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Cassandra Clare has a huge list of books under her name. She has written numerous series and standalone books all of which have been loved by the masses. However, one common question we are often met with is “where do I begin?”
You are at the right place! Today let us discuss where to begin and how should you go about reading Cassandra Clare’s books!
The best way to enter into Cassandra Clare’s world is in order of each series
1. The Mortal Instrument Series
2. The Eldest Curses Series
3. The Infernal Devices
4. The Dark Artifices
5. The Last Hour
6. The Standalone Books
In this blog, let us discuss the first two series.
I. THE MORTAL INSTRUMENT SERIES
The book revolves around 15-year-old Clary Fray who heads out to a club called the Pandemonium Club in NYC. Here she becomes witness to a murder committed by a teenager covered with strange tattoos who carries bizarre weapons. Post the murder, she notices that the body disappears into thin air, leaving no evidence- not even a blotch of blood. It was rather unlikely that anyone would believe her when she said, a boy was murdered and then disappeared into thin air. However, was it what it appeared to be?
Here our lead, Clary Fray, who desperately wishes to lead a normal life is yet again met with an adventure. What would you define “normal” to be after all when you are a ShadowHunter and your own mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can see Downworlders like fairies, vampires and werewolves?
Even though Clary wishes to leave this magical world, the world is not ready to leave her just yet. This would be Clary’s last chance to find the ShadowHunter Valentine, who is extremely and certainly evil. Not to forget, he is also her father.
From the last two books, one thing the readers are sure to understand is that Love is a mortal sin and the past’s secrets are deadly. In this book, Clary once again to save her mother’s life must travel to the City of Glass. The City of Glass is considered to be the ancestral home of the ShadowHunters. There was one problem, they had to enter the city without permission- which was against law - going against law meant death. Only to make things worse, Jace is not by her side and neither is Simon who is in prison. How does Clary withstand the entire journey?
With the end of the war, when Clary comes back home she finds herself enthralled by the countless possibilities before her. She has been training to become a ShadowHunter and use her powers to her full potential. Even better is the fact that her mother is marrying the man she loved. And not to forget the Downworlders and ShadowHunters were at peace. However, happiness was not something that lasted long. Someone was murdering ShadowHunters and hence building tensions between the Downworlders and ShadowHunters. This could possibly lead to another deadly war. Clary is forced to dive into the case, and risk the possibility of her losing everything.
Love often has a high price attached to it. During Jace and Clary’s reunion, Clary realises that Lilith’s magic (a demon) has bound Jace and her evil brother Sebastian together. This made Jace Sebastian’s servant. She was absolutely horrified but she knew she had to do something. The only problem was that there was basically no way to harm one boy without causing pain or harm to the other one as well. Clary is ready to risk everything, but it is sure to put Jace’s soul at stake. Does Jace survive?
Evil and darkness are slowly but evidently ascending on the ShadowHunter world. Destruction, mayhem and constant chaos is overburden the Nephilim. Sebastian is on move once again, who is manipulating ShadowHunters to turn on each other. He bore the Infernal Cup, with the help of which he turned the ShadowHunters into nightmarish creatures, he tore families apart, made the lovers feel the pain of separation. Will Clary and her team stand a chance against the powerful Sebastian? Lives will surely be lost, but which side actually survives?
II. THE ELDEST CURSES SERIES
The book is led by Magnus Bane who rather had a simple wish of a vacation, which consisted of a trip to Europe with his boyfriend, Alec Lightwood. When the pair settled in Paris, they are met with some news. Their old friend brings them the news of a cult that worshipped a demon. The cult was called Crimson Hand and they were causing mayhem and wreaking havoc worldwide.
The only problem is, however, the cult is founded by Magnus himself. The year before. Just as a joke.
Is that the only secret that Magnus is keeping? Is there any secret that Alec has? Maybe.
After their encounter with the Crimson Hand, both Alec and Magnus have a decent life. They live together and their warlock son, Max has started walking. The streets of NY are surprisingly peaceful…which obviously isn’t to last long.
One night, two old friends break into Magnus’s house and steal a book called “book of white”. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, right? However, it was a powerful book.
Alec and Magnus must get that book back, for which they had to drop everything. They travel all the way to Shanghai to track the thieve. They alone are not enough even, they need to call for backup.
If things didn’t seem worrisome enough, Magnus had been stabbed by a magical weapon that caused a wound that was constantly glowing. His magic is also growing unstable, which is causing him to not be able to stop the demons from overpowering the shadow hunters (his backup) in the city.
Will they make it back home? Will Magnus make it back home ALIVE?
With this, we come to the end of today’s blog. We shall discuss the other series of Cassandra Clare in the following blogs. If you have any suggestions for us, we are more than glad to hear from you! Thank you for reading!