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Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices Book Set
The Mortal Instruments Collection
Cassandra Clark
Titles in This Set:
City of Bones
City of Ashes
City Glass
City of Fallen Angels
Clockwork Angel
Cassandra Clark
Titles in This Set:
City of Bones
City of Ashes
City Glass
City of Fallen Angels
Clockwork Angel
- GenresFantasy
Paperback
Published January 1, 2011
13 people are currently reading
497 people want to read
About the author
Cassandra Clarke
9 books1 followerCassandra Clarke graduated in 2006 from The University of St. Thomas with a bachelor's degree in English, and in 2008 she completed her master's degree in creative writing from The University of Texas at Austin.
She is currently living in Houston, Texas and is teaching English at the Lone Star College.
She is currently living in Houston, Texas and is teaching English at the Lone Star College.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 2, 2020
Check out my reviews on the main versions of each book.
October 8, 2020
| Reader Fox Blog |
This was...a go back and reread before I get read of all the copies I own on account of the plagiarism. I’ve had these books for a long while, before I ever knew about those issues and, while I cannot fully remove myself from the stain that comes with having given this woman money, I can at least rid myself of the copies in the hopes that someone else will be spared that. Full review to come.
EDIT: I've written a full review, though what is below has been heavily edited due to Goodreads' policies regarding commentary of author behavior within a review. In light of this, you can find the full review on my blog.
My past with City of Bones is actually somewhat of an amusing one at times, but also a rather dejecting one. I cannot even begin with how devastated I was when I first learned of all the issues surrounding these novels and the author who penned them. The interesting thing is that I really enjoyed the books when I first came across them as a teenager, so much so that my first-ever rating of the book was five stars. As I've grown up I find myself feeling more and more embarrassed and disgusted with the fact that I bought these books. Just as I did with Twilight a few months ago, I've decided to re-read Clare's work before ridding myself of the books I've had since high school. I haven't decided yet whether to donate or throw them out, honestly, since I don't know if I want to subject other young readers to them but I definitely don't want these books anymore. And in this sense, I've decided to review each of her books.
As for City of Bones, the fact of the matter is that the novel is largely based around ideas that were borrowed and pulled from a variety of other novels and altered in various, somewhat minute ways in order for the work to transform into Clare's own piece of fiction. Looking below the surface of it all, though, it becomes difficult for me to credit much of the story and the characters to Clare's writing ability as a result of my understanding of where it all came from. I find myself unable to ascertain whether the bits about the story that I enjoyed were actually a result of Clare's own imagination or whether they were borrowed from somewhere else. You really don't have to look far at other reviews to see where the ideas for her story and characters come from, though the majority does appear to be based around Harry Potter.
Clare also has a rather annoying habit of creating extensive love polygons that just become absolutely ridiculous. I've drawn some out before, but just taking a look at this book alone you can see an extensive intermingling of love relationships/pinings. We'll begin with Clary, who can be romantically linked in this novel to both Jace and Simon. Jace can be linked to Clary and Alec. Simon can be linked to Clary and Isabelle. Alec can be linked to Jace and Magnus. Isabelle can be linked to Simon and Meliorn. And that, my friends, is just the first book. It'll get worse later on. Frankly, it's just far too much drama for it to all be necessary.
I can see, at times, why I enjoyed reading this story all those years ago. And I recall becoming emotionally invested enough for this to be the first book I actually threw against a wall upon finishing--I too was thoroughly upset and disgusted with the news brought to light for Clary and Jace via Valentine--and had I not already bought the whole series (I was a little excessive when buying books back then, as I'd not come across the concept that it's perfectly okay to begin a series and not continue on with it) I don't know if I'd have kept reading enough to find out the resolution to this exceedingly disturbing reveal. But I also loved Twilight at this point in my life, to the point that I wasn't aware enough of consent to find the actions of Jacob Black as disgusting as they truly are, so really, can I credit much to the fact that I liked this series? I'm not sure.
