By Gemma Williams
The Mortal Instruments is a Young Adult series by Cassandra Clare currently consists of five books with a sixth on the way, scheduled for release May 27, 2014. City of Bones is the first book in the series and has recently been adapted into a film. Book two, City of Ashes, is currently being filmed for a summer release.
The Mortal Instruments is a Young Adult series by Cassandra Clare currently consists of five books with a sixth on the way, scheduled for release May 27, 2014. City of Bones is the first book in the series and has recently been adapted into a film. Book two, City of Ashes, is currently being filmed for a summer release.
The story surrounds angels and demons. The Shadowhunters are people who fight against the demons and are believed to be of angelic origin. Sixteen year old Clary Fray doesn’t know that this world exists, never mind that she belongs in it. Her mother has tried very hard over the years to keep it hidden from her.
However, when her mother mysteriously falls into a coma after an attack on their flat, Clary’s life is turned upside down as she discovers secrets, not only about her life, but the rest of her family too. She meets some dangerous allies and some even more dangerous enemies. As Clary digs up the truth about her father, she is given a choice on which side of the war she will be on.
There are some memorable characters in this book, such as Jace. He has some great one liners but it’s a shame that he’s the archetypal romantic interest; still, it works.
Simon is a pretty intriguing character, especially for a ‘mundane’. He gets turned into a rat and has to face a number of vicious vampires while moping about the girl of his dreams, and his best friend, having eyes for someone other than him.
Isabelle is a great character from a feminist point of view. She hates being treated differently and insists on being an equal part of the team. This doesn’t mean that she won’t use her femininity to her advantage at times as it can come in useful.
I really want to love Alec but I feel like he should be a bigger character than he was in this book. It seemed he was only mentioned for a twist in the love story.
The writing was not to a high standard but the story more than makes up for it. It’s quick paced and packed full of action. It’s a shame that everything about it fits into the stereotypes of the genre but again, the story picks it back up.
Clary is a normal teenager who suddenly finds she isn’t so normal; her best friend is in love with her so naturally she likes the bad boy; and the best friend will do anything to prove his love for her.
I am fed up of love triangles since Twilight and everyone picked ‘teams’. It is obvious by the way it is written and the rules of the genre who she will end up with. Despite this, it is still worth a read for the story alone if you can stomach some sloppy writing; saying that, there are worse writers out there.
If you’re interested in the film adaptation, that was pretty close to the book with only the ending changed, but it was still an enjoyable film.
However, when her mother mysteriously falls into a coma after an attack on their flat, Clary’s life is turned upside down as she discovers secrets, not only about her life, but the rest of her family too. She meets some dangerous allies and some even more dangerous enemies. As Clary digs up the truth about her father, she is given a choice on which side of the war she will be on.
There are some memorable characters in this book, such as Jace. He has some great one liners but it’s a shame that he’s the archetypal romantic interest; still, it works.
Simon is a pretty intriguing character, especially for a ‘mundane’. He gets turned into a rat and has to face a number of vicious vampires while moping about the girl of his dreams, and his best friend, having eyes for someone other than him.
Isabelle is a great character from a feminist point of view. She hates being treated differently and insists on being an equal part of the team. This doesn’t mean that she won’t use her femininity to her advantage at times as it can come in useful.
I really want to love Alec but I feel like he should be a bigger character than he was in this book. It seemed he was only mentioned for a twist in the love story.
The writing was not to a high standard but the story more than makes up for it. It’s quick paced and packed full of action. It’s a shame that everything about it fits into the stereotypes of the genre but again, the story picks it back up.
Clary is a normal teenager who suddenly finds she isn’t so normal; her best friend is in love with her so naturally she likes the bad boy; and the best friend will do anything to prove his love for her.
I am fed up of love triangles since Twilight and everyone picked ‘teams’. It is obvious by the way it is written and the rules of the genre who she will end up with. Despite this, it is still worth a read for the story alone if you can stomach some sloppy writing; saying that, there are worse writers out there.
If you’re interested in the film adaptation, that was pretty close to the book with only the ending changed, but it was still an enjoyable film.
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