City of Bones: The Mortal Instruments

Unlike many of the reviews that I have read; I have not read any of Cassandra Clare's fan fiction on Harry Potter of Lord of the Rings. As well as I have never read the Harry Potter series because I just couldn't get into them when they became popular. As for the book City of Bones I really enjoyed it and went on to read the other books in The Mortal Instruments series. The thing that first caught my eye about this book was the cover. People always say to not judge a book by its cover but we know we all do. I saw the markings on the man and the city in the background and thought that it would be something interesting and important about the marks. I also like that when looking at it for the first time I saw that it was placed in New York. A setting that was a real place and in a real time. The other thing I picked up on was that there was something about Shadowhunters. Shadowhunters sounded intriguing and mysterious so I wanted to learn more. Here are the basics I thought that people would want to know. My opinion contrary to some was that this was an interesting and great book to read. I really enjoyed that I could relate to the main character Clary in some ways about daily life, love of art, parents, and social problems; but then also have the excitement and escape to the world that we can't see. This book made me think about fantasy in another way as well as the world around me. Characters! I found that the characters were more realistic than most people think. Some have said that no one pointed out and gotten on Clary's case about the things she said to Alec but I found that that is more true to real people. People don't always point out to others about someone's wrong doings or hurtful words. I found that point and case to be totally natural Alec and Carly both realized their mistakes and apologized. Also another point that I have often seen in reviews is that Clary doesn't think that she's pretty until Jace tells her. Which in my opinion is totally natural for a girl who has always considered herself as plain and some what of a tom boy. Especially in this day and age; girls are constantly putting themselves down and thinking there is no way they can look as beautiful as the models and famous people their age. It sometimes takes someone outside of their "world" to tell them that they look pretty for them to truly see themselves. Also it could mean that she is not a model but is beautiful in Jace's eyes. Now for the basic plot; which everyone is waiting to hear. First it starts out a little slow, introducing the characters and their backgrounds and you get a general feel for their personalities. Though they do change in the beginning you almost just get their essence and the relationships to one another. Then it picks up into a fast paced story that makes it hard to put down. The beginning of this starts when Clary sees something at she should not be able to see one night at a club she often goes to with Simon. Simon is one of her closest friends and does just about everything with him. From there starts a journey that will change her life, her out look on the world around her, and the importance of her family to her. Her mother is taken away and she will suddenly get pulled into a world that she thinks should not exist but some how does. Clary finds that she likes this new way of looking at the world, the people she meets in it, and finds that it either seems familiar or doesn't bother her as much as she thought it should. Then their are the marks that give Shadowhunters powers that she shouldn't be able to see or use but can. From this she knows that things will never go back to the way things were and grows to coup with the huge changes coming her way. On top of that she finds more out about her family and her mother's past. Even though she has never been interested in her past or about where she comes from. She finds that even though she doesn't want to admit it her family means the world to her and she will fight and doing anything in her power to get them back. Lastly I found that I had a new look on mythical creatures. In this book they seem real and have real problems. There are one's that are good and others just don't care what others think of them. Then their are the demons, you don't really get a clear picture of them except that they are from different worlds and don't have souls. Which makes them ok to be killed by the shadow hunters. Finally if you like the first book keep on going to all of the others. The characters grow as the series continues and questions are answered in the other books that you are just dying to know from this book. I really recommend this series especially if you are someone who has a hard time getting into books.

