Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader

The Mortal Instruments series

Edited by Cassandra Clare

By multiple authors

Editor’s website: http://cassandraclare.com/

ISBN #: 9781937856229

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Valerie

Synopsis:

Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, epic urban fantasy set in a richly imagined world of shadowhunters, vampires, werewolves, fairies, and more, has captured the imaginations and loyalty of hundreds of thousands of YA readers. Originally a trilogy (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass), the series has extended to six titles, plus a prequel trilogy, the Infernal Devices, and a planned sequel series, the Dark Artifices. A feature film is planned for 2013.

Shadowhunters and Downworlders, edited by Clare (who provides an introduction to the book and to each piece), is a collection of YA authors writing about the series and its world.

Authors Who Contributed:

Holly Black / Kendare Blake / Gwenda Bond / Sarah Rees Brennan / Rachel Caine / Sarah Cross / Kami Garcia / Michelle Hodkin / Kelly Link / Kate Milford / Diana Peterfreund / Sara Ryan / Scott Tracey / Robin Wasserman (Goodreads)

Review:

I am not happy.

I was happy when I first got this book in the mail, to the point of screaming like a maniac in front of my mailbox. I was happy ripping open the envelope and running around, hugging Shadowhunters and Downworlders to my chest. I was happy opening up the book and smelling it, as all good books smell like a good book. I was so happy until I actually started reading this book.

I’m not trying to be too judgmental. I’m not trying to be a total hater and bash on this book, written by amazing authors I happen to love. It’s just that I had such high expectations, and the actual product fell kind of flat.

Some of the essays were amazing. I loved Kami Garcia’s, Michelle Hodkin’s, Sarah Ree Brennan’s and Kendare Blake’s. They were thoughtful, clever, and at times humorous. They changed my thoughts about the Mortal Instruments series. I hadn’t thought about Simon in Michelle Hodkin’s perspective before, as I am not Jewish. It was definitely eye opening to read about. Sarah Ree Brennan’s essay is unbelievably hilarious. For someone with a very distinct taste, I was actually really pleased.

The only problem is that the remaining essays failed to capture my attention. I’m too lazy to bother listing the rest. (Because they were so boring, no offense!) I bet they all were well-written and innovative and perfect, but I got utterly bored by the first word. I’m sorry that I’m so hard to please. I’m sorry that I can’t get into all those perfectly perfect reflections. (And yes, I did read through the whole book!)

This is a three rating as the average of ones and fives for the different stories.

I truly believe that it is worth reading but not necessarily buying, but that’s my opinion.

Note: make sure you’ve read all five Mortal Instrument books before you read this guide, as there are major spoilers!