How To: Read the Shadowhunter’s Chronicles

**Disclaimer; this post has been updated numerous times to incorporate extra additions to the series. The last update was on the 9th of April, 2018.

 

It was a rainy, dark Sunday afternoon and my friend, Thanushri, and I were discussing how much homework we hadn’t done, when she asked for a book recommendation.

We fell into a deep conversation of our favourite books when Thanushri asked if City of Glass (of which she had not read) was more interesting than City of Bones and City of Ashes. Of course, with this, I began explaining everything to her, and then it came to me that it would be more efficient to write a post all about how to read The Shadowhunter Chronicles, than explaining it to every single person on this planet.

Welcome to the world of Nephilim. I have a feeling that you won’t be leaving anytime soon.

THE SERIES + BOOKS

One of the best things about being in the Shadowhunter fandom is the fact that new stuff comes out all the time! On March the 27th, 2007, Cassandra Clare released City of Bones, the first instalment of the Mortal Instruments Series (first series).

I, personally, believed that the series was meant to stop after City of Glass, since if you stop there, most problems were resolved. Once I got out of my reading slump and began to read City of Fallen Angels, I realised that Cassandra Clare had an amazing talent of leaving small hints everywhere that don’t mean anything until later in the series (and it makes you feel like a fool for not guessing, beforehand). So please, don’t repeat my mistake, and read all 6 books.

THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS

This series consists of six books;

1. City of Bones     —– THESE TWO BOOKS
2. City of Ashes     —– EXPLAIN THE UNIVERSE.
3. City of Glass      —– THIS BOOK OPENED UP THE SCENE FOR THE FINAL THREE BOOKS.
4. City of Fallen Angels
5. City of Lost Souls
6. City of Heavenly Fire —– BEST BOOK, BY FAR!!

Long before the cover of City of Heavenly Fire was released, I decided to create my own (okay, I was just a bit bored one day, but still)… The one on the left is mine, and the right one is the real cover.

 

 

 

Yeah, mine was horrible, but I edited the runes and smoke well… Kind of…

Look, it was close enough.

 

 

 

THE INFERNAL DEVICES

This series was written in the middle of The Mortal Instruments. It’s final book was published on the 1st of January, 2013.

The series is a spin off of The Mortal Instruments. Set in the world of Shadowhunters and hot Herondales, The Infernal Devices follows the story of Tessa Gray as she discovers the Nephilim community in New York, about a century before the events of TMI took place.

This trilogy only consists of three books, however it’s just as ‘feels-y’;

1. Clockwork Angel
2. Clockwork Prince
3. Clockwork Princess

THE BANE CHRONICLES

Magnus Bane is the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Needless to say, he is a very predominant figure in both main series, but more so in the Mortal Instruments. No so long ago, Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Maureen Johnson co-wrote a series of novellas following the adventures of Mr Bane, and they’re all worth a read.

Originally, The Bane Chronicles was a set of 11 eBooks, released and published separately. However, at the end of 2014, some wise person mushed them all together and made a physical copy.

1. What Really Happened in Peru
2. The Runaway Queen
3. Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale
4. The Midnight Heir
5. The Rise of the Hotel Dumort
6. Saving Raphael Santiago
7. Fall of the Hotel Dumort
8. What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (And Who You’re Not Officially Dating Anyway)
9. The Last Stand of the New York Institute
10. The Course of True Loves (and First Dates)
11. The Voicemail of Magnus Bane

TALES FROM THE SHADOWHUNTER ACADEMY

Starting in February, 2015, a new novella from this series was released every month. Not unlike The Bane Chronicles, TFSA was released in hard copy on the 15th of November in 2016.

This series is written by Cassandra Clare, Robin Wasserman, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Maureen Johnson. It tells the story of Simon’s education after The Mortal Instruments, introducing characters from The Last Hours, The Dark Artifices and characters from The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices will return. Basically, every shadowhunter.

There are ten stories in this series;

1. Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy
2. The Lost Herondales
3. The Whitechapel Fiend
4. Nothing But Shadows
5. The Evil We Love
6. Pale Kings and Princes
7. Bitter of Tongue
8. The Fiery Trial
9. Born to Endless Night
10. Angels Twice Descending

THE DARK ARTIFICES

In Cassandra Clare’s own words, The Dark Artifices is a ‘sequel/companion trilogy to the Mortal Instruments’.

