The Mortal Instruments
“All the stories are true”. That is how we begin on the wild ride that is the Nephilim universe. This is a story of forbidden love, of the girl in all of us who longs to be special, the story of the woman we could grow to be, the story of a breathtaking , beautiful, brave world. But above all, it is the story of two people who find themselves thrust into adventure, and achieve greatness.
How many times have we felt that we see something that others don’t? That we see the beauty in something others dismiss and the possibilities that it holds? We see this feeling, this ache in our souls, this burden that we have carried for so long that we forget we are carrying it, brought to life between the pages of these books; brought to life in the story that Cassandra Clare tells with the expert grace of a master at her art.
Books have always been, to me, gateways to another world; a world where people are noble, and perform great deeds in the name of love and honor, and find joy in them;our world as it could be. These books convey to us above all, a feeling of exhilarating joy and strength, and this pulls us in and draws us closer; and we fall in love with the characters.
While the story is told from Clary’s point of view, it gives us an insight into the other character’s minds while retaining the feeling of continuity that so many books lack. Clarissa Fairchild (Clary) and the struggles she undergoes, first to rescue her mother from Valentine and defeat him and then his son form the crux of the book. On this journey with her, come Simon (her best friend), golden boy Jace, strong, beautiful Isabelle and protective Alec.
Simon is the one constant in her life and as she enters this new, dangerous world, he keeps her grounded and is often her one lifeline to sanity.
Jace is the link that ties together everything she experiences . To Clary, he is the guiding light in this new path that she must travel. Soon, however, she learns that Jace might himself need her help. His journey is even more intense than hers, a fact we see explored much more fully in the second and third books.
Isabelle (Izzy) Lightwood is the girl who comes out of every fight without a hair out of place, the girl who goes to midnight parties with 4 different weapons on her. She represents to Clary everything she never was, or will be, someone so aware of her beauty that she could weaponize it. Our first glance into Izzy comes along fairly early in the story, when our crew arrive at Magnus Bane’s residence.
Alexander (Alec) Lightwood is an enigma in the first book of the series.As of yet, we know almost nothing about him, other than the fact that he and Jace are parabatai, bonded warriors; and that he is excessively protective of both Jace and Izzy. He hates Clary , for no apparent reason, and he is our first, shocking reminder that this shining race of warriors hold the same dark undercurrent that has tainted the lives of so many in our world. His story shows us that the Nephilim are an archaic race, and they are afraid and hence intolerant of dissent or difference, in any way. He has his own struggles,and we see them developed mainly in the third and fourth books.
A pivotal point of the story is the love Jace and Clary share. They find themselves tied hopelessly together, and we see the first of this when they bump into each other at the club Pandemonium. There is a tension between them throughout the first two books and it is only in the third book that they finally enter a relationship. But just when things seem to be settling down somewhat, Cassandra Clare shows us that getting too comfortable may not be a good idea and this is the first of many curveballs that come out of nowhere, and keep us on tenterhooks throughout the series.
This is when we get to see more of Jace, his upbringing, and his reasons for being who he is, and why he doesn’t like to show us his true self. We see his nightmares, and his dreams. We see how his childhood was marred, how it was still his childhood and how he still found love and joy in it.
Cassandra (Cassie) Clare has also given us a series of subplots and minor story lines that Sarah J. Maas would envy. The Downworld is a secret, unknown part of the world that humans, or mundanes usually cannot see; with bright lights and loud sounds that hide a deep undercurrent of dissatisfaction.This transforms these books into a dark dystopia instead of the romantic fantasy that they would otherwise be, giving a serious depth to the story. Cassie touches upon this with a carefully and beautifully constructed play of words, calling the entirety of this world, the “shadow world”.
This story will take you through the world of angels and greater demons, the Nephilim and Deumas demons, warlocks, fey and vampires.
Facilis Decensus Averni
