La reine en fuite

The Bane Chronicles #2

by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Aurore Alcayde (Translator)

Un épisode inédit du bestseller mondial The Mortal Instruments ! Exclusivement disponible en version numérique.


Si Magnus Bane a quitté précipitamment Paris, la capitale de la mode et de la décadence, ce n'est pas par plaisir. Alors qu'il se faisait un principe d'éviter les vampires et les révolutionnaires parisiens, le voilà pris au milieu d'une affaire d'État. Et tout ça pour les beaux yeux d'Axel de Fersen ... Une montgolfière, des vampires à l'appétit aiguisé, des habits de soie et de velours, la reine de France, il n'en faut pas moins pour attirer des problèmes à Magnus Bane. Comment va-t-il se tirer de ce mauvais pas ? Pour le savoir, lisez ce nouvel épisode inédit de The Mortal Instruments.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Short Stories, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Magic, Vampires

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Tehran, Iran and spent much of her childhood travelling the world with her family, including one trek through the Himalayas as a toddler where she spent a month living in her father’s backpack. She lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old.

Since her family moved around so much she found familiarity in books and went everywhere with a book under her arm. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles where she used to write stories to amuse her classmates, including an epic novel called “The Beautiful Cassandra” based on a Jane Austen short story of the same name (and which later inspired her current pen name).

After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan, her favourite city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never to have to write about Paris Hilton again.
Cassie’s first professional writing sale was a short story called “The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord” in a Baen anthology of humor fantasy. Cassie hates working at home alone because she always gets distracted by reality TV shows and the antics of her cats, so she usually sets out to write in local coffee shops and restaurants. She likes to work in the company of her friends, who see that she sticks to her deadlines.

City of Bones was her first novel. Sword Catcher is her most recent novel.

Reviews

[MischaS_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ragnor was the best part of this book.

“I'll need you to get a leash for my monkey, Claude, and also a hat."
"Of course, monsieur"
"Do you think he needs a little coat as well?"
"Perhaps not in this weather, monsieur."
"You are right," Magnus said with a sight. "Make it a simple dressing gown, just like mine."
"Which one, monsieur?"
"The one in rose and silver."
"Excellent choice, monsieur.”

[Gerasimos Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Cassandra Clare! Her world and characters earned a place in my heart.

The first story in this short-story series What Really Happened in Peru was very enjoyable and fun but nothing too special. I enjoyed it but I wanted to see more.

My main problem with the first story was that it was actually four short stories set around Peru. But this second story was one story with a beginning, a middle and an end.

It was hilarious, enjoyable and fun! While I was reading it I forgot about my problems and the real world and I got lost into Paris, Versailles and the French Revolution. Hanging out with the crazy Magnus Bane, Marie Antoinette and Axel Von Fersen was so much fun! I always travel into Clare's world! The setting of this story was so much more interesting than in the first one!

And again Cassandra Clare managed to put a few sweet heartwarming moments into the crazy adventures of Magnus and his friends that is also something I love about her!

Getting to know more about Magnus Bane was something I always wanted! You can never get enough of Magnus! If you loved the first story you will be amazed but this second one. And if you don't, I believe that you will love this!

I don't really get why people say that Clare is overdoing it with the Shadowhunters world! Since her stories are so different and the only similarity in them is that they're set in the same world, I don't really get it. It is like saying that you are bored of stories set in the real world, in our world. Not all Realistic Fiction stories are the same! This is the case with Clare's book for me as well! And as long as they continue to be so good I will keep reading them!

I cannot really wait for the third short story in the Bane Chronicles!

[She-who-must-not-be-named · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

It was definitely better than the first installment and hilarious even(the monkey incident is my favourite 😂) but still boring and flat, with undeveloped characters and weirdly assembled plot.

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread. Not as enthralling as some of the other stories, but it was okay. I do always enjoy reading about Paris in any age of time. The annoying vampires and botched plot were downers.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

"If one could look this fabulous, one had an obligation to. One should wear everything, or one should wear nothing at all."

I adore Magnus :) This short story takes place in Paris, June of 1791, during the French Revolution. Magnus is approached by a man named Axel von Fersen with a plea for Magnus to help save the king and queen, to help them escape Paris.

"It was also a very bad idea.
It was a terrible idea.
It was the worst idea he had ever heard.
It was irresistible."

