What do you think?
Rate this book
The Mortal Instruments Companion: City of Bones, Shadowhunters and the Sight: The Unauthorized Guide
Paperback. Pub 2013-09-26 240 English Macmillan Childrens Books The first companion guide to The blockbuster bestselling The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series - soon to be a major motion picture - The City of Bones episode.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2013
About the author
Lois H. Gresh
75 books140 followersLOIS H. GRESH is the New York Times Bestselling Author (6 times) and USA Today Bestselling Author (thrillers) of 30 books and more than 65 short stories. Look for SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. CTHULHU #1: THE ADVENTURE OF THE DEADLY DIMENSIONS (Titan Books, April 2017), the first in a new trilogy of Sherlock Holmes thrillers from England's premier publisher of all things Holmes, with Random House distribution in the USA. Lois’ books have been published in 22 languages. For five years, Lois was a staff book reviewer at scifi.com (now SYFY.com, the Science Fiction Cable Channel), and her work has been on national/international award ballots eight times. She is a frequent Guest of Honor Author at large fan conventions and has appeared on television series such as The History Channel’s Ancient Aliens and Batman Tech.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 27, 2014
This book isn't worth reading. At all. First of all she gets some of the character's names wrong (Luke Galloway, please come to the stand), second some plot points (thank you Raphael for killing Inquisitor Aldertree), and third some of her views are taken completely out of context. Raphael's so wimpy because he just appears in a hologram everywhere. Well, the Institute and vampires don't really mix, and neither does sunlight. Also I wonder what Jem meant by "Henry and his infernal devices" hmmm, I think it might be something relevant to the plot and have nothing to do with the language of that time period. Definitely.
Second, most of the time it felt like a textbook going into five different areas on one plot point. Thanks, but one or two is enough, after that it starts getting dull.
Second, most of the time it felt like a textbook going into five different areas on one plot point. Thanks, but one or two is enough, after that it starts getting dull.
July 4, 2013
Oh, you know, just sitting somewhere in Wal-Mart and reading this...
**
Not worth reading, IMO.
Seventy five percent of the book is centered on the characters' relationships with each other and A LOT of spoiler for both TMI and TID series; the other 25% is a split between Gresh's opinion about who should end up with who, the actors in the upcoming CoB movie, people's reaction about Lily and Jamie, and the comparing and contrasting of TMI and TID to THG, Twilight, and Gossip Girl.
Yes, Gossip Girl!! I know what you're thinking. What could these two books--as different as day and night--possibly have in common? Go ahead and read. Better yet, I should just tell you and save an hour of your life you would never get back. The only "similarity" between these three is the so-called love triangle between Jace-Clary-Simon, Edward-Bella-Jacob, and Serena-Nate-Blair. That is all.
One of the many things that bugged and rubbed off on me in the wrong way is probably the "Real or Not Real?" portion of the book. Basically, the author lays out the facts about each characters and tells the readers to decide whether they are real and which ones are fake? Three-dimensional? I can't help but think... What is the point of this? We're reading this book to know more about the Shadowhunter World, not this.
Another part that bugged me is the fact that the author is Team Will! This just bugged me because I am Team Jem all the way. The author saying that Jem and Tessa should just be friends didn't sit well with me. Rest assured, this fact didn't affect my rating.
Final Verdict: If you want to read this book to know more about the Shadowhunter World, don't bother. Just re-read all eight (TMI and TID) books. It might take longer, but it is much more enjoyable.
If you still want to read the book, here is the Table of Contents. . .
**
Not worth reading, IMO.
Seventy five percent of the book is centered on the characters' relationships with each other and A LOT of spoiler for both TMI and TID series; the other 25% is a split between Gresh's opinion about who should end up with who, the actors in the upcoming CoB movie, people's reaction about Lily and Jamie, and the comparing and contrasting of TMI and TID to THG, Twilight, and Gossip Girl.
Yes, Gossip Girl!! I know what you're thinking. What could these two books--as different as day and night--possibly have in common? Go ahead and read. Better yet, I should just tell you and save an hour of your life you would never get back. The only "similarity" between these three is the so-called love triangle between Jace-Clary-Simon, Edward-Bella-Jacob, and Serena-Nate-Blair. That is all.
One of the many things that bugged and rubbed off on me in the wrong way is probably the "Real or Not Real?" portion of the book. Basically, the author lays out the facts about each characters and tells the readers to decide whether they are real and which ones are fake? Three-dimensional? I can't help but think... What is the point of this? We're reading this book to know more about the Shadowhunter World, not this.
Another part that bugged me is the fact that the author is Team Will! This just bugged me because I am Team Jem all the way. The author saying that Jem and Tessa should just be friends didn't sit well with me. Rest assured, this fact didn't affect my rating.
Final Verdict: If you want to read this book to know more about the Shadowhunter World, don't bother. Just re-read all eight (TMI and TID) books. It might take longer, but it is much more enjoyable.
If you still want to read the book, here is the Table of Contents. . .
