The Mortal Instruments

Publication history

1. City of Bones (published March 27, 2007)
2. City of Ashes (published March 25, 2008)
3. City of Glass (published March 23, 2009)
4. City of Fallen Angels (published April 5, 2011)
5. City of Lost Souls (published May 8, 2012)
6. City of Heavenly Fire (published May 27, 2014)

Main characters

Clarissa "Clary" Adele Fray (also referred to as Fairchild and Morgenstern) is the sister of Jonathan Morgenstern and daughter of Valentine Morgenstern and Jocelyn Fairchild. To protect Clary, Jocelyn changes her surname to Fray. Clary is described as having long, curly red hair, freckles, and bright green eyes. She is very small and short, "a little over five feet" as first described in City of Bones and often viewed as younger than her actual age. In the first book, Clary is 15 years old, approaching 16, which is the age of Isabelle Lightwood. Clary is an artist, and in the first book, City of Bones, it is believed that she is a mundane, an ordinary human, as she first thought of herself. It is later revealed that she is a Shadowhunter, or Nephilim: a human with angelic qualities. Clary is described as being stubborn and often rushes into dangerous situations without considering the consequences. Her best friend in the series is Simon Lewis. He is in love with her but she is romantically involved with Jace (who uses various surnames). Clary is devastated when she is told that Jace is her brother but later learns that this is untrue. Clary discovers she can read ancient runes that are used by angels, and she can create her own runes, an ability that was caused by the extra angel blood her father, Valentine Morgenstern administered to her while she was in her mother's womb. In the first few books, Clary has a tense relationship with the Lightwoods siblings. Alec Lightwood, Jace's parabatai or best friend, is seemingly jealous of Clary's relationship with Jace since he thinks she is occupying Jace more than she should, while Izzy Lightwood shows hostility towards Clary at the beginning since she thinks Clary is just a normal human being.

Jonathan Christopher "Jace" Herondale (also referred to as Wayland, Morgenstern, and Lightwood, known as the brother of Clarissa "Clary" Adele Fray in early series) is described as being tall and muscular with scars across his golden skin from faded magical marks called Runes. He has wavy blond hair and golden eyes, and, like Clary, is a Shadowhunter. Jace is among the Nephilim's best fighters, since Izzy stated that he's killed more demons than anybody his age, and readily defends his family. Jace is often flirty and insensitive, and is described as projecting a false arrogance due to an insecurity that he is not good enough. Throughout the books, Jace's biological family remains unknown although he refers to Isabelle, Alec, and Max as his siblings, and Maryse and Robert Lightwood as his parents. In City of Bones, he believes he is a Wayland but at the end of the book Valentine Morgenstern falsely tells him that he is Jace's father. In City of Glass, Jace learns that his biological father is actually Stephen Herondale. He goes by the surname of his adoptive family, the Lightwoods but changes it back to Herondale upon learning more about his true father. Like Clary, he has special powers which make him swift and graceful, caused by the extra angel blood he received while in his mother's womb. His parabatai is Alec Lightwood. Parabatai refers to a pair of Nephilim warriors who fight together as lifelong partners. This is represented as a permanent rune that allows both individuals to be connected to each other.

Simon Lewis (also referred to as Lovelace) is a tall, thin boy with a mop of brown hair, brown eyes, and wears glasses. He often wears T-shirts with gamer slogans. In City of Lost Souls, Simon describes himself as being a "hipster," but his best friend, Clary, refers to him as a geek. Simon is the only character to begin life as an ordinary human (called a mundane), but in City of Ashes he is transformed into a vampire. After becoming a vampire, he never ages and physically will remain 16 years old. He gets taken care of by Raphael Santiago. In "City of Ashes" Valentine Morgenstern stabs Simon in the throat and slits his wrists for the one-fourth vampire blood needed to convert the Mortal Sword. Jace finds Simon and cuts his own wrist to let Simon drink his blood, thus resulting in Simon becoming a Daylighter. Simon is quirky and caring, often putting other people before himself. In City of Fallen Angels, Simon finds himself in a love triangle with the characters of Maia Roberts and Isabelle Lightwood; however, in City of Lost Souls he chooses Isabelle over Maia.

