The Mortal Instruments
| Company type | Book series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | Cassandra Clare |
| Products | Young adult fantasy novels |
The Mortal Instruments comprises six young adult fantasy novels authored by American writer Cassandra Clare, with the concluding volume released on May 27, 2014. Although it is the third in chronological order within the planned six-part The Shadowhunter Chronicles, it was the initial series to be published. The narrative centers on Clary Fray, whose encounter with a group of elite angelic warriors called Nephilim or Shadowhunters reveals profound family secrets. These Shadowhunters serve as protectors of ordinary humans, referred to as mundanes or "mundies," shielding them from malevolent supernatural entities. The storyline integrates well-known fantasy beings including vampires, werewolves, faeries, and warlocks, combining elements of paranormal romance and urban fantasy tailored for a young adult audience.
Novels
- City of Bones (March 27, 2007)
- City of Ashes (March 25, 2008)
- City of Glass (March 23, 2009)
- City of Fallen Angels (April 5, 2011)
- City of Lost Souls (May 8, 2012)
- The Shadowhunter's Codex (October 29, 2013)
- City of Heavenly Fire (May 27, 2014)
- The Bane Chronicles (Print Edition November 11, 2014)
- Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy (Print Edition November 15, 2016)
- Ghosts of the Shadow Market (June 4, 2019)
Main characters
- Clarissa "Clary" Adele Fray/Fairchild is the daughter of Jocelyn Fairchild who learns she is a Shadowhunter—a secret her mother kept hidden. She is also the offspring of Valentine Morgenstern and sibling to Jonathan Christopher (Sebastian) Morgenstern. Clary possesses the ability to create runes, a gift derived from angelic blood her father infused before her birth. Characterized by impulsiveness and determination, she is romantically linked to Jace and shares a close friendship with Simon.
- Jonathan Christopher "Jace" Herondale (also known as Wayland, Morgenstern, Lightwood) is a premier Shadowhunter warrior raised by the Lightwood family but biologically the son of Stephen Herondale. Similar to Clary, his angel blood grants him enhanced abilities. His parabatai is Alec Lightwood, and he serves as Clary’s romantic partner.
- Simon Lewis (Lovelace) starts as a mundane Jewish adolescent and Clary’s closest friend. He transforms into a vampire in City of Ashes, later relinquishing his immortality and memories to escape a demonic realm and revert to human form. Simon eventually trains to become a Shadowhunter and develops a romantic relationship with Isabelle Lightwood.
- Isabelle "Izzy" Sophia Lightwood is a formidable Shadowhunter recognized for her striking appearance and mastery of the gold electrum whip. Initially engaging in casual relationships, she later enters a committed partnership with Simon Lewis.
- Alexander "Alec" Gideon Lightwood serves as the eldest sibling in the Lightwood family and excels as an archer. Reserved yet protective, he confronts his sexual identity before publicly coming out and initiating a relationship with warlock Magnus Bane. Their partnership endures challenges due to Magnus’ immortality but ultimately perseveres.
- Magnus Bane is an 800-year-old bisexual High Warlock residing in Brooklyn, noted for his flamboyant style and shimmering appearance. He plays a pivotal role throughout the series by aiding Clary’s family and maintaining an important relationship with Alec Lightwood. Magnus features prominently across several Shadowhunter Chronicles installments.
- Lucian "Luke" Garroway/Graymark is a former Shadowhunter who became a werewolf following betrayal by Valentine Morgenstern. As leader of Manhattan’s werewolf pack, he becomes engaged to Jocelyn Fairchild. Luke exemplifies calmness, loyalty, and integrity.
- Jocelyn Fray/Fairchild is Clary’s mother and Valentine Morgenstern’s former spouse. She escaped Idris after uncovering Valentine’s hazardous experiments involving demon blood in their children. To protect Clary, Jocelyn suppresses her ability to perceive the Shadow World and guards the Mortal Cup—a crucial artifact for creating Shadowhunters. She becomes engaged to Luke Garroway.
- Valentine Morgenstern acts as the primary antagonist in the early books; he is father to Clary and Jonathan Christopher and adoptive father to Jace Herondale. Prior to the series’ start, he faked his death and assumed Michael Wayland’s identity while raising Jace.
- Jonathan Christopher (Sebastian) Morgenstern is Clary’s brother who emerges as an antagonist in later volumes. Born with demon blood due to Valentine’s prenatal experiments on Jocelyn, he ultimately dies after purging his malevolence and reconciling with his family.
Critical reception
City of Bones enjoyed considerable commercial achievement, securing the #8 position on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's books in April 2007. The sequel, City of Ashes, earned a spot among YALSA's top ten teen selections for the year 2009.