Where I'll occasionally find myself rather endeared toward characters, particularly Simon, other characters are frustrating and quick to anger, all of which often ultimately leads to incredibly poor decision making. And I'm left wondering how I liked any of these characters to begin with. There are a lot of problematic pieces to the book as a whole, some of which stem from the blatant ways in which Jace will lash out at anyone, anytime he feels like, others that lie within the unfortunate girl-hate dynamic that exists between Isabelle and Clary, and more that comes from the servant-like roles the gay characters in this novel hold or the power dynamics between an older man in a relationship with a much younger man. I could go on and on about this, but the truth is that others have as well. And you don't have to look far to find it all.
Clare's writing, overall, is inconsistent in quality which often leads me to wonder how much of what I really liked was not her work. While enough was altered for Clare to avoid a plagiarism lawsuit--fair enough--it still leaves me feeling deeply unsure, almost to the point that I hope the parts I like are not hers. Ultimately, though, even I have noticed many grammatical errors and typos throughout the novel. The degree of information that is simply thrown at us rather than shown is immense and often I find that characters don't always act in realistic manners. I'll give her this, though; City of Bones is infinitely better written than Fifty Shades of Gray, so at least she has that merit. All in all, while I was once quite a fan of these books, I'm not as much any longer. Even the show, which I do actually enjoy quite a lot and has fixed numerous issues that the books had, is somewhat seeped in the unfortunate disgrace of the material it is adapted from.
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This was...a go back and reread before I get read of all the copies I own on account of the plagiarism. I’ve had these books for a long while, before I ever knew about those issues and, while I cannot fully remove myself from the stain that comes with having given this woman money, I can at least rid myself of the copies in the hopes that someone else will be spared that. Full review to come.
EDIT: I've written a full review, though what is below has been heavily edited due to Goodreads' policies regarding commentary of author behavior within a review. In light of this, you can find the full review on my blog.
My past with City of Bones is actually somewhat of an amusing one at times, but also a rather dejecting one. I cannot even begin with how devastated I was when I first learned of all the issues surrounding these novels and the author who penned them. The interesting thing is that I really enjoyed the books when I first came across them as a teenager, so much so that my first-ever rating of the book was five stars. As I've grown up I find myself feeling more and more embarrassed and disgusted with the fact that I bought these books. Just as I did with Twilight a few months ago, I've decided to re-read Clare's work before ridding myself of the books I've had since high school. I haven't decided yet whether to donate or throw them out, honestly, since I don't know if I want to subject other young readers to them but I definitely don't want these books anymore. And in this sense, I've decided to review each of her books.
As for City of Bones, the fact of the matter is that the novel is largely based around ideas that were borrowed and pulled from a variety of other novels and altered in various, somewhat minute ways in order for the work to transform into Clare's own piece of fiction. Looking below the surface of it all, though, it becomes difficult for me to credit much of the story and the characters to Clare's writing ability as a result of my understanding of where it all came from. I find myself unable to ascertain whether the bits about the story that I enjoyed were actually a result of Clare's own imagination or whether they were borrowed from somewhere else. You really don't have to look far at other reviews to see where the ideas for her story and characters come from, though the majority does appear to be based around Harry Potter.
Clare also has a rather annoying habit of creating extensive love polygons that just become absolutely ridiculous. I've drawn some out before, but just taking a look at this book alone you can see an extensive intermingling of love relationships/pinings. We'll begin with Clary, who can be romantically linked in this novel to both Jace and Simon. Jace can be linked to Clary and Alec. Simon can be linked to Clary and Isabelle. Alec can be linked to Jace and Magnus. Isabelle can be linked to Simon and Meliorn. And that, my friends, is just the first book. It'll get worse later on. Frankly, it's just far too much drama for it to all be necessary.