I liked this one better than What Really Happened In Peru, as this one had an actual plot to it. Though I expected a bit more from Queen Marie Antoinette's portrayal. There was also a bit of a disagreement with Marcel Saint Cloud, head of the most powerful vampire clan in Paris. An interesting look into more of the past of Magnus.

[Radmila · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 STARS!!!

It was also a very bad idea.
It was terrible idea.
It was the worst idea he had ever heard.
It was irresistible.

[Ferdy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Spoilers

Boring. Though I do have to say that it wasn't quite as dire as What Really Happened in Peru, which was just a mish-mash of random scenes in Peru. At least The Runaway Queen had some sort of a cohesive plot.

Unfortunately, the story was dull and unimaginative… Magnus is in Paris, and wants to ride a hot air balloon, the weather's rubbish so he can't. Some guy called Axel wants Magnus to help him save Marie Antoinette… Because Magnus is randy and easily falls for good looking guys, he says yes to Axel in the hopes that he'll drop his knickers for him. Also, some french vampires act cheesy and cliched, and Magnus is wary of them because they're really scary or some shit. Then he finally gets to ride in his hot air balloon in a daring boring escape. The end.
Oh and Magnus somehow gets a monkey. I was more interested in how Magnus ended up with said monkey than I was with his troubles with the French vampires and royalty. Sadly, his monkey adoption adventure of sorts was glossed over.

Magnus had very little personality, his voice was supremely dull, his adventures should have been somewhat exciting but his POV made everything sound so blah.

I'm beginning to think that Magnus only wants Alec for his looks — he's obsessed with blue eyed, black haired guys. I think if Alec was blond and brown eyed, Magnus wouldn't be all that attracted to him.

I really do hate Magnus, I used to like him… But his angsty-boring-teenage-emo personality annoys me. And I hate how he gets lusty and passionate about every person he meets — but he's never acted so hot and bothered around Alec, yet he's meant to be in love with him. Ugh.
My one wish for The Mortal Instruments series is that Alec falls out of love with Magnus, and then dates around, and eventually meets and falls for some sexy shadowhunter guy. That'll show the-I-fall for-everyone-I-meet-slut Magnus.

[Melanie (meltotheany) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A count! Named Axel! A military man! With black hair and blue eyes! And in a state of distress! Oh, the universe had outdone herself.”

This short story follows Magnus in Paris during the French Revolution in 1791. And apparently Paris is the place to be if you’re a vampire (which I highkey love, actually). Magnus attends a party with Henri de Polignac, then meets Axel von Fersen and accepts a difficult mission to smuggle Marie Antoinette and her family out of the city, before the desperate people take matters into their own hands. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and Magnus somehow acquires a pet monkey that he names Ragnor, but it was still a really enjoyable story and adventure.

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(I read this in The Bane Chronicles!) ✨

[Andre · Rating 1 out of 5]

A friend of mine wrote: shit like this usually happens in some badly written fanfics. Plus all self-respecting fanfic writers won't make such a mistake anyway.

As easy as it is to show what is wrong with this book, as easy would it be to do better for everybody reading this book with just a little effort and an honest editor. But apparently these authors had neither.
How can you do so much wrong in so little time? And I personally think this book was only better (not good!) than the 1st not because of the writers but rather because it was shorter and only dealt with one story; fewer chances to mess up, but they used them to full advantage.

If you follow these five steps you may enjoy this book:
1. Completely eradicate any sort of disbelief.
2. Throw logic out of the window
3. Have no knowledge of normal human behavior.
4. Do not know any other of Clare's books and if you do erase their content from your memory.
5. Do not know history.

Even if you say that the historical events are correctly referred to (which they are clearly not or at least it is very weird to just gloss them over) there is still the problem of their cliché usage and the characters, first among them Magnus himself. Instead of the backstabbing arrogant asshole of the first book, here he was a fashion-obsessed, cock-crazy diva who cared about nothing but himself and was so dumb that Bella Swan from the Twilight looks like a genius next to him. Well either that or he cares so little for other people even when they are part of a job that he cannot think of the most efficient ways to use his magic. In that case he is just plain selfish.