June 30, 2013
Really enjoyed this! (=
January 25, 2021
this book is amazing, its full of dispense and drama and its the most compelling book i have read.
June 28, 2015
Unfortunately, this was not quite what I was expecting from a companion guide. It was not very informative at all, and at times there were even incorrect character names and plot points!
The entire book seemed to just be the author's opinions on the series (not all of which I agreed with ) and constant speculations because at the time of writing, the last books in the Infernal Devices and Mortal Instruments series had not been released yet.
There were also constant comparisons to other YA series (mostly The Hunger Games and Twilight) and it was filled with spoilers for other series without giving any warnings.
Quite a lot of this book was very dry and I skimmed parts because it was so difficult to get through. Overall, I would be very reluctant to recommend this book, even if you are a Mortal Instruments fan.
The entire book seemed to just be the author's opinions on the series (not all of which I agreed with ) and constant speculations because at the time of writing, the last books in the Infernal Devices and Mortal Instruments series had not been released yet.
There were also constant comparisons to other YA series (mostly The Hunger Games and Twilight) and it was filled with spoilers for other series without giving any warnings.
Quite a lot of this book was very dry and I skimmed parts because it was so difficult to get through. Overall, I would be very reluctant to recommend this book, even if you are a Mortal Instruments fan.
June 22, 2016
Ugh.
I picked this up thinking that it would be a nice refresher before jumping into Lady Midnight, but this was honestly shocking.
Why the author didn't wait a year or two until the last books in the Infernal Devices and the Mortal Instruments had been released before publishing this is anyone's guess. As a result, she spends more than half of the book speculating, asking questions that the last 2 books answer, and saying that reader could already know all this. If she had waited, she could have gone into incredible detail about the two HUGE events that happen at the end of 'Clockwork Princess' and 'City of Heavenly Fire', and explored the mythology involved in a much deeper and more meaningful way.
The only thing I really enjoyed was the inclusion of the other religions and cultures that Clare draws on in the making of her mythology, as well as the deeper biblical explanations. That was it.
I picked this up thinking that it would be a nice refresher before jumping into Lady Midnight, but this was honestly shocking.
Why the author didn't wait a year or two until the last books in the Infernal Devices and the Mortal Instruments had been released before publishing this is anyone's guess. As a result, she spends more than half of the book speculating, asking questions that the last 2 books answer, and saying that reader could already know all this. If she had waited, she could have gone into incredible detail about the two HUGE events that happen at the end of 'Clockwork Princess' and 'City of Heavenly Fire', and explored the mythology involved in a much deeper and more meaningful way.
The only thing I really enjoyed was the inclusion of the other religions and cultures that Clare draws on in the making of her mythology, as well as the deeper biblical explanations. That was it.
April 15, 2013
With the best selling book City of Bones hitting theaters this summer 2013, this companion guide is a must-have book for anybody who has read the Mortal Instruments series or even for people who have plans or want to read them. It is broken up into nineteen chapters and walks the reader through every character, every plot twist, scheme, theme, and questions everything there is about the details of this book that a reader might not even question or think about.
“Here, in the underworld or shadow realms, Jace’s soul can return to his body only through either necromancy, black magic, or the divine grace of an angel o God, who uses its right and to put the soul back.”
Read the FULL Review Here- http://www.musingwithcrayolakym.com/3...
“Here, in the underworld or shadow realms, Jace’s soul can return to his body only through either necromancy, black magic, or the divine grace of an angel o God, who uses its right and to put the soul back.”
Read the FULL Review Here- http://www.musingwithcrayolakym.com/3...
September 18, 2020
City of Bones is a great read. It's full of actions, and there is never a dull moment. Cassandra Clare is a great author that knows how to keep the plot flowing. It starts out like any common book about a teenager. Hanging out with a good friend, an argument with their mom, and avoiding their problem. But everything goes downhill when the truth starts to come undone. This book is definitely for readers that love action back books, but also love conflicting romance in the mix. Although I understand if some reader doesn't enjoy the read as it is gruesome action scenes.
November 2, 2015
I had hopes for this book to complement my foreknowledge of the series, but in truth, it reads like a blog post directed toward an audience who has no knowledge of Young Adult novels and although must have at least read some of the books in this series, did not retain any information, and needs every little connection and action pointed out, highlighted, and underlined 3x. Hopefully there's an audience for this book out there, but as for me, I'm disappointed.
September 7, 2013
It was not very informational. It seemed to be written by a teenager who didn't fully understand the series and the roles of the characters. It was an interesting read, but not the best as far as book companions go.
July 12, 2013
I found this book a little dry and hard to get through.
July 14, 2013
it had some interesting info but didn't really agree with all of it and parts rambled
August 15, 2013
Lots of fun to get an inside look at the books and characters.
January 29, 2014
This was an average read. She kept it very light and conversational. It wasn't too in depth.
December 7, 2014
Not the best, but good
February 6, 2016
Was pleasantly surprised that this book was more about the writing aspect of the Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices than I thought it would be.
April 24, 2016
It was just pretty average. Nothing special.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews