City of Bones (Mortal Instruments)
Discover the world of the Shadowhunters in the first installment of the New York Times and internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly). City of Bones is a Shadowhunters novel.
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. And she’s more than a little startled when the body disappears into thin air.
Soon Clary is introduced to the world of the Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of warriors dedicated to driving demons out of our world and back to their own. And Clary is introduced with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque monster. How could a mere human survive such an attack and kill a demon? The Shadowhunters would like to know…
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. And she’s more than a little startled when the body disappears into thin air.
Soon Clary is introduced to the world of the Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of warriors dedicated to driving demons out of our world and back to their own. And Clary is introduced with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque monster. How could a mere human survive such an attack and kill a demon? The Shadowhunters would like to know…
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Readers say *City of Bones* delivers an engaging urban fantasy adventure with likable characters like Clary, Simon, and Magnus, set in a vividly imagi...
Clary Fray and her friend Simon arrive one evening at a club called Pandemonium only for Clary to come across something strange, something new, something indescribable in the form of Jace Wayland, Alec Lightwood, and Isabelle Lightwood. Three Shadowhunters who quickly dispatch a demon in a storage closet. Which begs to question - how can Clary, a mundane, see them when glamor is supposed to keep them hidden from the "regular world"? So starts a journey of discovery for Clary and her best friend, Simon. It's a journey to discover who her mother - attacked and taken from their apartment - really is, what has been kept from Clary all her life, and how the new group of friends fit together. Clary Fray struggles to recover the memories that have been kept from her via spell blocking her mind from remembering, kept her from seeing the world as it really is. While I can definitely see the parallels between this story and a certain other fantasy series that will remain nameless, I found myself rather enjoying this tale (minus the ickiness of certain revelations. If you know, you know). So far, I think the fantasy aspect that is built around the mundane world is interesting and I look forward to how it is expanded upon in the rest of the series. Favorite characters so far? Simon, Clary's friend, and Magnus Bane, a warlock. Points to Alec, as well!
I read this as a kid, so this was just a reread. Kind of a comfort read. Something I can go back to and know it's good.
The writing was weak. I remember feeling like there was too much world-building just thrown at me rather than being exposed to me slowly over time. I barely finished this just to get it done.
Don't steal stuff from the greats. Quit with the tortured metaphors. And finally, can we finally get a heroine who doesn't suck? Clary is dumb, unobservant, magically great at all stuff she shouldn't be, and selfish. She isn't flawed in a sympathetic way, she's just lame. I gave it one star because it's not possible to give it less and those tortured metaphors did make me laugh. Would not recommend.
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