City of Bones (Mortal Instruments, Bk 1) [Import] [Paperback]

Cassandra Clare (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; Later Printing edition (2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1406307629
• ISBN-13: 978-1406307627
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (535 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,000,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cassandra Clare is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. She was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of books. Cassandra lives in Brooklyn with her boyfriend, their two cats, and these days, even more books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

144 of 166 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hey Clary, have you ever met Harry?, November 12, 2010

By 

dreamsend - See all my reviews

This review is from: City of Bones (Mortal Instruments) (Paperback)

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.
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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 <here>. 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.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new here, and poorly executed, December 31, 2011

By 

Kate - See all my reviews

This review is from: City of Bones (Mortal Instruments) (Paperback)

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.

151 of 203 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Light, Fun, but not a Keeper, March 28, 2007

By 

Morgan L. Myers (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: City of Bones (Mortal Instruments, Book 1) (Hardcover)

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.