Review „The Mortal Instruments 1: City of Bones” (Cassandra Clare)

Keep in mind that when your mother fled from the Shadow World, it wasn’t the monsters she was hiding from. Not the warlocks, the wolf-men, The Fair Folk, not even the demons themselves. It was them. It was the Shadowhunters.

I have restarted reading this amazing fantasy – series because I’ve missed this world and had to dive in back again. Besides I didn’t write a review yet and thought this was the perfect occasion!

First, I have to admit that I like the old covers better than the new ones. Some might say the new covers seem more dark and therefore fit better into the world, but in my opinion the old ones with the NYC skyline and the chief characters in front are better.

Before I started reading I recognized that the book is devided into three parts which are always introduced by a quote of a (famous) author’s book suiting to one particular part. I like this idea very much because for me it increased the excitement of the oncoming happenings in the story.

At first I met Clary and Simon entering their favorite club and dancing while having a conversation about guys with blue hair. While things started normal suddenly a lot of things happen at a time and Clary’s world is spinning out of control. I didn’t have any difficulties to follow her thoughts, her emotions and her actings, they seemed very normal and authentic to me which made reading very entertaining from the first pages onward. During the development of the story the reader also meets the Shadowhunters Jace, Alec and Isabelle who are very interesting and intriguing, too. Not only concerning their personalities but also the slowly evolving feeling of trust from the suspicions that reigned at the beginning. The upcoming love story didn’t disturb me much, but it’s development to a triangle relationship got a little annoying at some parts.

The writing skills of the author are very great: not just her talent of describing the different beings that appear in the book but also the emotions of each character were very well described. Plus an excellent amount of humour in between just increased the fun and entertainment whilst reading a lot!

To love is to destroy.

City of Bones, the start of the very promising fantasy series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare impressed me very much, made it hard pausing during the reading process and ended with a phenomenal twist which won’t allow the reader to wait too long before reading the sequel. The writing skills add up to the fun and entertainment whilst reading although it loosened up a bit on some places where a triangle love story started up. But altogether I love this book very much and recommend it to all fantasy fans!

Kurzrezension (deutsch)

City of Bones, dem Auftakt der The Mortal Instruments – Reihe (dt. Chroniken der Unterwelt), ist ein großartiges Buch nicht nur im Hinblick auf die authentischen Protagonisten und der wunderbaren Grundidee, sondern ebenfalls in Bezug auf den tollen Schreibstil der Autorin, der durchgehend für mehr Spannung bis zum Ende hin sorgte und den Lesegenuss damit vervollkommnete. Trotz der Dreiecksbeziehung, die sich im Laufe des Buches entwickelte und das zwischenzeitlich ein wenig nervte, ist dieses Buch ein klares Lieblingsbookie, weswegen ich es mit Tauchliebe bewerte.

First in Cassandra Clare’s internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series about the Shadowhunters. Love. Blood. Betrayal. Demons. First in the New York Times No. 1 bestselling series that has swept the globe, City of Bones is also a major movie and Shadowhunters, the TV series based on the book, is currently airing on Netflix. Irresistibly drawn towards a group of demon hunters, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City and the dangers of forbidden love. This edition contains exclusive bonus content as well as a map and a new foreword by Cassandra Clare. Read all the sensational books in The Shadowhunter Chronicles: The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, The Bane Chronicles, The Dark Artifices, The Last Hours and The Shadowhunter’s Codex. (Source, dt. KT)

• title Mortal Instruments 1: City of Bones
• author Cassandra Clare
• pages 528 pages
• price 4,55€ (Kindle Edition), 14,99€ (Hardcover), 7,99€ (Softcover)
• publisher Walker Books Ltd. (2. Juli 2007)