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Super Natural

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments)

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments)

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City of Bones (Mortal Instruments)

 
 
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Description

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. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.


Product Details
Author:Cassandra Clare
Paperback:512 pages
Publisher:Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date:February 19, 2008
Language:English
ISBN:1416955070
Product Length:8.28 inches
Product Width:5.49 inches
Product Height:1.35 inches
Product Weight:1.0 pounds
Package Length:8.2 inches
Package Width:5.5 inches
Package Height:1.5 inches
Package Weight:1.0 pounds
Average Customer Rating: based on 576 reviews

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188 of 217 found the following review helpful:


3Hey Clary, have you ever met Harry?  Nov 13, 2010 By dreamsend
This review was written for my blog, so the hyperlinks and strikethrough text got erased when I posted it here, but I think you get the gist.
---
I'm finally getting around to reading Cassandra Clare's City of Bones (first book in the "Mortal Instruments" series) and I have so many conflicted feelings about it, I'm actually having a hard time just reading it. Nevertheless, this post is actually a review of City of Bones. IT HAS SOME SPOILERS. Not that there's much to spoil.

First of all, I've been familiar with Cassandra Clare's work for quite a few years now...of course, what I mean is that like thousands of other people, I knew her from her LOTR and Harry Potter fanfiction days, under the penname "Cassandra Claire." She would probably be the most stellar example of what's known as a BNF, or a Big Name Fan. She wrote the "Very Secret Dairies" for LOTR and the "Draco Trilogy" (Draco Dormiens, Sinister, and Veritas) for Harry Potter. They've been translated into various languages and most likely if you read any Harry Potter fanfiction at all, you've probably heard of Cassandra Clare. Unsurprisingly, there was also some controversy and accusations of plagiarism involved, since she paraphrased or "forgot to cite" a lot of phrases and quotes that she used in her stories, which she'd taken from other famous works/fandoms. You can read all about it at her very own Fanlore page . As I recall, she may or may not have been gifted a laptop by fans when hers was stolen - though this is apparently one of the myths that got deleted off websites like Fanlore.

Anyway, all this is just background context, but it's important context, and you'll see why. So basically after this highly successful fanfiction stint, Cassandra Claire became Cassandra Clare, the best-selling author of the YA "Mortal Instruments" series, which finally brings me back to City of Bones. With that said, City of Bones is more or less the Harry Potter world reimagined, and what I mean by that is that basically almost every single concept and phrase and description in this book seemed oddly familiar... But that's kind of to be expected, since naturally a writer's style can't change overnight. Still.

Here's now the series works. Clary Fray is your normal teenage girl - for about fifty pages, anyway - and basically she starts seeing things that other people can't see. No, it actually isn't a book based off the ever popular faerie mythology. Clary sees three teenagers covered with weird markings kill someone they claim is a demon. Turns out, there's a whole "Shadow world" out there, where there are vampires, werewolves, faeries, and so on. One of those marked teenagers turns out to be a young Shadowhunter named Jace, who happens to have all the same mannerisms and characteristics as Draco Malfoy, especially the Draco Malfoy portrayed the Draco Trilogy. In other words, he's arrogant, wealthy, sarcastic, blond, and he even comes with a back story with some kind of stern father who teaches him that "to love is to destroy." The father spoiled his son with luxuries (they live in the Malfoy - well, a manor - after all) but the father also died. Jace is a Shadowhunter, meaning he's been trained since birth to kill demons and whatnot. A Shadowhunter uses a stele (which is a wand-like object, Clare's description, not mine) to draw runes, i.e. they use this "tool" to do magic. Cool, right?

Okay, Jace is actually pretty appealing (well, why not? He's basically Draco) but the similarities don't stop there. See, about 16 years ago in this magical world, this guy named Lord Voldemort - er, I mean Valentine - decided to get rid of everyone who he felt wasn't pureblooded enough, which in this case means anything nonhuman. There's actually quite a bit of snobbishness going on between the Shadowhunters and the Muggles - er, I mean mundanes - that don't know about this magical world that's hiding in plain sight. Anyway, 16 years ago, "Valentine" failed and everyone thought he and his wife and child died. His supporters, the Circle (okay, fail, Death Eaters sounds so much cooler), either died during the Uprising or turned themselves in and are somewhat co-opted back into the government, but exiled.