Isabelle "Izzy" Sophia Lightwood is a sixteen years old Shadowhunter that is described as tall, thin, and beautiful. She has long black hair and dark brown eyes, and is often carrying her trademark gold electrum whip, as shown in the City of Bones, where Izzy attracted a shape-shifter blue-haired demon in the Pandemonium. Isabelle is described as being incredibly girly but with a fierce attitude. She is often considered flirty and never seems committed in relationships. In City of Lost Souls, she admits to being in love with Simon Lewis and in City of Heavenly Fire she becomes Simon Lewis' girlfriend.

Alexander "Alec" Gideon Lightwood is the oldest Lightwood sibling. Alec is a Shadowhunter with floppy black hair and blue eyes. He is described as being quiet but protective of his younger siblings: Isabelle and Max, the latter of whom dies in City of Glass. Alec believes he is in love with Jace, his best friend and parabatai in the first book, City of Bones, until he meets Magnus Bane. In City of Glass, Alec kisses Magnus in front of his parents, revealing to them that he is homosexual. In City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls, Alec becomes insecure about his and Magnus' relationship because of Magnus' immortality and considerable romantic history. This insecurity leads him to consider turning Magnus into a mortal against his will, which causes Magnus to end their relationship in City of Lost Souls. However, Magnus and Alec eventually reconcile in City of Heavenly Fire.

Magnus Bane is the bisexual High Warlock of Brooklyn. Magnus is an approximately 400-year-old warlock who appears to be 19. He is tall and thin with Asian features, jet black hair, and amber and green cat eyes. Magnus Bane is often described as glittery, and he throws countless parties with Downworlders. Magnus is involved with Jocelyn, Clary's mom, to erase Clary's memories of the Shadowhunter world. Magnus begins a relationship with Alec Lightwood, therefore he feels obliged to become the New York Shadowhunters' "pet" warlock to impress Alec. Magnus appears in the prequel to The Mortal Instruments—The Infernal Devices—and there is a series of 10 short stories describing some of the events that occurred in Magnus Bane's long life titled The Bane Chronicles. In The Bane Chronicles, Magnus is also romantically involved with a vampire named Camille.

Luke Garroway, born Lucian Graymark , is a former Shadowhunter and a former member of the circle. When he was younger he was best friends and parabatai with Valentine. However he was soon betrayed by Valentine who led him into a trap where he was bitten by a werewolf, causing him to become one. He was the leader of the Manhattan werewolf pack, until Maia Roberts earned the title herself. His fiancè is Jocelyn Fairchild and is Clary's step-father. He is described as calm, level-headed and righteous. He is also fiercely loyal to his loved ones.

Jocelyn Fray (Fairchild) is a Shadowhunter, a former member of the circle, and the mother of Clary and Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern. She was once married to Valentine but following the birth of their first child, Jonathan, she learned that Valentine mixed demon blood into her food, thus making Jonathan into a monster. Valentine again mixed angel blood into Jocelyn's food, unaware that she was pregnant with Clary. After he faked his and Jonathan's deaths, Jocelyn left Idris and moved to Brooklyn where she gave birth to Clary. Every two years Jocelyn had Magnus Bane cast a block on Clary's "Sight" or "inner eye," to prevent her from seeing the Shadow world. In City of Bones she self-induces a coma to prevent Valentine learning the whereabouts of the Mortal Cup. She is reawakened in City of Glass. She is currently engaged to her childhood friend, Luke Garroway. Her current surname, Fray is revealed to be a portmanteau of her initial maiden name, Fairchild, and that of Tessa Gray, a warlock seen in "City Of Heavenly Fire," and the prequel series, "The Infernal Devices."

