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Description edit
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 odd markings. This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
When Clary witnesses a murder by a group of teens at a club she is surprised that Simon and the club's security guard cannot see the killer, a boy called Jace. Jace claims that the boy he murdered was a demon. The next day, Jace offers to have Clary meet his tutor. When she receives a... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters edit
- Clarissa 'Clary' Fray: The daughter of Jocelyn Fray. Lives in an apartment with her mom. She is a likeable 15 year old with red hair and a habit of not listening to rules. She is best friends with Simon Lewis.
- Jace Wayland: A good looking Shadowhunter that Clary meets in Pandemonium. Clary's love interest. Seventeen years old. He has killed the most demons out of anyone who is his age.
- Simon Lewis: Clary's best friend of 10 years. He is caring and good-natured. He doesn't trust the Shadowhunters but hangs around them for the sake of protecting Clary.
- Alec Lightwood: Brother of Isabelle, and oldest of the Lightwood children. He is an excellent Shadowhunter despite the fact he has never killed a demon in his whole time as a Shadow Hunter. This is because he is always watching Jace and Isabelle's backs.
- Isabelle Lightwood: Alec's sister. She is a Shadowhunter.. She has long dark hair and she's taller than average and very pretty. She carries around a golden whip that is usually wrapped around her wrist.
- Magnus Bane: The High Warlock of Brooklyn. A friend of Clary's mother. He's very flamboyant and loves throwing parties at his apartment in Brooklyn. Is hundreds of years old but looks younger.
- Valentine Morgenstern: A powerful and evil Shadowhunter. The main antagonist of the novel. Believed to have died years before the novel begins.
- Hodge Starkweather: Alec, Jace, and Isabelle's mentor and guide. He helps them with their Shadowhunter training.
- Jocelyn Fray: Clary's artist mother, whom has been missing, with a mysterious past no one knows, except for those who were told and involved.
- Luke Garroway: He is a family friend of Clary's mom. He takes good care of Clary and her Mom. Owns and runs a bookstore.
- Madame Dorothea: A lady who lives in the same apartment building as Clary and her mum.
- Brother Jeremiah: One of the Silent Brothers who lives in Silent City.
- Church: An intelligent cat that lives at the Institute.
- Hugin "Hugo": Hodge's creepy pet raven.
- Pangborn: A bad guy.
- Munin: Valentine's pet raven.
- Eric: He is Simon's next-door-neighbor and a member of the band that Simon is in. Oftentimes Simon borrows his van.
- Blackwell: A warlock.
- Kaelie: She is the cute waitress at Taki's. She is a downworlder, or half-demon.
- Michael Wayland: He is Jace's so called father that is really dead and Valentine pretended to be him.
- Raphael: A spanish boy who tries to help Clary and Jace.
- Lily: A pretty girl
- Jacob Renwick: A young boy
- Elliot: A boy with dreadlocks
- Abbadon: Lord of the fallen.
- Gretel: Second in command
- Alaric: Third in command
- Maryse Lightwood: The mother of Alec, Isabelle and Max.
- Robert Lightwood: The father of Alec, Isabelle and Max.
- Max: The youngest of the Lightwood family. He is Isabelle and Alec's little brother who looks up to Jace. Doesn't appear until the second book.
- Mrs. Dark: Add a description of this character.
- Matt
- Sheila Barbarino
- Nate
- Nephilim
- Jem
- Idris
- Tessa
- Angel Raziel
- Jonathan Clark
- Elliott
- Maryse Trueblood
- Mrs. Black
- Lucian Graymark
Quotes edit
-
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, and then throw it in the face of the person who gave you the lemons until they give you the oranges you originally asked for”
Jace -
“You know, most psychologists agree that hostility is really just sublimated sexual attraction." "Ah, that might explain why I so often run into people who seem to dislike me.”
Clary and Jace -
“Is this where you start tearing strips off your T-shirt to bind up my wound?" she joked. She hated the sight of blood, especially her own. "If you wanted me to rip my clothes off, you should have just asked.”