Clary, of course, turns out to be mysteriously connected to He Who Shall Not Be Named, who turns out not to be dead. Like you didn't see that one coming. Anyway, Valentine sends demons after Clary and manages to kidnap Clary's mom. Clary's dad conveniently died around the time she was born. Hmmmm. Valentine used to be this popular and handsome Shadowhunter who, you know, didn't start out evil but gradually became obsessed with killing all the Downworlders (those nonhuman, part demon whatevers) and using this thing called the Mortal Cup to create more Shadowhunters from regular humans. Problem is, only like 20% of the converted humans survive, but Valentine's not going to let that stop him. He builds up his followers - the Circle - which basically consists of the parents of all of Clary's new Shadowhunter friends. By the way, the Shadowhunter names are all things like Blackwell, Pangborn, Lightwood, Fairchild. Just so you know. No sense of deja vu, of course.

Also, in a twist you so couldn't see coming, Valentine turns out to be Clary's mom's husband, which makes Clary...right, his daughter. Oh no! To help you (and Clary) keep track of everyone, there's this old picture of the Circle when they were young, y'know that group of friends who were all together...too bad the picture isn't animated, right? Let's keep going though. So V's after the Mortal Cup, which Clary's mom has hidden, so Clary and Jace try to find it while some action and unrequited love pads the story. The relationships are painfully similar to what was in Draco Trilogy, but I guess you can't really plagiarize from yourself. On the romantic front, I won't spoil it completely, but just think Leia and Luke Skywalker. Uh huh, another classic. Jace also has an "I am your father" moment.

All right, all this said, despite all of the above, City of Bones is a pretty good book, in the same way that I thought that the Draco Trilogy was pretty fun to read. Incidentally, the Draco Trilogy can be downloaded as a PDF from a variety of places. Both the Trilogy and this "Mortal Instruments" series have lots of Latin inscriptions, lots of references, and lots of funny moments. It's only irritating because the whole thing constantly makes me think "wow, I've seen this before," to the point that it was really distracting. There wasn't a single part that I felt was all that new, but everything was pretty well done and well written. Clary is almost unbearably a Mary Sue, but I was way more distracted by the shoutouts to Jaida Jones (another famous fanfic writer turned published author, who actually did write a novel I liked, Havemercy) and Holly Black. Regarding the Mary Sue issue, though, can we please get rid of all these fantasy heroines who never seem to realize they're beautiful until their romantic interest tells them? Cliche much and annoying much? Please, you're telling me a 16 year old girl somehow never realized her own level of attractiveness. Really, now.

Unsurprisingly, the "Mortal Instruments" series has been a big hit and might be being made into a film. Lots of people are saying it's the next Harry Potter. In my opinion, it's more like a Harry Potter rehash, but given how much HP has sold, if Cassandra Clare can take even 5% of the market share, that would be a pretty big success. Would I recommend it to others? Hmmm. I think as an avid reader of YA novels, I have far better series to recommend to my friends. You could definitely do worse, but you could also definitely do better. For those who like fantasy and heroic fairy tales, try Kristin Cashore - though her books are very well rounded and definitely deserve all the YA awards they've won, so try her even if you don't usually go for fantasy. For those action-minded, try Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy or Ann Aguirre's Enclave. If you're looking for a more grown up, but still teenage epic action/romance series with vampires, try Richelle Mead. If you like stories about futuristic technological dystopias, try Scott Westerfeld or Robin Wasserman. Leaning toward epic fantasy or consider yourself a fan of Tamora Pierce? Try Allison Goodman's Eon.

Update: The "MI" series ARE being made into films and the hype is already that it'll be the "next big thing" when Twilight ends. All I can say is, that's almost as predictable as the book.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:


2Verdict? Cotton candy overload!  Aug 04, 2011 By Anna
(This review refers to all three books of the Mortal Instruments Trilogy. It was written for a blog, so excuse the hyperlink references.)

Titles: City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass

Clary lives as normal and uncomplicated a life as anyone can in NYC--bohemian mom, quiet best friend Simon, father-like family friend Luke... There is nothing more to Clary's world than the everyday--until reality comes crashing through the thin veil of her mind late one night in a sketch downtown club. One glimpse and Clary's mundane life becomes utterly complex: mother's missing; Simon's hopelessly in love with her; angels exist, so do demons, werewolves, and vampires (aka "downworlders"); and the only person who seems to know what's going on is the single most arrogant, cold, and freakishly HOT guy Clary has ever seen. His name is Jace, and he calls himself a Nephalim--half human, half angel.

