Book Info
City of Bones
by Cassandra Clare
Hardcover: Mar 2007, 496 pages.
Paperback: Feb 2008, 512 pages.
Book 1 of 3 in The Mortal Instruments Trilogy
Synopsis:
When fifteen-year-old 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 mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know….
Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.
Review:
This was my first exposure to Cassandra Clare’s work. Some of you may have already recognized from the Lord of The Ring and Harry Potter fan fiction. I was immediately drawn to the book cover and the few lines hooked me into buying it.
This was also my first reading supernatural fantasy set in urban modern day life. The setting was New York City to be precise. For about the first 50 pages or so we meet Clary, the 15 year old main protagonist, along with her friend Simon. For all intents and purposes they appear to be two normal and plain teenagers going about their life.
Clare does an amazing job weaving in Clary’s special skills and her uncovering of a supernatural world superimposed in New York. Once she starting seeing that world she could never un-see it again. She had stumbled onto the world of the Shadowhunters. It was a world her mother knew about all along but denied its existence to her. While she is still coping with these startling revelations, her mother goes missing and Shadowhunters assign a guard for her and keep her under their security.
Clare has given us a consistent hint through out the book about the theme underlying this book. Clary endures a good amount of emotional tension as she balances her friendship with Simon and her new found feelings for him along side Jace, the golden Shadowhunter; the best of his kind. Her mother is missing, new revelations are unfolding by the minute, and Simon, her only tether to her normal world, seems to withdraw and act weird. She begins to come undone descending into an infernal underworld filled with the supernatural, murmured secrets about who her father is and that Jace, her new found love may indeed be her brother.
One thing I found is that Clare designs and makes amazing characters, even the minor ones. There is something memorable about each and every one of them. There were many scenes with brilliant dialogue. However, I felt that not all those scenes advanced the plot forward. For the younger reader, the slower pacing may pose and issue. I would say though if you are a YA fan, a fantasy fan, a supernatural fan, or a contemporary fan then this book is for you!
Remarkable Quotes and Excerpts:
“Have you fallen in love with the wrong person yet?’
Jace said, “Unfortunately, Lady of the Haven, my one true love remains myself.”
…”At least,” she said, “you don’t have to worry about rejection, Jace Wayland.”
“Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting.”“We came to see Jace. Is he alright?”
“I don’t know,” Magnus said. “Does he normally just lie on the floor like that without moving?”“Is this the part where you say if I hurt her, you’ll kill me?”
“No” Simon said, “If you hurt Clary she’s quite capable of killing you herself. Possibly with a variety of weapons.”“Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt.”
Click here for an excerpt.
Ratings:
- World Building: 9.5/10
- Compelling Characters: 10/10
- Pace: 8.5/10
- Overall: 9.5/10
Beyond the Book:
The Shadowhunters reveal that they are indeed Nephilim. The world Nephilim appears in the Bible in a number of different verses. Clare opted for the interpretation that refers to them as “offspring of angels”.
The topic of the Nephilim is a very popular sub-niche within supernatural fiction. You can check out the collection that Amazon carries to get a better idea.
Where I Obtained My Copy: Purchased
Further Reading:
- Infinity: Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon
- At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff of legends. . .until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity.
- Wither (The Chemical Garden) by Lauren Destefano
- By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.