The first book of The Dark Artifices was published in 2016 (along with the release of the TV show). The trilogy will follow Julian and Emma – minor characters in the Mortal Instruments series. I’m hoping for a love story of the two, since their so cute, but honestly, I have no idea. Whatsoever. Small disclaimer; I haven’t read these yet!! 🙁

1. Lady Midnight
2. Lord of Shadows
3. Queen of Air and Darkness (which is set to be released on the 4th of December, 2018)

THE LAST HOURS

This series seems to be a way off. It will be set in 1903, following the generation after Will, Jem, and Tessa (from the Infernal Devices). Nothing has really been said about this trilogy, other than the titles of the three books (with reference to Great Expectations);

1. Chain of Thorns
2. Chain of Gold
3. Chain of Iron

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WHAT ORDER SHOULD YOU READ THEM IN?

It looks like a very simple question to answer, but honestly, it varies from person to person. The way I read it was shaped by lots of different obstacles and preferences and the order in which ‘it should be read’ varies from person to person.

If you have a fabulous memory:

• City of Bones
• City of Ashes
• City of Glass
• Clockwork Angel
• Clockwork Prince
• Clockwork Princess
• City of Fallen Angels
• City of Lost Souls
• City of Heavenly Fire
• The Bane Chronicles
• Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy
• The Shadowhunter’s Codex
• The rest of the books…

If you have a horrible long-term memory:

• City of Bones
• City of Ashes
• City of Glass
• Clockwork Angel
• City of Fallen Angels
• City of Lost Souls
• City of Heavenly Fire
• Clockwork Prince
• Clockwork Princess
• City of Heavenly Fire (it’s too good not to)
• The Bane Chronicles
• The Shadowhunter’s Codex
• Tales From the Shadowhunter’s Academy
• The remaining books…

If you get bored VERY easily:

• City of Bones (try to finish this QUICKLY)
• City of Ashes (IGNORE THE BAD BITS & FINISH QUICKLY)
• City of Glass (embrace it but don’t give up!)
• City of Fallen Angels (DO NOT GIVE UP. THIS IS GOOD, BUT THE END IS FABULOUS)
• Clockwork Angel (You need to make sure that you don’t fall into a reading slump after this.)
• City of Lost Souls
• City of Heavenly Fire
• The other books in any timeframe…

If you got bored after City of Ashes:

This disease is contagious. If you meet a mundane of whom has not yet read up to City of Glass, do not share your bad experiences of the first two books with them! It’s dangerous!

Instead, take advice from experienced Shadowhunters.

The first two books are merely there to explain the politics of the world, and the relationships between the characters. The shadowhunter community is way too complex to rush into. Cassandra needed two books in order to do it well – and even then, she wrote a codex. City of Glass until City of Heavenly Fire explores MODERN issues that have never hit the nephilim, while City of Bones and City of Ashes only deals with obstacles that are fairly regular in the world.

Stay strong, once you begin reading City of Glass, everything gets better!

 

The Reasoning:

• City of Heavenly Fire explores events from The Infernal Devices. At least read Clockwork Angel before reading COHF, or else you will have no idea what’s going on.
• City of Bones and City of Ashes are supporting the rest of the series. A lot of people believe that they are the most boring books, but without them, the Mortal Instruments would be horrible.
• If you read the entire Infernal Devices trilogy after City of Glass, you’ll (most likely) forget what happened, and be less motivated to finish the Mortal Instruments. You need to be motivated to read City of Fallen Angels.
• I have surveyed a lot of Shadowhunters, and they all said similar things. Follow this guide, and you’ll be on the same path to fangirl-ing over shadowhunters as we all took. Trust us.

 

Conclusion

Altogether, there are forty three books; thirty three are published and the rest are on their way to your bookshelf. Sometimes, the Shadowhunter world can be a very confusing place, but if you stick by it, you will not regret it, at all. 

By the way…

Original: There’s a TV series in production, right now, and they’ve just casted Dominic Sherwood (yes, the guy from Taylor Swift’s ‘Style’ music video) as Jace Herondale!

Updated: Hi! It’s future Bianca from 2018. I’m up to Season 3 of this TV series and it’s… idk. I mean, I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it either. It’s worth checking out (after you’ve finished at least the Mortal Instruments) but it’s not worth putting your life on hold for. I can honestly say  I preferred the books, but Season 3 is meant to roughly be City of Glass, so we might  be pleasantly surprised.

 

 

 

 

Leave your experiences, questions and advice in the comments, below! What was your favourite book? Who was your favourite character?