Before she can even remember to object, Clary is thrown headlong into a serious interspecies conflict led by a rogue Nephalim--Valentine--whose very name inspires the shivers. As the whole shadow world struggles to decide whether to combine forces and stop Valentine from claiming the 3 powerful Mortal Instruments or to give in and allow him to fulfill his diabolical plans, it slowly becomes apparent that Clary is the unsuspecting lynchpin.

In order to stop him, she must face a host of challenges--physical, psychological, and romantic--before confronting the ultimate choice to sacrifices what matters to her most, or live with the devastating consequences.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

.
**--Spoiler Alert--**

(I won't give away whole storylines, but will hint at things that aren't revealed until bk 3.)

I knew that sooner or later it'd have to come along: my first negative review. However, please bear in mind that I'm not saying not to read these books. Though I got frustrated and sometimes put them down (for the reasons outlined below), I wouldn't have not finished them. Hence the 3 stars (where I was tempted to give 2). I don't think that I will pick up the new *surprise* book 4, City of Fallen Angels though...and I don't really think back on the ones I did read...at all.

That's because this trilogy falls firmly into the group I'd call "cotton candy": look pretty, smell pretty, melt in your mouth and are gone. They are, seemingly without remorse, a very cheap thrill--a la Twilight & Co.--and for that reason, very hard to put down. I found myself alternatively groaning with gusto and sighing with teen fever.

If you're interested to know the details of why I wasn't so keen on them, keep reading. If not, skip to the next set of stars.
.

* * * * *

In particular, these 4 things bothered me:

1) Simon. Love triangles are common enough that I've devoted an entire category to them here. But, some are achieved more or less annoyingly than others. This was not in that group. Simon, Clary's friend-turned-gaggy-crush, doesn't stand a chance--he's a clear 2nd best to the cold, heroic heartthrob, Jace. Although, there is one "turn off" about Jace that is supposed to make us doubt his destiny to be with Clary, it was so un-deftly played that I never bit. As a result, Simon ended up looking even dorkier than intended, and, well, just grated on my every last nerve.

2) Incessant Foreshadowing. A literary device full of potential, it became something of a dead horse in these books. I knew the answers to the "burning" questions (and was 100% confident about them) some 500 pages before they were answered. This was, in part, because the narrative was a little too transparent, but also partly because the author spent so much energy trying to keep the questions burning that she smoked the answers out. I like a little more cleverness to my mysteries--otherwise, what motivation do you have to keep reading a not-particularly-well-written 1500-page series?

3) Reckless Manslaughter. Like George in HP, a sibling of a supporting character dies in the final book. However, this series wasn't brave about it: the character is so minor to the plot as to be useless; its removal more of a hiccup than heartstop--and the motive for doing such an obvious attempt at evoking pathos that I almost laughed...then got angry (see Tweet proof). The poor kid's role--who, unlike George, we never get to know and love--is reduced to something like a cute puppy who gets bopped on the head to make softhearted girls go "awww!" Truly, this piece of the narrative was ridiculously clumsily pulled off (enough to deserve two -ly adverbs!). If the writing's good, it will evoke tears through its art--not by stabbing the reader in the hand with a fork.

4) Clamoring Clichés...and a lot of familiar motifs. There is a chunkton of rather unoriginal material in this series. I don't necessarily mean the demon/angel/etc lore--but in actual motifs of the storyline. (Those spoilers I told you about hit most here.)