And the story itself was not only cliché it was all so jumbled together that it was hard to say whether something was historically inaccurate or one of the many plotholes. And there were many, so incredibly many, the whole book had so many clichés, inaccuracies and plotholes it was unbelievable.
And before anybody says "it's just fiction", think of this:
On average when you insert actual historical events into your story people will automatically consider this to be the grain of truth, that is a fact. So as an author you have the responsibility to make sure that what you use is as accurate as possible to the best of your abilities and I think this is not what the author's did. If it were, it would not have been so easy for me to spot all the errors.

The start was already so horrible and my trust in the authors' writing abilities was so low I found myself asking questions about nearly every second sentence and that only after the first 4 pages. And these pages were small, quite small.
And I just don't understand what they are doing. They already messed up the character in "What happened in Peru" and it is no better here. And why are they doing this? This is not fair to the fans whom they make hate this version of Magnus. I never really liked Magnus because of his major character flaws but I readily admit that he wasn't this asshole in Clare's other series. As bad as he was he came not even close to this.

Ok, I said my opinion about this book without spoiling anything, so here is the spoiler section which for convenience I structured into several points. This is not all there was, just the most obvious:



1) This is history?

Magnus's statement that Marie Antoinette, when told that her people could not afford bread, had suggested that they eat cake instead. is not only a cliché but wrong. Apart from the fact that its "brioche" (a special sort of breed) and not cake, there is no record that this was ever said by Antoinette or any opponent of the monarchy. It was first attributed to her by Alphonse Karr more than 50 years later, probably because of the fact that even during her lifetime she had problems in France because of her gender and Austrian birth, by the time this statement came to be she was only a child and not even in France.

The book states that there were periodic killings, fires and attacks, but references nothing to point towards any historical events. I did my best to look it up and found nothing that fits.

The book mentions some sort of vampire craze in 1787 and missing children at the time. Whether there were missing children during that year; I could find nothing, and on the supposed nephew and niece of the Duke de Polignac that appear here, also nothing.

The book glosses over the Women's March on Versailles with the sentence The peasant women had broken into the palace of Versailles. You would think someone living in Paris for 6 years would at least know some numbers (it was a mob of thousands and neither entirely female), and they neither broke in nor was it as harmless as Magnus makes it out to be. The same with other events, it is just weird that he glosses this stuff over so much, especially since Magnus claims that it was important that people should have all basics of life. Basically Magnus does not come along as a character who lived through all this.



2) They expect us to believe that?

Supposedly In Paris one could have the eyes of a cat (as he did) and tell people it was a trick of fashion. All these people belief it is a fashion trick? How is that possible back then? And no one wants to know how that works? And the book clearly stated that his eyes were visible.
And that is not even the basic problem: According to Clare Magnus is "Asian", whatever that means. Marie Antoinette was as pale as can be and she already had problems due to being born in Austria, Magnus was born in Jakarta and he is just accepted into high society? And why does no history book mention him (not even inside the Clareverse)?

Apparently Magnus can find a lot of work because the aristocracy of Paris is into magic. And not just card or table tricks, nope its speaking monkeys, birds singing operas, fire fountains etc.

Magnus speaks the Swedish sentence "If you wrap me in furs, I can pretend to be your little fuzzy bear." Who in the late 18th century would talk like that?

That Axel von Fersen seriously believes that people will not recognize their king because the king is not handsome and they only take note of his clothes and carriage. Surprise, the book itself states that the flight doesn't work because someone recognized the king, not the queen as he claimed (no idea whether she was still glamoured at the time or not), but the king. Which is actually what you would expect in that day and age. The monarchy had so many enemies of course they would the face of the king and queen.

Marie Antoinette stays totally calm when she hears Magnus's voice in her bed chambers coming out of nowhere and just resumes her pacing. This woman has been under surveilance for about 2 years and nearly got killed once and she just stays calm? She doesn't get suspicious?

When she gets captured by the vampires of Paris (where she acts like a blabbering idiot instead of the queen) these idiots (especially the supposedly badass head vampire) believe Magnus's stupid story about her being a job by a costumer, who paid to have some women act and look like the queen.

And by the way that big bad head vampire apparently has the nephew and niece of the Duke de Polignac as his underlings. Now the Duke's wife is a close confident of Marie Antoinette and that big bad vampire does not try to profit from it?

Magnus can reach with his mind all over Paris, take possession of a rolled up balloon, roll it, make it inflate itself, glamour it invisible and guide it with his mind towards him, avoiding several buildings in the process, but he does not have his energey to get himself and the queen out by any other method. What happened with making carpets fly as the start of the book stated?

