City of Bones by Cassandra Clare Reviewed
Urban Fantasy Young Adult Novel Introduces World of the Shadowhunter
Sep 5, 2009
City of Bones is the first instalment in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments trilogy, which immerses readers in a world rich in urban fantasy with familiar elements such as vampires and demons, but also mixes in a few fresh and original ideas.
Summary of City of Bones
Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is a very typical teenage girl. She's outspoken, brash, clueless, and swears no one could possibly understand what she's going through. However, after one chance meeting with three Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the mortal world of demons, her life becomes anything but typical.
Her mother suddenly disappears, and even Clary is attacked by a demon. None of it makes sense to Clary, since she and her mother seem to be so completely normal, but Jace, one of the Shadowhunters, isn't quite so convinced that Clary really is normal.
Clary Fray's Rite of Passage into the Shadowhunting World
Like most young adult novels, City of Bones (ISBN 9781416914280, published in April 2007) entails Clary's rite of passage into learning who, and in this case, what she really is. As readers learn who she is, they will also learn along with her about the Shadowhunters, their world, and about the Runes they decorate their bodies with like tattoos.
So in addition to the usual teenage angst surrounding identity, she also has the undaunting task of trying to accept this new version of reality. For once in Clary's life, most people really and truly do not understand what she is going through.
And as she learns about herself, her mother, and the other Shadowhunters, nothing is what anyone expected. This aspect of never really knowing what will happen next is the best element of City of Bones. Most books only have one or two twists at the end, but Cassandra Clare placed twists and turns every couple of chapters, which makes it very difficult to put the book down, no matter how late the hour.
Inspiration From Other Popular Fantasy Series
Unfortunately for City of Bones, despite how intricate its plot is and how well it is written, its obvious influences from other young adult fantasy series dampen the originality of the Shadowhunter world. For example, regular humans are called mundanes, which is strikingly similar to the wizards in the Harry Potter series calling non-magical humans Muggles. In addition—and in the interest of keeping things spoiler-free—the big twist at the end of the book feels like it was taken straight from the Eragon trilogy.
These small references do not really detract from the overall plot, but it doesn't make them any less disappointing.
However, despite these minor blemishes, City of Bones has more than enough packed in its twisting plot and character development to keep readers rapidly turning pages to the very end.
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