Jonathan Christopher (Sebastian) Morgenstern is Clary's brother. Like her, he is a Shadowhunter but he was born with demon blood in his veins. It was administered to him by his father, Valentine, while his mother, Jocelyn, was pregnant. Jonathan is described as having pitch black eyes with no whites(as a baby, but when he is older, they are simply black on the inside), a sharply angled face, and blonde, almost-white hair. At the end of "City Of Heavenly Fire", the evil is burnt out of him, and his face becomes rounder and his eyes turn green. He dies soon after admitting and apologizing for his wrongdoings to Clary and their mother.

Critical reception

City of Bones was highly popular at the time of release, reaching #8 on the New York Times Best Seller list (Children's books) in April 2007. City of Ashes was one of the YALSA's top ten teen books for 2009.

Publishers Weekly commented that it "is a sprawling urban fantasy packed with just about every type of creature known to the genre". Locus praised the book as "a highly readable first novel". Booklist said that there was "plenty of romance, loss, honor, and betrayal to make the journey worthwhile. An experienced storyteller, Clare moves the plot quickly to a satisfying end." School Library Journal said "Though the story is hampered by predictability and overblown writing, Clare continues her talent for mixing hip, modern humor with traditional fantasy, and fans eagerly awaiting the series conclusion should come away more than satisfied." A review in the School Library Journal noted that the book contained a variety of narrative flaws including characters that were "sporadically characterized" and whose behavior was predictable. In spite of this they noted that the book was entertaining and would leave readers anticipating the next installment. The series has been in the New York Times Best Sellers List for 102 consecutive weeks as of September 5, 2013, and No. 1 for 9 weeks straight, knocking series such as The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson and The Olympians off the top spot. The last time The Mortal Instruments spent 100 consecutive weeks on the best sellers list was in May 2012. On August 29, 2013, City of Bones topped the USA Today’s Best Sellers List, which made it the Best Seller Book of the country at the time. Four other Mortal Instruments books also made the list. City of Ashes was No. 8, City of Glass was No. 20, City of Fallen Angels was 35 and City of Lost Souls was No. 46.

Themes

The main theme revolving around each of her works is the idea of self-acceptance and coming into one’s own in relation to the choices we make and the consequences that follow. Clare focuses on heavy subjects throughout her novels. She explores sexual orientation through several main characters who are homosexual or bisexual (i.e. Alec in The Mortal Instruments; Magnus Bane in both The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices), hones in on shifting family dynamics and the ways that family ultimately take priority, and infuses a few multicultural characters (Magnus is half Indonesian, half Dutch; Jem of The Infernal Devices is half Chinese; Maia Roberts, the leader of New York werewolfes pack, is biracial) into a plot filled with a multiplicity of characters.

Prequels

Cassandra Clare has written a series of prequels called The Infernal Devices set in the same universe as The Mortal Instruments, but in Victorian London. This series consists of three books: Clockwork Angel, published on August 31, 2010, Clockwork Prince, published December 6, 2011, and Clockwork Princess, published March 19, 2013. There is a sequel series called The Last Hours to The Infernal Devices set in the same universe detailing the adventures of the next generation of Shadowhunters almost two decades after the events of Clockwork Princess. The series will consist of three books: Chain of Thorns, Chain of Gold, and Chain of Iron. In reading the prequel series, readers will find strong connections between the main characters in The Mortal Instruments and the protagonists of The Infernal Devices, not just in similarity of characterization but in actual familial connections. First editions of The Clockwork Princess, the final book in this trilogy, include a family tree that links the characters in The Infernal Devices with the generations of The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices. One of the main characters from The Infernal Devices also takes part in the last three Mortal Instruments books (with another one joining in the last book), in addition to Magnus Bane, who takes part in all Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices books.