This is not simply hard to believe it is one giant plothole and to be honest all examples of point 1 and 2 could easily fit into the now coming point 3.



3) Plotholes over plotholes

Magnus was in Paris in 1791, the same year he was, according to the 1st book, in Peru. The 2nd book refers to the Flight to Varennes, so it was around the 21thJune1791 and afterwards he was in the Alps for several weeks. So he could not have left Europe before July. When was he in Peru? How did he get there so fast? Even the fastest ship would need weeks. Was it a portal or what?

Magnus has a cabriolet carriage and the author writes that it was brutally hot inside, but how can that be if it is open at the front? And would he even need a fan in that case, would it be of any use?
And speaking of that little fan:
Magnus animated it for cooling… A cabriolet is open at the front, where is the fan placed to be hidden? Also Magnus can only make a fan that can barely stir a breeze? In the last book he was stated to have caused earthquakes.

As part of the magic he performs for the high society Magnus mentions stars appearing on cheeks, heart shaped beauty-spots, flame shooting fountains and even speaking monkeys, birds singing operas, diamonds glowing in different colors and chaise longues wandering across the room. If people think his magic is real why don't they demand more serious stuff?

He covers for rain in the cabriolet although just minutes ago he cast a spell to make it that the rain rolled off an invisible canopy over his head. Did it suddenly wear off or what?

Axel was worth all the trouble this job brought Magnus. He barely knows the guy and the ending of the book doesn't suggest that Axel was worth it. And why does Axel trust Magnus so much?

Magnus only makesa spark in a corner to distract a guard in front of the queen's chamber but when entering the building he used a glamour that made him appear like a large cat. Why not make the guy fall asleep?

How did the Queen get lost in the city if she was supposed to be with the Marquise? And if Magnus knows that Paris is full of vampires and it is blackest night, why did he not cast a glamour that also works on vampires?

Why can the head vampire Marcel Saint Cloud just raise a hand and silence the queen? Did he enchante her? Does he have such presence?

Although the queen had remained calm when guns where pointed at her in the past here she faints when entering the invisible balloon and later on she is mostly unconscious and when they crash land into the Seine she is suddenly unconscious again. I personally think this is simply so they don't have to write the queen as an actual character, because she is not. She is a queen of Marie Antoinette. As flawed a character as she might have been, she was no damsel in distress like in this book. And no it doesn not count that she is suddenly in the supernatural world because strength of character and strong nerves don't just dissapear like that.
And when they are out of the Seine we learn that it was agreed that Magnus was to send a blue flash into the sky should anything go wrong. Then why did he leave right after he glamoured the queen? Did he not tell Axel that he wouldn't be there all the time?
And when all was done suddenly and in front of everybody Axel kissed Magnus despite there never being any hint of attraction. Not to mention the time and place.

Later Magnus is visited by the head vampire underling Henri who tells him, should he decline the invitation, Paris would be a very uncomfortable place for Magnus. Then Magnus says that he didn't want to offense anyone and that he accepts his punishment. What punishment? There is no mentioning of any punishment, and considered that after he gets his stuff the next we read is about him somewhere in the Alps there is no mentioning of any punishment whatsoever.



4) Can you really do nothing else but cliché?

A litte list of clichés in the books:
1) French aristocracy has special needs in terms of sex
2) French society was the most decadent Magnus had ever met
3) The worst thing about Henri is that he is boring in Magnus's eyes.
4) Henri calls his vampire master just "Master"? Basically he sounds like cliché Igor.
5) Bothering Magnus is of course sooo bad.
6) There was an attractive man with black hair and blue eyes, who wears expensive clothes of obviously fine quality and whom Magnus has the hots for, you know just like any other Clare book where he appears, the guy is either there in person or part of Magnus's type.
7) Marie Antoinette and Hans Axel Graf (Count) von Fersen appear in this novel and interact with Magnus and at least Axel has the hots for the queen. Never mind that an actual affair between Fersen and the Queen is impossible to verify and probably unlikely since she was rarely ever alone for long.
8) Saint Cloud possible knew the vampire Vlad Tepez and is a very attractive vampire.
9) The Marquis de Sade was at the vampire party.
10) The queen wanders off, gets lost and captured by the vampires.

These are really not all there were, believe me I wish there were.