Brother-sister a(ttra)ction (Starwars)
Sociopathic, racist villain whose name begins with "V"--every mention of which name strikes fear--whom the adults of the book went to school with and knew as a "less than purely evil young man," and who plans the purification of the world from inferior races by means of 3 magical artifacts...(Need I go on? Of course, I do mean Voldemort.)
A triumvirate of mystical objects, which, when combined, achieve world-changing ends. (Harry Potter series; His Dark Materials trilogy)
Heroine who has the power to write or read magical runes/glyphs/letters that alter reality. (the Dreamdark series; His Dark Materials trilogy)
Protagonist who discovers they have a powerful parent they've never known when they go off to a haven for their "like kind." (Percy Jackson series; His Dark Materials trilogy; Fever Crumb series)
Heroine who is small/weak, and needs protecting by the tall, cold, quiet heartthrob. (Twilight series)
Tall, cold, quiet heartthrob with burning golden eyes and slightly jealous siblings. (Twilight series)
World with a somewhat malevolent group of specially powered rulers, sitting in a remote European corner of the globe, unbeknownst to the rest of society. (Twilight series; Harry Potter Series; Percy Jackson series; Vampire Academy series...)
Death of a supporting character's sibling. (Harry Potter series)
Etc.
Now, I'm not saying I believe much (if any) of our contemporary literature can claim full originality--it's just not possible, nor would it be much fun. The art of storytelling for the entire history of man has coincided with the art of borrowing. (That was, actually, my masters thesis in a nutshell.) And, J. K. Rowling is a primary example--her work is a virtual collage of borrowed mythic and literary artifacts. However, her story is also extraordinarily complex and subtly original in its own right. The Mortal Instruments books, however, don't have the same complexity by far, and thus their recycling comes across as rather obvious and forced than intriguing, clever, or allusive.

* * * * *

All in all, if you are looking for an easy, fast, rollercoaster ride through romantic conflict and paranormalcy, I do recommend this trilogy. The love story (and hunka-hunka hero) was enough to pull me through. And, pull me it did, I must admit. I was dying to know what happened to Clary and Jace at the end. But, if you find yourself groaning at the obsessive hint-dropping, see-through emotional triggers, and overall mundaneness of style, don't say I didn't warn you.

[...]

28 of 34 found the following review helpful:


1Nothing new here, and poorly executed  Jan 01, 2012 By Kate
I have not read Cassandra Clare's fan fiction, although I do know that she started in fanfic. You can tell. For a fanfic, I would consider this to be very good, but I expect more out of a published novel.

Clare's writing style is nothing to get excited about. It moves the story along, but does nothing to add to it. I give her props for not abusing fragments (a pet peeve of mine) as a lot of YA writers do these days. However, she writes like someone who has just started getting into creative writing--she has figured out how to string words together, but she hasn't figured out how to use them to tell a story. Instead, she tries to find out clever ways to describe something or pulls out a thesaurus where none is needed.

However, everything in this book--plot, characters, settings--is cliche. This book has been written many times before and better. Since you know how everything is going to play out from page one, there's really nothing to get excited for in City of Bones.

She goes out of her way to reference things in anime and fandom which I assume is supposed to be cute, but I find it obnoxious. In fanfic, that might be acceptable, but not in a published novel. She also distracts from the plot by having her characters have a lot of "witty" banter. For the most part, I didn't find it particularly witty or funny, and it's never a good sign when another character in the book has to remind the other characters (and you) that the plot is still happening. That's very sloppy writing.

I really did not care for the main characters. Jace, the Love Interest, is one of your typical "Bad Boy" types who we are repeatedly told is "charming." Over and over, Clare will tell you that he is charming, oh so charming. To quote The Princess Bride, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Perhaps as a 14 year old I might have been fooled into believing Cassandra Clare that her character is, indeed, just so charming, but as an adult... His actions, his attitude, and the way he talks do not make him a charming or attractive character. If I met Jace in real life, I would think he was a rude, obnoxious brat.

Then there's Clary. It is painfully obvious that Clary is a self-insert of the author herself. This is not inherently a horrible thing. I would be perfectly willing to overlook it if the book and character were better written. The trouble is, Clary is not a sympathetic lead. She comes off as being jealous and hateful. Important, plot-related things might be going on, but Clary can always find the time to be jealous of and "hate" someone for having nicer eyelashes than she does. There is only one other female character in the book, Isabelle, and of course the two of them don't get along because they're so jealous of the other's beauty (but of course Clary doesn't think of herself as beautiful) and because they have to compete for all the boys' attention (naturally). Like Jace, I have a feeling I would not like Clary Fray at all if I met her in real life.

The biggest thing that bothered me about City of Bones and the character of Clary was the constant bashing of people who aren't thin and/or conventionally attractive. Of course, all the main characters are thin and conventionally attractive--that goes without saying. But Clary spends an inordinate amount of time in the book picking apart her and other people's physical flaws (or more likely being jealous of their perfections and hating them for it). Then, of course, there's the lovely quote, "She 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." I realize Clare is going for humor, but that's still a very offensive line and definitely not the kind of thing I want to see in a YA novel. The implication is that people who are "fat" or not conventionally attractive have nothing to live for. Considering most readers of this book are likely to be young girls who may already have problems with their self-image, is that really the message they should be receiving?