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments 1) by Cassandra Clare. 7/10 City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. Wow. I'd heard good things about this trilogy so I waited until all three were released. I'm glad I did. If I'd rushed out and read it as soon as it was released, I'd be jonesing for my next Mortal Instruments fix for ages. I don't like jonesing for anything. Clare writes her characters beautifully. She describes them very well, but it's her dialogue that makes her characters come alive. Brilliant. Well, most of the time. Clary, the main player is a 15 year-old girl in New York who: gets plunged into a supernatural world she never knew existed, discovers she's one of the supernatural folk herself, fights demons, vampires and other nasties, and then she tumbles into a love triangle between the limp best bud and hot new badass guy (the repartee between these three main players is just fantastic, by the way). And, she does it all with the maturity of a jaded 35-year old serial monogamist. She's just a tad too mature. As for the limp best bud Simon; he's fairly standard limp best bud been-secretly-in-love-with-her-for-10-years stereotype. And he's mortal, or a Mundie (short for Mundane) as the supernatural gang - shadowhunters - call us. Poor bloke doesn't stand a chance against the hot new guy... or does he??? As limp as he is, I was jealous of even him in this book because his dialogue was so cool. Wish I'd been able to talk that way when I was a teenager, instead of being the awkward nerd I was. Then there's the hot new guy. Jace, his name is. And he's a terminally sarcastic smartass, who's also one of the best demon hunters in the business, despite being just a teenager. The mouth on this kid is just fantastic. The main baddie, a thoroughly nasty piece of work called Valentine, is nice and wicked without too much of the all powerful Voldemort thing going on. Even better, his motives, which at first seem simple, turn out to be be a little more complex. Good stuff. The setting of New York might tug at the heart-strings of a few, but to me it didn't matter where the action took place. I mean, it was a nice change from dystopia, or down-town LA or Hogwarts, but hardly important. In fact, Clare puts a little too much emphasis on settings - I'll explain why in a minute. The story itself is great. Clare gives us plausible new takes on the origin of vampire, werewolves and demons which is nice, especially because she sticks to the rules. You know - silver, sunlight, holy water - that kind of thing. There's the battle to save the world from demons and the missing enchanted thingamajig that can either help or hinder. Classic stuff. Of course it's Clary who appears on the scene to help find said thingamajig. So far, so good. Then my Mr Potato Head Angry Eyes started to notice a few things, like the settings. New York seems to be where shadowhunters are sent if they've been naughty. Huh? New York? Being sent to New York as punishment comes across a bit hillbilly. Have a listen to Hank Williams Jr's If Heaven Aint A Lot Like Dixie and you'll get what I mean. On second thoughts, don't listen to it. You might need your ears again one day and scrubbing them out with barbed wire won't do you any good. Just read the lyrics. Then there's their homeland, Idris. Idris is nestled somewhere in Europe, but it's not on any map. That's fine. It's the comparison to the rest of the planet that made me cringe. The grass is greener there. The buildings are more beautiful, the people better looking and more civilised and the food tastes better - get the picture? All these hot-stuff supernatural warriors moping about after some beautiful place like love-sick cows started to wear a bit thin by the end. Next on the grumpy list, was the ending itself. The ending, even though it's not really the end because we know there are two more to follow the first, which isn't really the first because Clare is writing prequels... where was I? See how annoying that can be? The ending has a few too many twists and turns. It also gets a bit Empire Strikes Back - ish. I'm not going to give away the ending, but when you read it, you'll see it too. City of Bones (Mortal Instruments 1) by Cassandra Clare is a great read. Don't let the previous two pars in this post put you off. Really. Clare's dialogue alone makes it a must-read. I give it 7/10. I'm really looking forward to the next one: City of Ashes. It's there now on my ereader app, just waiting for me. Yummy. [...]

Ótimo!

