City of bones

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English

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Discover this first installment of the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly).When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know... Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

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ISBN
9781428739994
9781439569672
9781606863619
9781416914280
9781442375789
9781416955078
9781416995753

Table of Contents

From the Book - 1st ed.

Pt. 1. Dark descent.
Pandemonium
Secrets and lies
Shadowhunter
Ravener
Clave and covenant
Forsaken
The five-dimensional door
Weapon of choice
The circle and the brotherhood
pt. 2. Easy is the descent.
City of bones
Magnus Bane
Dead man's party
The memory of whiteness
The Hotel Dumort
High and dry
Falling angels
The midnight flower
The mortal cup
Abbadon
In rats' alley
pt. 3. The descent beckons.
The werewolf's tale
Renwick's ruin
Valentine
Epilogue: The ascent beckons.

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Also in this Series

  • City of bones (Mortal instruments Volume 1) Cover
  • City of ashes (Mortal instruments Volume 2) Cover
  • City of Glass (Mortal instruments Volume 3) Cover
  • City of fallen angels (Mortal instruments Volume 4) Cover
  • City of lost souls (Mortal instruments Volume 5) Cover
  • City of heavenly fire (Mortal instruments Volume 6) Cover
  • Ghosts of the shadow market (Mortal instruments Volume ) Cover

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Author Notes

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Similar Series From Novelist

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Both Mortal Instruments and Demon's Lexicon are urban fantasy series that feature tons of action, wrenching emotional drama, and snappy humor. -- Ellen Foreman
These fast-paced urban fantasy series follow gifted teenage girls as they juggle romance, family, growing up, and fighting supernatural (as well as human) evils. -- Alina Gerall
These romantic urban fantasy series spotlight teenage heroines in fast-paced adventures as they join with paranormal warriors to fight against the forces of evil. -- Pamela Manasco
Each urban fantasy (complete with love triangle) is set in a world where humans, demons, and angels exist side-by-side. Both feature a heroine who discovers she has important role to play in a cosmic battle between good and evil. -- Lindsey Dunn
Readers with a dark sense of humor will delight in these romantic, action-packed paranormal series about a teenage monster hunters who fall in love with dangerous, yet charming boys. -- CJ Connor
Looking for an urban fantasy series with knockout world-building, sizzling romantic tension, and full-throttle action? Both of these are sure to satisfy. -- Ellen Foreman
Readers drawn to the complex relationships between humans and supernatural creatures will find much to sink their teeth into in these two paranormal series. Both action packed series contain strong-willed heroines, complex world building and witty dialogue. -- Alina Gerall
These urban fantasy novels present an underworld teeming with supernatural creatures, and feisty heroines determined to save the day. Both action-packed series include plenty of romance and plot twists. -- Alina Gerall
Though Mortal Instruments contains more action and peril while Beautiful Dark focuses more on the love story, both of these urban fantasy series follow feisty, supernaturally powered teens as they uncover secrets which could change the fate of the world. -- Alina Gerall
These series have the appeal factors action-packed, suspenseful, and fast-paced, and they have the genre "urban fantasy"; and the subjects "demons," "vampires," and "supernatural."
These series have the appeal factors action-packed, and they have the genre "urban fantasy"; and the subjects "demons," "vampires," and "supernatural."
These series have the appeal factors angst-filled, and they have the subjects "demons," "vampires," and "supernatural."
These series have the appeal factors angst-filled, and they have the genre "urban fantasy"; and the subjects "demons," "vampires," and "supernatural."

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
NoveList recommends "Scarlet veil" for fans of "Mortal instruments". Check out the first book in the series.
The streets of New York City teem with fantasy creatures and magical power in these action-packed urban fantasy series starters. Infinity Son features a more diverse cast. -- Stephen Ashley
The sometimes dangerous interactions between paranormal creatures and the human world are at the center of these suspenseful stories, both of which feature strong heroines who uncover secrets and navigate the challenges of love and friendship. -- Jennifer Stubben Hatch
Although City is more intricately plotted, these witty urban fantasy romances combine high drama, sassy humor, and chilling horror as a teen girl discovers there's much more going on around her than she ever expected -- and it's all magic. -- Lesley James
These paranormal romances build atmospheric worlds of epic proportions and fill them with large casts of angst-ridden characters, complex and suspense-filled plots, and the heightened emotions of forbidden love, although the magic in Starcrossed comes from Greek myths. -- Lesley James
Both urban fantasies feature strong female characters who discover magical underworlds. Plenty of suspenseful action, romance, and supernatural creatures engage the likeable girls as they try to save the world from the brewing apocalypse. -- Julie Paladino
NoveList recommends "Violet Eden chapters" for fans of "Mortal instruments". Check out the first book in the series.
The intricately twisting plots of these fast-paced fantasies balance humor with more poignant moments as their heroines face danger, fall in love, and discover the unexpected roles they have to play in their richly detailed worlds. -- Lesley James
These descriptive, atmospheric urban fantasies combine elaborately constructed supernatural worlds existing just beyond the threshold of our own, with high drama and dashes of humor. -- Lesley James
NoveList recommends "Iron fey. Original series" for fans of "Mortal instruments". Check out the first book in the series.
Spirited teen girls find themselves drawn to men with supernatural secrets in these atmospheric urban fantasies. Lush descriptions, murders, vampires, and suspenseful action are found in both as the girls try to solve the mysteries that surround them. -- Julie Paladino
The complicated rules of supernatural societies create plenty of drama for the demons and demon hunters in these urban fantasy series-starters. Both use touches of wry humor to offset pulse-pounding paranormal action and sizzling romance-- complete with tattooed bad boys. -- Rebecca Honeycutt

