In case you have been living under a rock and didn't know it yet, the first book in the Mortal Instruments series, City of Bones, is a new film expected to be released in August. Knowing this information for about a year, I decided, as I often do, that I needed to read the book first before I saw the movie. So I received this book for Christmas from a fellow book blogger and finally read it last month. Phew! There are five books in the series, which is a huge commitment I believe I am planning to make. Oh boy!
Clary and her best friend Simon go clubbing one night at a place called Pandemonium and Clary witnesses a murder. Not just any ordinary murder, but one involving vampires and tattooed shadow hunters and she wonders why she can see them and Simon cannot. When she gets home late at night, shaken to her core, her mom plans to ground her for the rest of her life. Except Clary and her mom get into a big fight and the next thing you know her mom calls her on her cell phone, sounding panicked and breathless, and makes Clary promise never to come home. Clary's mom doesn't answer her phone when she calls her back and she fears something horrible has happened to her.
So of course Clary goes home by herself to try and locate her mom. Her apartment is in disarray and a huge demonic bug looking creature tries to eat her for dinner. Basically she kills the monster size bug demon by herself. Girl Power! But the demon has injected her with his venom and now she is getting very sleepy. Luckily she ran into Jace, the shadow hunter she met the night before, and he rescues her before she perishes and whisks her away to "the Institute". This all happens in the first four chapters!!
City of Bones is an action packed adventure and a page turning fast read. It is melodramatic, and fantastical and just plain fun to read. Cassandra Clare is a writer who knows who to keep the reader turning the pages and guessing as to what is really going on. There was a few times I exclaimed, WHAT?! She didn't!, etc. I tried to predict what was going to happen and was unable to. To me, that is one sign of a good writer.
Cassandra Clare has created a unique fantasy world within our own, a sort of shadow world that only some people can see. Everyone else, basic human types, are called Mundanes. The main character, Clary, straddles both of these worlds. What is cool about this shadow world is it contains multiple types of fantastical beings in it like werewolves, vampires, fairies, demons, including a whole new set of creatures you will want to learn more about like shadow hunters. Very creative fantasy world.
I have to say I really enjoyed this book, and will probably continue reading the series. I predict the world to go, goo goo, ga ga, over these new movies being produced.