Ja, ich liebe dieses Buch. und das obwohl ich der eigentlichen Zielgruppe schon ein paar Jährchen entwachsen bin. Zum Inhalt: Clary ist fast sechzehn, mag Discos, Mangas, Bücher, hat Zoff mit ihrer Mutter und verbringt ihre zeit am liebsten mit ihrem besten Freund Simon. Alles ziemlich normal, ziemlich durchschnittlich. Bis sie plötzlich beginnt Menschen, bzw. Wesen zu sehen die niemand sonst wahrzunehmen scheint. Sie lernt Jace - gutaussehend, schlagfertig, draufgängerischer Dämonenjäger- und seine beiden Freunde, die Geschwister Isabelle und Alec kennen. Und plötzlich findet sich Clary selbst als Teil dieser verborgenen Welt wieder. Am Ende steht die erste Konfrontation mit dem "Oberschurken". Sicherlich nichts wirklich neues. Und an einigen Stellen hat sich die Autorin auch recht offen an anderen Stoffen bedient. Erinnern die Kämpfe und die offenbar sehr enge freundschaftliche Bande der Protagonisten doch sehr an "Buffy", hat man am Ende durchaus das Gefühl in "Star Wars" gelandet zu sein, ist der Superschurke "Lord Voldemort" nicht unähnlich und wirkt Luke, der rein platonische Freund ihrer Mutter nicht wir einfach mal aus den "Gilmore Girls" rauskopiert... Und doch wird das alles so schön durchgeschüttelt und neu zusammengesetzt, dass das Bild zu hundert Prozent stimmt. Ein wenig hat man das Gefühl in einer übernatürlichen Soap gelandet zu sein, nur nicht ganz so Oberflächlich: Verbotene Liebe, unerwiederte Liebe, Homosexualität, Freundschaft, Verrat, Zoff mit Eltern, der beste "Nerd"- Freund,und der Hang zur Selbstzerstörung, etc... Und das ganze ist so anschaulich, flott und luftig leicht beschrieben, dass nie Langeweile aufkommt. Ein Lesevergnügen wie man es nicht häufig findet. Wem würde ich dieses Buch empfehlen? Jugendlichen ab 14 Jahren die Urban Fantasy mögen in der es ordentlich "menschelt" und Erwachsenen die sich hin und wieder die gute alte Buffy- Zeit zurückwünschen ;-)

Seguro que mucha gente tendrá dudas sobre si adquirirlo o no, a mi me ha parecido que vale completamente la pena comprarlo, la edición es preciosa, las páginas de un dorado brillante, las preciosas ilustraciones de Cassandra Jean y los extras por aquí y por allá, y esto dejando a parte la calidad, el gran tamaño y esas tapas duras tan bonitas y de textura agradable. Me ha encantado.

Cassandra Clare has written one of the most beautiful series ever. The first book is comparatively the weakest but on its own it is still an fantastic book with unimaginable plot twists, detailed description of characters and interesting love stories. Don't stop after the first book. It only gets better and better. In the book series we follow this separate race of half human half angels who are called shadowhunters who save the mundane ( human) world from demons. The world that cassie created is so beautiful and has so much depth. You will fall in love with almost every character that you come across. Almost all of them are Raw, Loyal, Truthful, Funny and Sarcastic. Yes I don't like this cover and prefer the original covers but I own this copy and it's just nice.

A la première approche, le livre avait été loin de me tenter ; je ne l'aurais même jamais acheté. Sauf que, il s'est trouvé qu'en allant voir le film adapté au cinéma, l'histoire n'est vraiment pas mauvaise et m'a plu. Curieux, j'ai donc acheté les trois premiers tomes, et me suis régalé. Le film est ok, mais les livres sont super ! (j'attend désormais le sixième tome avec impatience) Les personnages sont dans l'ensemble tous très intéressants, et leur psychologie bien travaillé. (Sauf Jace, désolé, mais il m'agace.) Isabelle et Alec, surtout, m'ont intéressé plus que les autres; une impression qui se confirme sur toute la série. L'histoire est bien rythmée, pas tirée par les cheveux, et quand tout se termine, les pièces du puzzle s’emboîtent parfaitement. (Je dirais que le film m'a quand même bien gâché l'une des intrigues les plus fascinantes de ce premier tome.) Les thèmes variés qui sont abordés sont originaux ; l'inceste, l'homosexualité, etc. En comparaison avec certaines autres séries de ce genre, la série "The Mortal Instruments" se classe assez haut. Sûrement dans mon top 5. (et en comparaison, oubliez Twilight - le côté romantique est présent, mais pas du tout étouffant.)