Clary and Jace -
“Clary wondered if there were any ugly vampires, or maybe any fat ones. Maybe they didn't make vampires out of ugly people. Or maybe ugly people just didn't want to live forever.”
Clary -
“And next time you're planning to injure yourself to get my attention, just remember that a little sweet talk works wonders.”
Jace -
“I said his poetry was terrible. It sounds like he ate a dictionary and started vomiting up words at random.”
Jace -
“That's why when major badasses greet each other in movies, they don't say anything, they just nod. The nod means, 'I am a badass, and I recognize that you, too, are a badass,' but they don't say anything because they're Wolverine and Magneto and it would mess up their vibe to explain.”
Simon -
“If you were half as funny as you thought you were, my boy, you'd be twice as funny as you are.”
Madame Dorothea -
“Jesus!" Luke exclaimed."Actually, it's just me," said Simon. "Although I've been told the resemblance is startling.”
Luke and Simon -
“I figured all your classes were stuff like Slaughter 101 and Beheading for Beginners.”
Clary -
“Clary shook her head. "Don't stop there. I suppose there are also, what, vampires, werewolves, and zombies?" "Of course there are," Jace informed her. "Although you mostly find zombies farther south, where the voudon priests are." "What about mummies? Do they only hang around in Egypt?" "Don't be ridiculous. No one believes in mummies."”
Clary Fray and Jace Wayland -
“A Diary with no drawings of me in it? Where are the torrid fantasies? The romance covers?”
Jace -
“Hi, I'm one of the knife carrying hooligans you met last night in Pandemonium? I'm afraid I made a bad impression and was hoping you'd give me a change to make it up to....-”
Simon -
“It's the mortal Cup, Jace, not the Mortal Toilet bowl." " Are we done now? Can we go?”
Isabelle -
“It's a girl. Surely you've seen girls before, Alec. Your sister Isabelle is one.”
Jace -
“...in fact, don't touch any of my weapons without my permission." "Well, there goes my plan for selling them all on ebay." "Selling them on what?" "A mythical place of great magical power.”
Jace and Clary -
“Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt." "I can't help it. I use my rapier wit to hide my inner pain.”
Clary and Jace -
“The meek may inherit the earth, but at the moment it belongs to the conceited. Like me.”
Jace -
“Meanwhile, I wanted to tell you that lately I've been cross dressing. Also, I'm sleeping with your Mom. I thought you should know.”
Simon -
“Don't order any of the faerie food. It tends to make humans a little crazy. One minute your munching on a faerie plum, the next minute you're running naked down Madison Avenue with antlers on your head. Not that this has ever happened to me.”
Jace -
“Tell me, is he always really rude, or does he save that for mundanes?" asked Clary. "Oh, he's rude to everyone," said Isabelle airily. "It's what makes him so damn sexy.”
Clary Fray and Isabelle Lightwood -
“How did you know I had shadowhunter blood? Was there some way you could tell?" "I guessed, it seemed like the most likely explanation" "You guessed? You must have been pretty sure, considering you could have killed me" "I was ninety percent sure" "I see," Clary said. There must have been something in her voice, because he turned to look at her. Her hand cracked across his face, a slap that rocked him back on his heels. He put his hand to his cheek, more in surprise than pain. "What the hell was that for?" "The other ten percent".”
Clary Fray and Jace Wayland -
“Those girls on the other side of the car are staring at you." Jace assumed an air of mellow gratification. "Of course they are," he said. "I am stunningly attractive”
Clary and Jace -
“Just be glad you hit me and not Alec. He would have hit you back.”
Jace Wayland -
“They were passing through one of the corridors that were lined with bedrooms. Simon's eyebrows rose. "How many people live here, exactly?" "It's an institute," Clary said. "A place where Shadowhunters can stay when they're in the city. Like a sort of combination safe haven and research facility." "I thought it was a church." "It's inside a church." "Because that's not confusing."”