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Both authors of smart urban fantasy stories feature savvy teens trying to decipher family secrets amid struggles between good and evil. Both authors' works feature a strong sense of place and a thread of romance. -- Kathy Stewart
Jessica Shirvington and Cassandra Clare write fast-paced, gritty urban fantasy for teens. Their strong heroines' newly-discovered paranormal powers and budding romances drive them to learn more about the adventure-filled worlds of angels and demons. -- Pamela Manasco
Cassandra Clare and Francesca Lia Block both write gritty, edgy, character-driven fantasy for teens. In their novels, vivid urban cityscapes and the paranormal provide the backdrop for thoughtful, intriguing tales of teenagers who are simultaneously normal and extraordinary. -- Kelly White
Both authors write fast-paced urban fantasy for teens that blends emotional angst with moments of sharp humor. Complicated families, demon hunting, and conflicted love drive these stories of dark worlds that function in tandem to our own. -- Jennifer Brannen
Margaret Stohl and Cassandra Clare write contemporary fantasy books for teens, combining supernatural powers, complicated family bonds, and an epic struggle against evil. These authors use intricate world-building to set up fully realized mythologies, and heavily feature themes of fate and star-crossed love. -- Pamela Manasco
These authors' works have the genres "historical fantasy" and "steampunk"; and the subjects "demons," "demon slayers," and "london, england history."
These authors' works have the genre "historical fantasy"; and the subjects "demons" and "demon slayers."
These authors' works have the genres "historical fantasy" and "steampunk"; and the subjects "vampires," "werewolves," and "british history."
These authors' works have the genres "historical fantasy" and "steampunk"; and the subjects "demons," "supernatural," and "teenage boy-girl relations."
These authors' works have the genres "urban fantasy" and "dark fantasy"; and the subjects "demons," "supernatural," and "demon slayers."
These authors' works have the genres "urban fantasy" and "historical fantasy"; the subjects "demons," "demon slayers," and "vampires"; and characters that are "spirited characters."
These authors' works have the genre "historical fantasy"; and the subjects "vampires," "teenage boy-girl relations," and "werewolves."

Published Reviews

Publisher's Weekly Review

Clare's debut novel, first in the Mortal Instruments series, is a sprawling urban fantasy packed with just about every type of creature known to the genre, and still spacious enough to hold more. Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray witnesses a killing in an "all-ages club"; when she confronts the attackers, she learns that they are spectral Shadowhunters, charged with killing demonic creatures called Night Children. Clary returns home to find her apartment vandalized and her mother missing, apparently kidnapped by creatures in the service of someone named Valentine. An attack by a slithering beast sends Clary to the infirmary at the Institute, hidden home of the Shadowhunters. There she befriends the hunter Jace, who tells her of Valentine's intention to find the Mortal Cup, one of three Mortal Instruments the Angel gave to the first Shadowhunters (the others are a mirror and sword). Great secrets abound both in Clary's past and in her own head--secrets that are gradually revealed to her about her mother, her mother's eccentric friend Luke, her relationship with Jace and, eventually, about Valentine himself. Clare's atmospheric setting is spot-on, informed equally by neo-gothic horror films and the modern fantasy leanings of Neil Gaiman. Werewolves, vampires, angels and fairies all fit in this ambitious milieu. At the core, though, this is a compelling story about family secrets and coming-of-age identity crises. Fans of the smart/chic horror typified by Buffy the Vampire Slayer will instantly fall for this new series. Ages 14-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up-Vampires, werewolves, and creatures of every eerie stripe are lurking all over New York, as Cassandra Clare's City of Bones (S & S/Margaret McElderry Books, 2007) begins "The Mortal Instruments" trilogy. Clary Fray, 15, knows something's strange when she sees a punk rocker demon destroyed by Jace, Alec, and Isabelle. What's more, her friend Simon can't see any of the rune tattooed trio. It turns out that the three powerful teens are Shadowhunters, a race of warriors. Clary's mother has hidden her own connection to these magical marauders, but the teen's blocked memory is gradually returning. When her mother disappears and Clary is attacked by a monstrous insect predator, the girl is rescued by Jace and they retreat to safety at The Institute. Drawn into the quest for the Mortal Cup, Clary gets embroiled in numerous bloody encounters and betrayals as she uncovers the truth about her father, her family, and the forces stalking her. A romantic attachment to Jace and questions about her relationship with Simon add to her turmoil. Though a family friend in an unexpected guise helps her save her mother, the cliffhanging conclusion leaves plenty of room for new conflicts. Narrator Ari Graymor is suitably ironic and dramatic as the text demands. With a female protagonist and horror movie levels of gore, the novel will appeal to guys and girls who like their fantasy sometimes fast paced and often gruesome. A good choice for extensive fantasy collections, but an additional purchase for smaller public and high school libraries.-Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Horn Book Review

Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray's ordinary life turns upside down when she begins seeing demons, her mother is kidnapped, and Clary is taken in by Shadowhunters, demon-fighters as astonished by her newfound abilities as she is. Despite recycled material and purple prose, the snappy dialogue and striking details in this hip, sprawling urban fantasy keep the convoluted series opener entertaining. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

This urban-fantasy series opener spices its fight against evil with sexual tension. Fifteen-year-old geek hipster Clary thought she was just a normal kid, but normal kids don't see invisible people, and normal kids' mothers don't suddenly disappear, seemingly captured by horrific monsters. But like many fantasy heroines, Clary isn't normal, and she's got all the secret parentage, dramatic revelations and amazing magic powers to prove it. Clary is a Shadowhunter, brought up as a mundane but born to fight demons. She and her mundane friend Simon fall in with a trio of Shadowhunter teens, and are soon embroiled in a quest to understand Clary's past--and incidentally save the world. Rich descriptions occasionally devolve into purple prose, but the story's sensual flavor comes from the wealth of detail: demons with facial piercings, diners serving locusts and honey, pretty gay warlocks and cameo appearances from other urban fantasies' characters. Complicated romantic triangles keep the excitement high even when the dramatic revelations tend toward the ridiculous. Lush and fun. (Fantasy. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Clare's debut novel, first in the Mortal Instruments series, is a sprawling urban fantasy packed with just about every type of creature known to the genre, and still spacious enough to hold more. Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray witnesses a killing in an "all-ages club"; when she confronts the attackers, she learns that they are spectral Shadowhunters, charged with killing demonic creatures called Night Children. Clary returns home to find her apartment vandalized and her mother missing, apparently kidnapped by creatures in the service of someone named Valentine. An attack by a slithering beast sends Clary to the infirmary at the Institute, hidden home of the Shadowhunters. There she befriends the hunter Jace, who tells her of Valentine's intention to find the Mortal Cup, one of three Mortal Instruments the Angel gave to the first Shadowhunters (the others are a mirror and sword). Great secrets abound both in Clary's past and in her own head—secrets that are gradually revealed to her about her mother, her mother's eccentric friend Luke, her relationship with Jace and, eventually, about Valentine himself. Clare's atmospheric setting is spot-on, informed equally by neo-gothic horror films and the modern fantasy leanings of Neil Gaiman. Werewolves, vampires, angels and fairies all fit in this ambitious milieu. At the core, though, this is a compelling story about family secrets and coming-of-age identity crises. Fans of the smart/chic horror typified by Buffy the Vampire Slayer will instantly fall for this new series. Ages 14-up. (Apr.)

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School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 8 Up –When Clary Fray witnesses three tattoo-covered teenagers murder another teen, she is unable to prove the crime because the victim disappears right in front of her eyes, and no one else can see the killers. She learns that the teens are Shadowhunters (humans who hunt and kill demons), and Clary, a "mundie" (i.e., mundane human), should not be able to see them either. Shortly after this discovery, her mother, Jocelyn, an erstwhile Shadowhunter, is kidnapped. Jocelyn is the only person who knows the whereabouts of "The Mortal Cup," a dangerous magical item that turns humans into Shadowhunters. Clary must find the cup and keep it from a renegade sector of Shadowhunters bent on eliminating all nonhumans, including benevolent werewolves and friendly vampires. Amid motorcycles powered by demon energies, a telepathic brotherhood of archivists, and other moments of great urban fantasy, the story gets sidetracked by cutesy touches, like the "toasted bat sandwich" on the menu of an otherworldly restaurant. The characters are sporadically characterized and tend toward behavior that is both predictable and slightly repellent–Clary finds out who her real father is about 200 pages after readers will have it figured out. Despite the narrative flaws, this version of New York, full of Buffyesque teens who are trying to save the world, is entertaining and will have fantasy readers anxiously awaiting the next book in the series.–Heather M. Campbell, Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO

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