Perhaps she's going for some kind of realism. Maybe there are a lot of teenage girls who spend a lot of time focused on the physical looks of themselves and those around them and are jealous of others and hate them for looking better than they do. I was never one of those girls, and I don't find that to be a sympathetic trait in anyone--fictional or not. Had Clare written the story as if she were aware of Clary's mental/emotional flaws rather than just her physical ones, that would have been acceptable. Instead, Clary is portrayed as the Every Girl and we are meant to sympathize and agree with her. Unfortunately, I don't.

Cassandra Clare is a capable writer, and she could even be a good writer. Unfortunately, in City of Bones, she is too self-indulgent, and too lacking in originality and self-awareness to pull off a decent novel. I have no desire to continue this series, but I would hope that her later works show improvement because thus far the talent is there, just not the ability.

61 of 81 found the following review helpful:


1Deja vu  May 21, 2007 By Aluvrianne Imicara
This whole book just felt tired and done before, like I've read or seen the same concepts in other fictional universes many times (such as Buffy and Star Wars).

I picked this up because I liked the title and the description and am willing to give anything a chance and it just didn't do anything for me. Besides the above mentioned, it was a bit dense as well, to the point I don't know that it would hold a YA audience. The writing was a bit flowery, leading the mind to wander. Several details simply didn't add up about the characters and their personalities. The characters were strained and flat. I forced myself to finish it because I'd paid full cover price and felt cheated out of my money. If you're interested, I suggest picking City of Bones up at your local library and seeing how it fits.

153 of 207 found the following review helpful:


3Light, Fun, but not a Keeper  Mar 28, 2007 By Morgan L. Myers
While I won't go so far as to nitpick Clare's creative (sometimes too creative) use of adjectives, I do have some critiques of this book. If you've read the fanfiction, you'll be well-prepared for this novel, and in fact you'll have fun recognizing some of your favorite characters back, thinly veiled. This is actually Clare at her best, lots of improbable but fun dialogue, good pacing for once, no long dragged out subplots that make the reader forget what the main plot is, with bits that make the reader laugh aloud (at least me). I read the story straight through, and I enjoyed it. I even bought it after telling myself I wasn't going to. It is the kind of book that you binge on, read in one go and enjoy.

However, there were things that really bugged me.

1. Self-referencing. Two things that jerked me out of the narrative were the use of the word 'asshat' which is widely used now, but not so widely used that I think it's a coincidence it's in this book, and giving Luke a 'Still Not King' bumper sticker, also fairly common, but still in-jokey. I suppose if the reader hasn't read anything else of Clare's, they wouldn't notice, but I don't look at that and feel superior for knowing the joke, I feel irritated with the author for waving at her friends instead of writing the story.

2. It's a soap opera. Admittedly, an enjoyable one, but the story is all drama and passion and twists, and not all that much character development, or even consistent characterization. I sincerely doubt a girl who refers to herself as 'shy' would slap a guy she barely knows who saved her life, and then make out with a near stranger. Not really shy actions. Jace, too, is uneven. Isabelle's fanfic alter ego was one of the most fun parts of Cassie's fanfic, so I enjoyed her, and I think she has fairly good characterization, but I didn't feel like there was a lot of real character development. Sure, they learned things, and supposedly changed, but Alec is the only one who appears to grow.

3. It's derivative. This story is like the happy offspring of Harry Potter, Uglies, Inksheart, Star Wars, with Lord of the Rings as a distant cousin and Buffy as the down the street neighbor. It does combine some of the better elements--friends, a knowledge of occult mythology, sectarian groups and violence, fun villains who may or may not be related to you, etc--but that doesn't mean it's original. You take lots of strikingly beautiful things and blend them together to come up with something generically pretty.

Valentine reminded me of Capricorn the entire book, and he only made an appearance at the end. For readers of Clare's fanfic series, you'll enjoy picking out how she changed some of her scenes and characters to fit this story, but it's also like "ooh! this is like the scene where Draco and Hermione get locked in the wardrobe! Only instead of Hermione it's Ginny--er Clary!"

People who enjoy this genre will enjoy the book. People who enjoy Clare's writing will enjoy this book. I'm glad it got published. But it's not exactly the kind of story that you imagine lasting through generations.

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