Sequels

Cassandra Clare has announced a new series of sequels called The Dark Artifices set in the same universe as The Mortal Instruments, but five years in the future. This series will be a trilogy with many new characters (plus some from City of Heavenly Fire) and the focus will shift from New York to the Los Angeles Institute. The first book, Lady Midnight, was published on March 8, 2016. The last two books, Lord of Shadows and The Queen of Air and Darkness, do not have disclosed publishing dates. <

Offshoots

Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson have written a complementary series of ten short stories called The Bane Chronicles that recount the experiences of the Warlock Magnus Bane character from The Mortal Instruments series. This series has been published over the course of 2013 and 2014 and consists of "What Really Happened in Peru", "The Runaway Queen", "Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale", "The Midnight Heir", "The Rise of the Hotel Dumort", "Saving Raphael Santiago", "The Fall of The Hotel Dumort", "What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (And Who You're Not Officially Dating Anyway)", "The Last Stand of the New York Institute", and "The Course of True Love (and First Dates)". Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan also wrote a next series of books called The Shadowhunter Academy that is based on Simon Lewis, Clary's best friend and Isabelle's boyfriend as he journeys to become a Shadowhunter. The series consists of ten books that will be released over the course of 2015. The books and release dates are: Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy, February 17; The Lost Herondale, March 17; The Whitechapel Fiend, April 21; Nothing but Shadows, May 19; The Evil We Love, June 16; Pale Kings and Princes, July 21; Bitter of Tongue, August 18; The Fiery Trial, September 15; Born to Endless Night, October 20; and Angels Twice Descending, November 17.

Graphic novels

There were graphic novel versions of her series released within the past several years to appeal to an even wider audience. The City of Bones, The Clockwork Angel, The Clockwork Prince, and The Clockwork Princess have all been released in graphic novel form by Th3rd World Publishing.

Film adaptations

In 2010, Screen Gems announced that they were going into production on a film adaptation of City of Bones, Harald Zwart was announced as the film's director, with Lily Collins starring as Clary Fray and Jamie Campbell Bower starring as Jace Wayland. The film was released in theaters on August 21, 2013.

Constantin announced that the second book in the series City of Ashes would be adapted into a film, with Harald Zwart returning as director. The film was due to start production in 2013, but was delayed to 2014 after the first film failed to recoup its budget. On October 12, a TV series adaptation was announced, and producers deemed it unlikely that the film series would continue.

TV series adaptation

On October 12, 2014 at Mipcom, Constantin confirmed that The Mortal Instruments will be adapted as a television series, and has hired showrunner in Los Angeles to start production for next year on at least two or three international shows. Constantin Film and TV head Martin Moszkowicz told The Hollywood Reporter that "It actually makes sense to do (the novels) as a TV series. There was so much from the book that we had to leave out of the Mortal Instruments film. In the series we'll be able to go deeper and explore this world in greater detail and depth." The producers hope to adapt the entire book series if the TV adaptation proves successful. It has been announced that episodes will be one hour long and start from the beginning of the series with City of Bones. In February 2015, Cassandra Clare announced via Twitter that the television series will be called Shadowhunters rather than The Mortal Instruments. The series will begin production in Vancouver in June, and will air in 2016 on a new network called Freeform, which will be the successor to ABC Family. A casting call has been posted in which the characters are aged up (18-early 20s). Dominic Sherwood has been cast as Jace in the series. Katherine McNamara will play Clarissa Fray. Simon Lewis will be played by Alberto Rosende, Isabelle Lightwood by Emeraude Toubia and Alexander Lightwood by Matthew Daddario. Isaiah Mustafa will play Luke Garroway and Alan Van Sprang will play Valentine Morgenstern. Maxim Roy will play Clary's mother, Jocelyn Fray. Magnus Bane, the warlock will be played by Harry Shum Jr. David Castro will play Raphael Santiago. Hodge will be played by Jon Cor. Production began June 2015, and season one premiered on January 12, 2016 on Freeform.

On December 18, 2015, Deadline reported that Netflix had acquired the global distribution rights for the television show as a Netflix Original Series, excluding the U.S., where it would air on television.

The show is currently filming its second season, and the first episode of that season The Guilty Blood aired on January 2nd, 2017.