5) Magnus always Magnus

Magnus still mostly cares about his fashion (he needs 1-2 hours to dress for opera, and considered that he can do magic does that mean he cannot decide what to wear? Shouldn't he know after more than 100 years of living?) and downright states that he has to or go naked. What he likes about Paris and what he mostly notices are material things and appearances (even wasting precious time), except of course when its Axel there its also some personality traits.
And I really wonder what Magnus considers to be friendship. Because his friends apparently allow him a lot and now its problematic to be seen in their company. What friend talks that way and what does he do for them?

It really was getting difficult to be wonderful.
This is what Magnus thinks when he walks through the Bois de Boulogne where people grow potatoes for food. Supposedly he always felt for the poor and the wretched. In the whole book he never does anything out of altruism, not even a hint. He could have let said potatoes grow bigger but he does nothing. He doesn't even seem to feel enough for them to endure the smell, nope Magnus rather smells at a jasmine-scented cloth. He seems to be annoyed by everything and his behavior reflects none of the many dangers and troubles he supposedly faces. And the authors literally state that there was nothing Magnus attached more importance to than a whim. And apparently that really fits because he considers leaving Paris for some other locations because of the problematic situation with the revolution and suddenly he says Perhaps it was best to stay in Paris. No explanation whatsoever. And not only his he cock-crazy for Von Fersen Magnus apparently cannot even remember the name of one of his more recent “lovers” despite spending the night at her place. How many "lovers" does he have on average? And by the way if you do not remember the name its not a "lover" its a hook-up.

The authors waste no possibility to shove it into our face how much Magnus has the hots for Axel. Well apparently not enough to make him write to Axel and make him stop going to Paris or to go to him and help him although the two separated on good terms and there was nothing mentioned about any problems. He actually refuses to help because he cannot deal with "mundane politics?" Asshole, plain and simple, asshole. I wish in her next book in TMI Clare would kill him but sadly I don't think so. Based on her Bane Chronicles so far I am pretty sure she will let him be with Alec again. And now I tell you why I think that.



6) Why don't you just say so outright?

The authors constantly point out in all those non-TMI books that Magnus's favorite traits are black hair and blue eyes and throw references in (here it was the sudden kiss). We get it; Alec is supposed to be perfect for him. Von Fersen's look fits right in, because you know there is no real consistency on how Von Fersen looked. The descriptions vary regarding eyes and hair. And there was also this little typo where they typed “Alex” instead of “Axel”. Which made me wonder whether she chose to use the name "Axel" because of its similarity to "Alec." After all what two strangers from that time and that society level instantly adress each other with first name even if they have the hots for each other?

And why do the authors even bother with it? Just get some fortune teller who tells Magnus that his "big love" will have these traits; maybe even give some details so he can recognize him. At least that would be an explanation for his mercurial dating/relationship habits.
Also it would save time and space that could be used for actual important information.



This is only a severely shortened version of this spoiler section and review but I think it should be sufficient. If you are interested in the full review you would have to visit my deviantart journal: http://fav.me/d66nljk

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 hotair balloon stars

Narrated by Cecil Baldwin, Jamie Bamber, George Blagden, Gareth David-Lloyd, Jordan Gavaris, Stephen Lunsford, David Oyelowo, Andrew Scott, Michael Trevino, Jesse Williams

Two of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles.

Paris, city of love and fashion, everything Magnus loves, while he gets to play and work, he also finds himself on a daring adventure to save the Royal Family all because a pretty face told him so. But his presence has caused a stir with the Vampires of Paris and he finds himself needing to pay respect to the Vampire Clan as well as the the Royal Family all in one night. This wouldn't be Magnus' story if there wasn't a bit of monkey business involved.

I think by now I am starting to get the hang of these little novellas, they are not meant to give you the beginning, middle and end, just the story as it is at that time. The narrators again did a brilliant job with telling the story, making me laugh and wishing Magnus was real.

[✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨ Dead Account; Not Coming Back · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the first one, but still ridiculous and unrealistic

[sage (semi-hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
*******
1.) What Really Happened in Peru ★★★★

[Lazaros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this I remembered why I love Magnus Bane so much. I had read the first short story many months ago and I wanted to read the rest of the short stories ever since. Now, I finally picked it up. I will say that this was considerably better than the first, straight to the point. I loved the whole "helping the queen escape" plan and of course I loved seeing Magnus getting some action in Paris.

