The Mortal Instruments

Alright, I'm going to say it. I didn't like Twilight. I know, I know, you can hate me all you want, but I must be true to myself.

You see, Twilight was just a romance wrapped inside the blanket of a supernatural adventure.  I love supernatural adventures, but I can live without a boring old romance. "Oh, I love him, but he doesn't love me." "Oh, he loves me, but I'm still not happy, because I don't think I deserve him." Boo-flippity-hoo.

I'm not opposed to a little looooove, I mean it does make the world go round.  It just needs to take a backseat to the real adventure of the story.  THIS, is what The Mortal Instruments provides:  A supernatural rollercoaster with a little romance thrown in to grease the skids for a bumpier ride.  Plus, it involves a whole lot more than just vampires and wolves. They get down and dirty, my friends.

We begin the story with Clary Fray. And please don't even tell me you think Isabella Swan is a cooler name than Clary Fray - because you'd be dead wrong!  So, Clary heads to a night club in NYC with her best friend, Simon. Clary's mom is PO'd. She seems to be over-the-top PO'd, too. She's really overreacting to Clary going downtown. They fight over the phone, but Clary refuses to go home.



Clary Fray (illus. James L. Barry)

 She and Simon hang out and sway to the music, when something across the room catches Clary's attention. She witnesses several people following a kid into a back room. It appears they are looking to do some bodily harm. Clary follows. Simon panics when he loses her in the crowd. Jace Wayland makes his appearance.

Jace (who makes Edward and Jacob look like choir boys), his best friend Alec Lightwood, and Alec's sister Isabelle (definitely a secondary character name!) kill the kid in front of Clary before she can do anything to stop it. But, something strange happens.  Something stranger than three teenagers chasing another teenager into a broom closet and killing him, that is.  When the kid dies, his body disappears: POOF!

The three killers see Clary too late. But what stumps them is that Clary can see THEM! Apparently, that's not normal.  You see, they are Shadowhunters. There job is to hunt down and kill the evil demons of the world, which is what they had just done in the broom closet. But, they are cloaked with charms and the everyday people (mundanes, as they call them) can't see through them. Oh, but Clary is soooo not typical.

Jace Wayland (Fan Art)

Immediately, she and Jace strike up an interest in each other. Simon is waaaay jealous, because he's had a crush on his best friend for forevah.  Clary goes home to find her apartment ransacked and her mother gone. WTHeck?! AND there is some sort of a monster there that attacks her! Fortunately, Jace saves her (of course!) by applying a marking on her arm to heal her. The catch is...this mark will only heal a shadow hunter; it will kill a human! 

Needless to say, Clary survives to find out who she really is, why she can see the Shadowhunters, and why the marks didn't kill her. Her new mission is to save her mother. But she has no idea what's in store!

There are three books in this series at this time: The City of Bones, The City of Ashes, and The City of Glass.  As of April, 2011, the fourth book, The City of Fallen Angels will be released.  And, according to the website http://www.mortalinstruments.com/, there are two more novels planned after that! Ok, so I'm excited - sue me!  They are to be titled: The City of Lost Souls and The City of Heavenly Fire.  Wait, there's more. It looks like a graphic novel of The City of Bones is being developed. They don't have a release date as of yet, but the website has great pics.

Also, there is a prequel series called The Infernal Devices. It tells the history of the Shadowhunters in London during the Victorian Times. I liked it, but it wasn't as exciting as The Mortal Instruments. I guess it'll hold me over in between the next three MI books!

It looks like they are even considering a movie.  I don't really know how I feel about that. Sometimes, they ruin it and make me angry (Eragon, Alex Rider, The Dark is Rising), other times they make the world come alive and the movies act as great companions to the books (Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia).  We'll see, I guess!

In the meantime, enjoy this series. It's worth the read!