The series received praise from Publishers Weekly, which characterized it as "an expansive urban fantasy featuring nearly every creature typical of the genre." Meanwhile, Locus commended it as "a highly engaging debut novel," and Booklist emphasized its "abundant elements of romance, loss, honor, and betrayal," along with Clare’s ability to swiftly drive the storyline toward a rewarding conclusion. Although the School Library Journal pointed out moments of predictability and occasional overwriting, it recognized Clare’s skill in merging contemporary humor with classic fantasy themes, maintaining reader interest throughout.
Despite some narrative shortcomings such as intermittent character development and foreseeable plot points, the series remained captivating and kept audiences eager for subsequent volumes.
The franchise maintained a robust presence in the market, staying on the New York Times Best Sellers List for an impressive 102 weeks consecutively by September 2013. It also held the top position for nine weeks, outperforming other bestselling franchises like The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson and The Olympians.
On August 29, 2013, City of Bones reached number one on USA Today's Best Sellers List, becoming the nation’s leading book at that moment. Additionally, four other installments from the series appeared on the same list: City of Ashes at number 8, City of Glass at number 20, City of Fallen Angels at number 35, and City of Lost Souls at number 46.
Popular culture and historical references
In City of Ashes, elements from Holly Black's faerie universe emerge, including the Faerie Realm and its denizens introduced in her series beginning with Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale. Characters Val and Luis from Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie also make appearances. Furthermore, Holly Black’s third installment, Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale, contains references to the Mortal Cup featured in The Mortal Instruments.
Cassandra Clare conducted extensive research into global mythology to construct the Shadowhunter world across The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and their related series. Her inspirations draw from works such as Paradise Lost and Dante’s The Inferno, combined with Western religious traditions and Eastern demonology found in Japanese and Tibetan lore. Clare integrates angels and nephilim into her narratives by adapting this wide-ranging mythological knowledge.
Prequels
Cassandra Clare’s prequel series, The Infernal Devices, is set during Victorian London within the same universe as The Mortal Instruments. It consists of three novels: Clockwork Angel (released August 31, 2010), Clockwork Prince (December 6, 2011), and Clockwork Princess (March 19, 2013). The storyline follows Will Herondale, Tessa Gray, and Jem Carstairs at the London Institute.
Following this prequel is a sequel series titled The Last Hours, which chronicles the subsequent generation of Shadowhunters roughly twenty years later. This trilogy includes the titles: Chain of Gold, Chain of Iron, and Chain of Thorns.
Sequels
The continuation of the Shadowhunter narrative unfolds in the The Dark Artifices trilogy, set five years after the events of The Mortal Instruments. This trilogy comprises Lady Midnight (released March 8, 2016), Lord of Shadows (released May 23, 2017), and Queen of Air and Darkness (released December 4, 2018).
Anthology collection of novellas
The Bane Chronicles, a collection of ten short stories published between 2013 and 2014, was co-written by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Maureen Johnson. These tales center on Magnus Bane, a character from The Mortal Instruments, with notable entries such as "What Really Happened in Peru" and "The Course of True Love (and First Dates)".
Furthermore, Clare and Brennan collaborated on Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, a ten-part series launched in 2015 that chronicles Simon Lewis’s path toward becoming a Shadowhunter. Important installments include Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy and Angels Twice Descending.
In addition, Clare and Brennan served as editors for Ghosts of the Shadow Market, which features ten narratives involving characters from multiple series including The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices, and The Last Hours.
Graphic novels
Th3rd World Publishing produced graphic novel versions of several titles: The City of Bones, The Clockwork Angel, The Clockwork Prince, and The Clockwork Princess.
Film
Screen Gems announced a cinematic adaptation of City of Bones in 2010 with intentions to establish a franchise. The film debuted on August 12, 2013, at Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome. However, plans for a sequel based on City of Ashes were postponed and eventually cancelled due to the initial film not recovering its production costs.
Television
On October 12, 2014, Constantin Film revealed plans to reintroduce The Mortal Instruments as a television series. The show aired for three seasons, comprising a total of 55 episodes, from January 12, 2016, through May 6, 2019.
Coinciding with the series launch, a graphic novel adaptation of the first book was also released.
During Mipcom on October 12, 2014, Constantin confirmed the television adaptation with Ed Decter appointed as showrunner. Constantin Film’s TV division head Martin Moszkowicz explained that the TV format provided an opportunity to explore the novels more thoroughly than the film version had allowed. The production team intended to adapt the entire book series. In February 2015, author Cassandra Clare announced that the series would be titled Shadowhunters rather than using the original name. Subsequently, in March 2015, ABC Family commissioned Shadowhunters directly to series.
Renewal for a second season consisting of 20 episodes was confirmed in March 2016; this season premiered on January 2, 2017. In April 2017, a third season with another set of 20 episodes was greenlit; its first half began airing on March 20, 2018, with the remaining episodes broadcast later that year. The concluding two-part finale was broadcast on May 6, 2019.