[human · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2.5/5)

I like that it was set in French Revolution-era France, but the world-building was lacking.

Although, what else can you expect from 59 pages, I suppose.

Overall, very "meh" to me.

Loved the monkey though!

[Beenish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh this one was hilarious 🤣

[Althea ☾]

To be honest, I liked the first short story more, I got pretty bored with this one. But it did kind of give me Infernal Devices ish vibes in particular but I just didn't really feel the plot for this one. Again, I just like how we're given more of a look inside the inner workings Magnus' head hehe

COFFEE SHOP JAZZ AMBIENCE ROOM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0_ej...

---
I'm really enjoying the music at the beginning of the audiobooks in this series.

1. What Really Happened in Peru - ★★★☆☆
2. The Runaway Queen - ★★☆☆☆
3. Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale - ★★★★★
4. The Midnight Heir - ★★★★★
5. The Rise of the Hotel Dumort - ★★☆☆☆
6. Saving Raphael Santiago - ★★★★☆
7. The Fall of the Hotel Dumort - ★★★★☆
8. What To Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything - ★★★★☆
9. The Last Stand of the New York Institute - ★★★★★
10. The Course of True Love [and First Dates] - ★★★★★
11. The Voicemail of Magnus Bane - ★★★☆☆

⟹ BLOG | SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI | BOOKSIRENS ⟸

[Alexa Logan]

Why does this have 5 star ratings already if it hasn't even been released?

I'm certainly excited to read more about my favorite MI character, but I thought ratings and reviews were supposed to mean something?

[Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apparently I need to note on here that I received this from one of the authors before it was out to read/ review, so my review is NOT based on what I think will happen in the book. I've read it, I know what happens.

My review:
Magnus, Paris, the French Revolution. This second installment is fabulous!! Magnus is my favorite character of Cassie's, and I love getting more of history. There's some fabulous new characters introduced into this story, and the way history was tied into The Runaway Queen was perfect! I loved it. I can't wait for the next installment.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Runaway Queen - The Bane Chronicle, 2


“It was a very bad idea. It was a terrible idea. It was the worst idea he had ever heard. It was irresistible.”


Paris in 1791!

Magnus helping a queen to runaway. Only in a favor of an handsome young man with dark hair and pretty eyes ofcoure, who would Magnus be if he could resist such staring eyes..

“One did not turn down an invitation from Saint Cloud. At least, one didn't if one wanted to continue living contentedly in Paris. Vampires took offense so easily - and Parisian vampires were the worst of all.”

[Paola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since the audiobook was read by George Bladgen this was definitely a must listen for me, I really enjoyed it.
In this tale Magnus Bane meets count Axel Von Fersen and queen Marie Antoinette during the French revolution in Paris, there are vampires and a hot air balloon, and a very interesting pet... ;)
All of it was crazy, but that's just Magnus Bane's life.

[Stacia (the 2010 club) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The low rating is for my own personal shelving purposes and does not reflect on the writing or story itself.

I am reading these just to make sure I don't miss any clues or hints about the bigger picture in general, but am not a big fan of most "side stories" for series, with a few rare exceptions. I'd rather just read it all in the main books, so I am kind of halfheartedly skimming these just to make sure I don't miss anything because it's not unlike Clare to slip little details in that connect to the bigger picture.

That's all. No real complaints here. Ignore the rating.

[nefeli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 ⭐


Buddy read this with Sanyam ‼
Chech out his review here

“It was a very bad idea. It was a terrible idea. It was the worst idea he had ever heard. It was irresistible.”

Magnus keeps being the best character 😌

I liked "The runaway queen", even though I prefered the first short story. It was a really interesting story, about the French revolution, where Magnus helped the queen Marie Antoinette escape. The scene where Magnus was travelling on the balloon with the queen was really funny 😂

“When one steals a flying balloon and animates it to fly over Paris, one should, ideally, have some idea how said balloon normally works.”

And the fact that he named his monkey Ragnor 🥺

“Hello," Magnus said to the monkey. The monkey did not reply. "I shall call you Ragnor.”