Simon and Clary -
“He knew his falcon loved him, and when he was certain it was not just tamed but perfectly tamed, he went to his father and showed him what he had done,expecting him to be proud. Instead his father took the bird, now tame and trusting, in his hands and broke its neck. 'I told you to make it obedient,'his father said, and droped the falcon's lifeless body to the ground. "Instead, you taught it to love you. Falcons are not meant to be loving pets: They are fierce and wild, savage and cruel. This bird was not tamed; it was broken.”
Jace -
“Just because you call an electric eel a rubber duck doesn't make it a rubber duck, does it? And God help the poor bastard who decides they want to take a bath with the duckie.”
Jace -
“Investigation?" Isabelle laughed. "Now we're detectives?" Maybe we should all have code names.""Good idea," said Jace. " I shall be Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein.”
Jace and Isabelle -
“A picnic? It's a little late for Central Park, don't you think? It's full of-"He waved a hand. "Faeries. I know.""I was going to say muggers," said Clary. "Though I pity the mugger who goes after you.""That's a wise attitude and I commend you for it...'”
Clary and Jace -
“Well when I was five, I wanted to take a bath in spaghetti.”
Jace Wayland -
“If there was such a thing as terminal literalism, you’d have died in childhood.”
Jace -
“Haven't you ever heard that modesty is an attractive trait?" "Only from ugly people," Jace confided.”
Clary and Jace -
“I'd always hoped that when I finally said 'I love you' to a girl, she'd say 'I know' back, like Leia did to Han in Return of the Jedi.”
Simon -
“"And so what? I just killed a demon in my own house, and you're going to be a dickhead about it because I'm not some spoiled-rotten rich brat like you and your sister?" Alec looked astonished."What did you call me?" Jace laughed. "She has a point, Alec," Jace said. "It's those bridge-and-tunnel demons you really have to watch out for-" "It's not funny, Jace," Alec interrupted, starting to his feet. "Are you just going to let her stand there and call me names?" "Yes," Jace said kindly.”
Jace, Clary and Alec -
“You invited him into bed?" Simon demanded, looking shaken. "Ridiculous isn't it?" said Jace. " We would never all fit.”
Simon(speaking to Clary) and Jace -
“If you run into a psychic wall face-first, do you wind up with psychic bruises?”
Clary's thoughts -
“...that's the motto of the Nephilim-the Shadowhunters-there on the base" "What does it mean?" Jace's grin was a white flash in the darkness. "It means 'Shadowhunters: Looking Better in Black Than the Widows of our Enemies Since 1234"”
Jace and Clary -
“"What are you doing here, anyways?" "'Here' as in your bedroom or 'here' as in the great spiritual question of our purpose here on this planet? If you're asking whether it's all just a cosmic coincidence or there's a greater meta-ethical purpose to life, well, that's a puzzler for the ages. I mean, simple ontological reductionism is clearly a fallacious argument, but-"”
Clary and Jace -
“Alec muttered a retort into his coffee. It rhymed with something that sounded a lot more like "ducking glass mole". Clary smiled inwardly.”
Alec -
“"Huh" said Clary, turning it over in her fingers. "You know, when most girls say they want a big rock, they don't mean, you know, literally a big rock."”
Clary -
“"Jace," she said. "This is important." "Don't tell me," he said. "You've got a drawing emergency. You need a nude model. Well, I'm not in the mood. You could ask Hodge," he added, as an afterthought. "I hear he'll do anything for a-"”
Clary and Jace -
“Is he spying on us?" she hissed”
Clary -
“I have not slept. Between the acting of a dreadful thing and the first motion, all the interim is like a phantasma, or a hideous dream: the Genius and the mortal instruments are then in council; and the state of man, like to a little kingdom, suffers then the nature of an insurrection.”
William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar -
“I figure you'd be less cranky if you had something nice to look at.”
Jace -
“It wouldn't be my move. First the candy and flowers, then the apology letters, then the ravenous demon hordes. In that order.”
Jace -
“Unfortunately, we're all out of bitter revenge at the moment, so it's either tea or nothing.”
Hodge -
“I was laughing at you because declarations of love amuse me, especially when unrequieted.”
