Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Written on Jun 19, 2019
Phew! I’m breathing a giant sigh of relief here: after the disaster that was Queen of Air and Darkness, I was nervous to read any more books in the Shadowhunter world. Thankfully, both The Red Scrolls of Magic and Ghosts of the Shadow Market were much, much better.
This series is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. It contains pretty much every trope that I usually despise, but I love the world anyway. Plus…Magnus! He’s absolutely fantastic. While he’s in a few of these short stories, the collection is mainly told from Jem’s perspective, as he slips in and out of the various narratives throughout the books’ timelines. It’s a very clever way to cover a large expanse of story line.
I enjoyed all the stories in this collection, with the exception of the last one. I didn’t love that one simply because it continues where Queen of Air and Darkness left off and that was such a disappointment for me.
I have a few favorites, of course. I loved Learn About Loss, and the beginning of the lost Herondale storyline. The idea of a carnival covering up faerie mischief- and mischief of a more demonic nature- was a lot of fun to read about. Plus, having Jem interact with another character showed both his removal from human emotion, as well as his desire to hold onto what makes him human.
Son of the Dawn was also fantastic. This one tells the tale of Jem’s encounter with a very young Jace. He sees underneath the arrogance and self-possession to the scared child beneath. This was a wonderful pre-City of Bones introduction to Jace, as well as a window into his early relationship with Isabelle, Alec, and Mayrse.
Through Blood, Through Fire is quite possibly my favorite story in this collection. This one is actually told from Alec’s perspective, although Jem makes an appearance. It highlights both Alec’s strength and compassion, gives the origin of little Rafe, and has a story line that is, sadly, relevant in our world today. It was beautifully told.
This book is a worthy addition to the Shadowhunter books. Enjoy!
Have you read Ghosts of the Shadow Market? What did you think?
https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog/2019/06/21/ghosts-of-the-shadow-market-cassandra-clare/