I can see, at times, why I enjoyed reading this story all those years ago. And I recall becoming emotionally invested enough for this to be the first book I actually threw against a wall upon finishing--I too was thoroughly upset and disgusted with the news brought to light for Clary and Jace via Valentine--and had I not already bought the whole series (I was a little excessive when buying books back then, as I'd not come across the concept that it's perfectly okay to begin a series and not continue on with it) I don't know if I'd have kept reading enough to find out the resolution to this exceedingly disturbing reveal. But I also loved Twilight at this point in my life, to the point that I wasn't aware enough of consent to find the actions of Jacob Black as disgusting as they truly are, so really, can I credit much to the fact that I liked this series? I'm not sure.
Where I'll occasionally find myself rather endeared toward characters, particularly Simon, other characters are frustrating and quick to anger, all of which often ultimately leads to incredibly poor decision making. And I'm left wondering how I liked any of these characters to begin with. There are a lot of problematic pieces to the book as a whole, some of which stem from the blatant ways in which Jace will lash out at anyone, anytime he feels like, others that lie within the unfortunate girl-hate dynamic that exists between Isabelle and Clary, and more that comes from the servant-like roles the gay characters in this novel hold or the power dynamics between an older man in a relationship with a much younger man. I could go on and on about this, but the truth is that others have as well. And you don't have to look far to find it all.
Clare's writing, overall, is inconsistent in quality which often leads me to wonder how much of what I really liked was not her work. While enough was altered for Clare to avoid a plagiarism lawsuit--fair enough--it still leaves me feeling deeply unsure, almost to the point that I hope the parts I like are not hers. Ultimately, though, even I have noticed many grammatical errors and typos throughout the novel. The degree of information that is simply thrown at us rather than shown is immense and often I find that characters don't always act in realistic manners. I'll give her this, though; City of Bones is infinitely better written than Fifty Shades of Gray, so at least she has that merit. All in all, while I was once quite a fan of these books, I'm not as much any longer. Even the show, which I do actually enjoy quite a lot and has fixed numerous issues that the books had, is somewhat seeped in the unfortunate disgrace of the material it is adapted from.
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February 14, 2021
Read the Mortal Instrument teen book series. Liked the story line - total light escapism. A bit repetitive but to be expected in a 6 book series. Would give it 2.5. Didn’t much care for the racier scenes given the target age group.
September 7, 2021
My whole middle school experience was these books. My mom gifted me the collection after I read the first one from the library. You fall on love with the characters so much. I would give anything to read these for the first time.
December 27, 2019
Great action and world building. Some repetitive plot points for two main characters but still highly engaging. Loved the whole series.
February 16, 2020
This book series is very influential.
December 30, 2021
Those two sets/ collection have my favorite people / characters
October 3, 2023
5 stars bc i read it at 13 and you know what people say about the books that you read at 13
July 21, 2024
Read as a teenager the perfect mix of fantasy and love. The books are far superior to the film and show
September 10, 2015
The Mortal Instruments Series is the best fantasy series I have read yet. The story itself is full of detail, creativity and is very amusing to read. Throughout all of the books i was never bored with reading because of the constant turns the story takes.The story itself is one of the best, the characters, and the twists, almost every aspect of it. The story is also written from different viewpoints in different places as well which is also interesting. Overall if you enjoy fantasy and an interesting story this is the series for you.
January 25, 2016
It was one of the best series I have ever read. It was filled with action and mythology which is my favorite combination. But my favorite part of this series was its characters. Clary and Jace had a very great relationship and I almost cried when I thought they were siblings. The ending was one of the best wrapped-up books I have ever read! I can't wait to read the rest of Cassandra Clare's books!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2015
Awesome and addictive!
October 27, 2015
I love Cassandra Clare's descriptive writing. I've read almost all of the books she's published and I can't wait for more shadowhunters.
December 31, 2015
It is an amazing book series, I have reread it at least 10 tens and I love them. I still can't find a better book series help!
August 26, 2023
My favs together!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews