City of Bones

Though I am not in the target demographic by more than a few years, I do enjoy reading a lot of YA fiction. The Gone novels by Michael Grant being a particular favorite of mine, and I have read Harry Potter and Twilight (talk about going from one extreme to the other). I picked up the first book in Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, CITY OF BONES, because it had some plot elements that appealed to me, namely old school supernatural monsters like vampires and werewolves, not to mention warlocks, spells and magic. I went into this series cold, not having seen any of the TV and screen adaptations, and with no knowledge of the controversy surrounding the author with charges of outright plagiarism, not to mention a general show more reputation for very unoriginal writing.

That CITY OF BONES cribs most of its plot, characters, and themes, from Harry Potter and Star Wars is evident before the half way mark. The central character is Clary Fray, a fifteen year old girl who is drawn into the paranormal world of the Shadowhunters, an ancient society of warriors who battle monsters and demons who escape to earth from Downworld. As the story unfolds, Clary becomes aware that she has more than a passing connection to these Shadowhunters and the teenage boy, Jace Wayland, who leads the group she falls in with. Jace seems to be a dreamier version of Draco Malfoy, and there are other characters who are equal parts knock off versions of Hermione Granger, Ron and Ginny Weasley, Lupin and Snape, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black, not to mention Padme and Professor X for good measure. The Big Bad of the story is named Valentine, whose name shares a first letter of the alphabet with Voldemort and Darth Vader, and whose motivation is very similar to Magneto’s. Simon, Clary’s muggle—I mean mundane—best friend, who is obviously in love with her even if she doesn’t notice it, bares more than a passing resemblance to Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There’s a plot twist near the end of the book involving Clary, Jace, and Valentine that would make even George Lucas groan. Bottom line, the whole book felt like a huge cut and paste job from the most popular pop culture phenomenas of the past few decades.

All that being said, I certainly didn’t hate CITY OF BONES in the way that other reviewers who poured their wrath and venom on the book, as most YA fiction, especially when it comes to the paranormal, are hardly original. I think Cassandra Clare was just a little more blatant about it, and her past FF writing didn’t endear her to many readers. As unoriginal as it might be, CITY OF BONES held my interest, and I kept turning the pages to see what happened next. My biggest complaint is that Clare wrote the book from Clary’s POV through a shaky 3rd person when the story would have been much better served by having told in 1st person with Clary’s voice clear and present. But that leads to another problem in that Clary, as written, comes off as vague and generic when she needs to be distinct and unique. CITY OF BONES was written in the mid 2000s, back before the insufferable teenage girl had become such a trope, but a little more attitude it would have helped her character a lot. I kept thinking that the story would have been so much better if it had been told from the POV of Jace, or Alec and Isabelle Lightwood, even Simon, all of whom had some real personality.

As the first book in a series, the finale of CITY OF BONES felt very anticlimactic, with dangling plot threads in all directions, and for that reason, I am going to give Cassandra Clare, and CITY OF ASHES, a chance. show less

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure what to expect with City of Bones. But wow, I was hooked right away. Clary Fray is just an ordinary girl in New York City—until she witnesses a murder that changes everything. Turns out, the killers are Shadowhunters, warriors who protect humans from demons, and Clary gets thrown into a hidden world full of magic, creatures, and danger.

What really sold me on this book was the characters. Clary is relatable—confused, scared, but also pretty brave. And Jace? He’s the sarcastic, brooding fae prince with more than a few secrets, and his chemistry with Clary is off the charts. Their banter kept me laughing, even during the intense parts.

The plot is fast-paced, with tons of action, surprises, and twists. show more It’s got magic, romance, and a great mix of humor and darker moments. The world-building is solid, and I was completely pulled into this hidden world of demons, warlocks, and faeries.

If you like urban fantasy with a lot of heart, action, and humor, give this book a try. It’ll keep you turning the pages, and trust me, you’ll be eager for the next book.

Rating: 5/5 stars. It was a fun, fast read, and I can’t wait to see what happens next! show less

I'm a bit of a weirdo. I don't actually mind when fanfiction gets turned into book form...as long as it is worth reading and it makes some effort to not be a ripoff of the original story. When it comes right down to it, this book and the series that it belongs to just aren't worth reading and they have obvious issues with copying from other books, as well as television and movie series.

I tried not to read up on the series or its writer before I started reading these books. I know that there was some serious drama-llamaing a few years ago on LiveJournal, but I tried to ignore that and be as objective as possible while reading these stories. So when I say that I didn't like the stories, I don't mean that I don't like the author's past, I show more just mean that I found the stories to be seriously lacking in many ways.

They aren't well-written at all. Even though the story's plot may seem original, it isn't. I would suggest readers watch at least the first two movies in The Prophecy franchise, as well as read the books in the Harry Potter series (where the fanfiction version of this originated), Star Wars, and the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I almost started a list while reading this of all the episodes, movies, and books where a scene would be swiped from. Her inability to come up with an original plot wasn't the only thing wrong with the writing. The actual writing was bad. It was choppy. I would read a sentence, then have to take a break and try to go on to the next sentence. It felt like English wasn't really even her first language. And the editing, don't get me started on that. The errors in this book were just so shocking.

The characters weren't all that interesting. They were so trope-y and stereotypical. There is no growth by any of them. If anything, they actually get worse as the story goes on. I was offended by the way that Magnus is basically portrayed as a slut because he's bisexual. Bisexual characters always get that kind of treatment in books, and that's a major reading pet peeve of mine.

And the incestuous nature of the lead characters' relationship is just grotesque. I don't care if they end up finding out that they aren't siblings or not. Incest is not sexy. And I feel like this series almost tries to glamorize it.

I cannot understand how this book is popular or even liked by anyone. It's awful. It's offensive. If you haven't read it already, please don't waste your time in checking it out. It really isn't worth it. show less

Picked up City of Bones while recuperating from tonsillitis. Wasn't expecting much from it, but actually had a great time reading this story. Our heroine, young Clary Fray, sees some mysterious teenagers fighting at a dance club and intervenes. Turns out the teenagers are not what they seem, and Clary is thrown into their world, complete with vampires, warlocks, fairies, and werewolves.

Add in some throbbing biological urges (although it never gets beyond kissing, this is young adult after all) and some great sass and snark from Clary and her best friend Simon, and it's a great fast paced read. And kudos to Clare for including a positive gay character, he ended up being one of my favourite characters.

I wasn’t sure at first that I was going to like the book. I’m not much of a fan of fantasy stories but I had read this author before and enjoyed her writing style and I needed…yes…a YA book for a challenge. Surprise! By the end of the first chapter I was thoroughly hooked and finished it in one sitting. Vampires, warlocks, magical beings, werewolves, faeries, mythical monster... what more could you ask for? It had everything! Even if you're not a teen…I have vague memories of this time in my life. This author manages the cross over very well. Just have fun with it.

I think I’m one of the last people to pick up this series. For some reason, I just had absolutely no interest in reading it. I heard it was incredible, I saw the high ratings on Goodreads, but nothing fazed me. I take great pleasure in telling you all that I am a gigantic idiot.

City Of Bones is awesomely intense, action-packed and very hooking. With a world full of fantastically written magical elements, frightening creatures, and some seriously ass-kicking teenagers, it’s obvious why so many people rave about this book.

I absolutely love the characters, especially Clary and Jace. Though I knew from the beginning that I was going to be a hardcore Jace/Clary shipper, their banter and arguments had me cracking up. Clary, though she show more proves to be a brave and loyal character, still has her weaknesses and flaws. She wasn’t one of those over-the-top independent female leads. And I was happy to see that even though this group of almost superhuman teenagers were fiercely strong, they all had their issues.

But this is one of those series that you have to really pay attention to. If you’re not reading it seriously, don’t read it at all, because you’re going to miss something. This is not a simple demon story; it’s intricate and at some times, confusing, but it’s a thrilling process to uncover the clues and foreshadows that the author throws at us.

Overall, City Of Bones (and the rest of the Mortal Instruments series) has landed a spot on my favorite shelf. Complete with nail-biting action, sweat-inducing passion and a page-turning plot twist that will leave you speechless, it was the perfect first book to an incredible series. show less

My thoughts on City of Bones: I LOVED it with a capital L-O-V-E-D. It was hilarious and witty but also really serious and action-packed and adventurous and fantastical (fantasy-ish...I guess the word is fantastical, anyway).

Basically it's about a girl named Clary Fray who goes to the Pandemonium Club in NYC with her best friend Simon and witnesses a murder. Except that she's the only one who can see the murderers and the body disappears into thin air. The murderers are Shadowhunters - demon killers. They're really shocked that Clary can see them, and they want to take her back to the Institute - pretty much their home base in NY. Except then Clary's mother gets kidnapped by a Ravener demon, and Clary almost gets killed. The show more Shadowhunters - Jace, Alec, Isabelle, and Hodge - bring Clary and Simon to their Institute, and there's a whole lot of adventures and excitement and mystery and action and it was completely amazing and everyone should read it.

Yes, I'm ranting. Just a little. But that's because it's an awesome book. show less