over the City of Bones, the necropolis below the streets of Manhattan that holds the dead bodies of slain Shadowhunters. The Silent Brothers keep the archival records of every Shadowhunter ever born. They also watch over the Mortal Instruments, the three divine objects the Angel Raziel gave to his children. One is a sword. One is a mirror. And the last is a cup. For a thousand years, the Nephilim have protected the Mortal Instruments. But that was before the Uprising, the civil war that almost tore the Shadowhunters’ secret world apart. Though Valentine Morgenstern, the Shadowhunter who started the war, is long dead, the wounds it left behind have never healed. Fifteen years have passed since the Uprising. It’s August in New York; the streets blistering with heat. Rumours run rampant through Downworld that Valentine is back, at the head of an army of Forsaken Warriors. And the Mortal Cup has gone missing …
When Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder – much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing – not even a smear of blood – to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary people like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know …
So begins the story of The Mortal Instruments, an epic six-book fantasy series centering on the adventures of Clary Fray and her friends and fellow adventurers.
So, did that tickle your fancy? Planning to read the books now? Or have you already done so? I would love to hear about it in the comments.
Oh, and if you have read the sixth book and comment with spoilers before I’ve got a chance to read it… I will do unspeakable things!!
Happy reading,
Loes M.
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