~ What realy happened in Peru: Review 3.5/5 ⭐

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this review is titled 'Cassandra Clare makes bad decisions (and I'm not talking about that Mortal Instruments anthology)' *shudders* - because compared to What Really Happened in Peru (nothing), The Runaway Queen is actually... decent. Or at least we still have all the usual problems inherent with writing a ten part short story collection, the elaborate fan fiction aspect, the less than hundred pages not being nearly enough for any character or plot development of note problem, the obvious money grab angle, but at least Maureen Johnson seems to be actually trying here (for the most part). I love Sarah Rees Brennan (or her writing style and Unspoken at least), but What Really Happened in Peru was so obviously pointless filler and Brennan's style just too flashy for historical, Johnson I think has a much better hand for the material and while the plot's definitely still filler, at least there is a plot to speak of. That actually matches real history.

Which brings me back to why I titled the review the way I did:

Bad decision number one - skimping out on an editor: This one isn't even funny. There are obvious typos like a character being named Axel and Alex and random names left as blanks, at this point I doubt anyone still thinks Clare cares but come on at least keep up the illusion.

Bad decision number two - letting Johnson write Magnus off a cheat sheet: His character is so by the books I should be laughing - from being insulted. There's his flashy dress. The usual gay references. A monkey. And that's it. Brennan's take may have been outrageously anachronistic, but Johnson's is just flat. There's something seriously wrong when the setting's well written and the character is... not.

Bad decision number three - not making this the first short story: With the obvious difference in quality, you gotta hook 'em in before you slack off. Despite flat Magnus my overall impression is way more favorable with this one and I definitely think anyone who's read both will see why this should've been first. And she's supposed to be a marketing genius. Lol.

Tldr(really?): I doubt Cassandra Clare even read these before hawking them to the general public.

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnus, darling, incluso en medio de la Revolución Francesa eres un loquillo y no dejas de ligar, ¿eh?

Sabes que una historia corta como The Runaway Queen va a ser interesante cuando todo empieza con alguien contratando a Magnus para que ayude a huir a la familia real de Francia y así evitar que todos pasen por la guillotina. Ahora, sabes que el relato va a ser aún más genial cuando aparece un chico sueco guapo y Magnus empieza a tontear con él. Y la cereza del pastel: hay vampiros involucrados.

"You will never be forgotten for this", Axel said in a low voice. "France will remember. Aweeden will remember".
"I don't care if France or Sweeden remembers. I care if you remember".
Magnus was genuinely shocked when it was Axel who instigated the kiss—how sudden it was, how passionate, how all of Paris, and all the vampires, and the Seint and the balloon and everything fell away and it was just the two of them for one moment. One perfect moment.

[Sinead · Rating 4 out of 5]

just like with What Happened In Peru, Magnus' personality and and interactions were what made this book enjoyable; there wasn't much else that made it particularly memorable.

[Anushka Malik · Rating 3 out of 5]

~~𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨~~
★★★☆☆

Set in Revolutionary Paris, this short story has Magnus, the flamboyant Warlock as dapper as always and with a weakness for dark haired, blue eyed men as always.

We meet evil powerful vampires, a monkey named Ragnor (possibly because Magnus is missing his best friend, Ragnor Fell) and.... *drumroll please*

Her Majesty, the Queen Marie Antoinette!

A short but shockingly wild ride that features a hot air balloon crashing landing into the Seine. And I'll stop here lest I give too much away.



Overall--- I had fun reading this. Historical fiction meets magical/supernatural fantasy in a fine blend. 🥂

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5

Mucho mejor que la primera historia. Aquí si he conectado ya con Magnus y me ha vuelto a gustar mucho el personaje, Ojalá saber en un futuro qué fue de Axel. Me encantan los vampiros, siempre lo vuelven todo más emocionante. Seguiré leyendo los siguientes a ver qué tal.

[dia💋 · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was better than the first part but still slow, boring and undeveloped in the beggining.

[★MC's Corner★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

GRABE!!! ANG LANDI NI MAGNUS!!!



SO GAY!!! AND I LOVE IT!

Magnus: Claude!
I’ll need you to get a leash for my monkey, Claude, and also a hat.

Claude: Of course, monsieur.

Magus: Do you think he needs a little coat as well?

Claude: Perhaps not in this weather, monsieur.

Magus: “You’re right, make it a simple dressing gown, just like mine.

Claude: Which one, monsieur?

Magus: The one in rose and silver.

Claude: An excellent choice, monsieur.

Magus: And take him to the kitchen and get him a proper breakfast, will you? He’ll need fruit and water, and perhaps a cool bath.

[katia · Rating 2 out of 5]

why are these so boring