Jace -
“The most terrible things men do, they do in the name of love.”
Dorothea -
“But you have to bend a little. Or you'll break.”
Clary -
“If you insist on disavowing that which is ugly about what you do, you will never learn from your mistakes.”
Magnus Bane -
“Vampires are such prima donnas.”
Magnus Bane -
“Half of your attention is better than all of anyone else's.”
Simon -
“Where there is feeling that is not requited, there is an imbalance of power. It is an imbalance that is easy to exploit, but it is not a wise course. Where there is love, there is often also hate. They can exist side by side.”
Hodge -
“Hugo is a raven, and, as such, he knows many things. I, meanwhile, am Hodge Starkweather, a professor of history, and, as such, I do not know nearly enough.”
Hodge Starkweather -
“Most people don't cry when they're upset or frightened, but rather when they're frustrated.”
Hodge Starkweather
Setting & Locations edit
- New York, New York: The entire book takes place in the New York City area.
- Idris: The home country of the Shadowhunters, this is mentioned often, but never gone to.
- Pandemonium Club: It is an all-ages club.
- Nacho Mama: It is a neighborhood Mexican joint.
- New York Marble Cemetery: This is where the City of Bones is located. It is also called the Silent City.
- Taki's: It is a diner in New York.
- Magnus Bane's Apartment
- Hotel Dumont: It is the Vampires' lair.
- Roosevelt Island: This is where the Renwick Smallpox Hospital is located.
Organizations edit
- The Circle: Valentine's group (once described as a "cult" in the book), intent on ridding the world of all demons, including Downworlders.
- The Clave: The Shadowhunters' government.
- Shadowhunters: A race of humans with Angel blood in their veins, making them slightly superhuman. They are meant to rid the world of demons who slip in through dimensional holes.
- The Silent Brothers: A group of Shadowhunters who possess the power to see into peoples' minds and depict information.
- Mundanes: Normal humans.
First Sentence edit
"You've got to be kidding me," the bouncer said, folding his arms across his massive chest.
Table of Contents edit
Part One: Dark Descent
1 PANDEMONIUM
2 SECRETS AND LIES
3 SHADOWHUNTER
4 RAVENER
5 CLAVE AND COVENANT
6 FORSAKEN
7 THE FIVE-DIMENSIONAL DOOR
8 WEAPON OF CHOICE
9 THE CIRCLE AND THE BROTHERHOOD
Part Two: Easy Is The Descent
10 CITY OF BONES
11 MAGNUS BANE
12 DEAD MAN'S PARTY
13 THE MEMORY OF WHITENESS
14 THE HOTEL DUMORT
15 HIGH AND DRY
16 FALLING ANGELS
17 THE MIDNIGHT FLOWER
18 THE MORTAL CUP
19 ABBADON
20 IN RATS' ALLEY
Part Three: The Descent Beckons
21 THE WEREWOLF'S TALE
22 RENWICK'S RUIN
23. VALENTINE
Epilogue: The Ascent Beckons
Glossary edit
- Shadowhunters (also called Nephilim): The Nephilim are humans with angel blood in their veins.
- Downworlder: Are creatures that are human-demon hybrids. They are not necessarily evil but can be. "Downworlder" is a generic name for the children of the moon (Werewolves), the children of the night (Vampires), the children of Lilith (Warlocks) and the children of Lylic (the Fair Folk, or Faeries).
- Mundane: Humans that are not able to see the Shadow World because they have no Sight.
- Shadow World: The magical realm where the Shadowhunter’s society, demons, and the Downworlders live. This world is invisible to the human eye.
- The Accords: A treaty that brings an alliance between the Downworlders and the Shadowhunters.
- Demonology: The study of demons.
- Forsaken: People who were humans and had runes drawn on their faces that casued them to become minions who do whatever the person who created them tells them to do
- Seraph Blade: An angelic blade that are used to kill demons. They are each named after a different angel.
- Stele: Is the instrument used by Shadowhunters to draw Runes. Described as a slender twig made of whitish-silver material, apparently flexible.
- Runes: The marks Shadowhunters use in order to enhance their abilities.
- Eidolon Demon: It is a shape-changer.
- Parabatai: It means a pair of warriors who fight together--who are closer than brothers.
- Iratze: It is a healing rune
- Ifrit: They are warlocks with no magic. They are half demons who can't cast spells.
- Kelpies/Selkies: They are kind of faeries.
- Gramarye: It means magic, hidden wisdom.
- Lycanthropy: It is a delusion that one has become a wolf. It is also the assumption of the form and characteristics of a wolf held to be possible by witchcraft or magic.
- Glamour: Used by Shadowhunters and Downworlders to conceal their activities from Mundanes. Like hologram.
Themes & Symbolism edit
- Good vs. Evil: This is pretty self-explanatory.
- "The Angel": The Angel is how he is commonly refered to, though his real name is Raziel. Ages ago, Raziel created three tools, called the "Mortal Instruments" (hence the name of the series): the cup, the sword, and the mirror. In the first book, however, only the cup is of signifigance. It is said in Shadow Hunter legend that The Angel took his blood in a cup and gave it to the first Shadowhunters to drink, entrusting them with the task of ridding this world of demons. It is said that if you bring together the mirror, sword, and cup, Raziel comes and grants you a wish, though the mirror has supposedly been lost forever.
- Unrequited Love: Describe this theme.
- The Complexity of Love
Errata edit
Q&A with the Author:
Q:l What's up with Clary thinking Magnus looked shifty? Was he up to something after they gave him the Book of the White?
A:| That's just me screwing up, for which I apologize. There was a subplot in earlier drafts about Magnus and the leader of the New York vampire clan (who, btw, he's dating in Infernal Devices), but I cut it out for space reasons. Somehow that line about Clary thinking he looked shifty made it through proofing, even though I cut it out, and while I was able to correct it for later editions (and it won't appear in the UK edition either).
In the first paragraph of chapter 15, Raphael calls werewolves "Los Niños de la Luna," which Clary translates to mean "The Moon's Children." While this is technically correct, it would be more appropriate for Raphael to have said "Los Hijos de la Luna," which also means "The Moon's Children," but refers to the moon's sons and daughters, whereas the original refers to "children" as "boys and girls."
Series & Lists edit
This is book 1 of 8 in The Mortal Instruments. (standard series)
Followed by City of Ashes.
This book is in 2010-2011 Iowa High School Battle of the Books. (authoritative list)
This is book 188 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
This book is in Kirkus Reviews: Tough Teen Heroines of Science Fiction and Fantasy. (authoritative list)
This is book 171 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 26 of 216 in Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 (2011). (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Cassandra Clare (Author)
Other Contributors:
- Margaret K. McElderry Books (Publisher)
- Mike Rosamilia (Designer)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Country: USA
Publication Date: April 2007
ISBN: 9781416914280
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Country: USA
Publication Date: April 2007
ISBN: 9781416914280
Page Count: 496
Awards edit
- Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award (2010)
- South Carolina Young Adult Book Award (Finalist, 2009-2010)
- Georgia Peach Book Award Honor Book (Teen Readers)
- Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader’s Choice Award (2010)
- Locus Award (Finalist, 2007: Best First Novel)
- An American Library Association Teens Top Ten Award (2008)
- Geffen Award (Finalist, 2012: Best Translated Fantasy Book)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PZ7.C5265 Cit 2007 FT MEADE
- Dewey: 813.54
Notes for Parents edit
Reading Level: Young AdultsIt's a wonderful read for adults, teenagers and mature tweens alike. It's filled with excellent vocabulary, and is well written. There is some romance which leads to kissing but nothing graphic or vulgar. There is also violence, though none is particularly graphic either. The humor in the book can be of mature nature at times (innuendos). I highly recommend this novel to any and all fantasy readers. It's an excellent, well thought and wonderful book which is part of a thoroughly entertaining series.
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Links to Supplemental Material edit
Movie Connections edit
- Mortal Instruments (IMDb): August 23, 2013
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