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Chain of Thorns is the third and final installment in The Last Hours trilogy by Cassandra Clare.

Description[]

Cordelia Carstairs has lost everything that matters to her. In only a few short weeks, she has seen her father murdered, her plans to become parabatai with her best friend, Lucie, destroyed, and her marriage to James Herondale crumble before her eyes. Even worse, she is now bound to an ancient demon, Lilith, stripping her of her power as a Shadowhunter.

After fleeing to Paris with Matthew Fairchild, Cordelia hopes to forget her sorrows in the city's glittering nightlife. But reality intrudes when shocking news comes from home: Tatiana Blackthorn has escaped the Adamant Citadel, and London is under new threat by the Prince of Hell, Belial.

Cordelia returns to a London riven by chaos and dissent. The long-kept secret that Belial is James and Lucie's grandfather has been revealed by an unexpected enemy, and the Herondales find themselves under suspicion of dealings with demons. Cordelia longs to protect James but is torn between a love for James she has long believed hopeless, and the possibility of a new life with Matthew. Nor can her friends help—ripped apart by their own secrets, they seem destined to face what is coming alone.

For time is short, and Belial's plan is about to crash into the Shadowhunters of London like a deadly wave, one that will separate Cordelia, Lucie, and the Merry Thieves from help of any kind. Left alone in a shadowy London, they must face Belial's deadly army. If Cordelia and her friends are going to save their city—and their families—they will have to muster their courage, swallow their pride, and trust one another again. For if they fail, they may lose everything—even their souls.[1]

Chapters[]

Prologue

  1. Twilight Days
  2. Grey Sea
  3. The Slow Dark Hours
  4. Blessed Ghost
  5. Realms Above
  6. Through Blood
  7. Bitter Fruit
  8. Against Peace
  9. If Gold Rust
  10. Wanderer
  11. Devil's Paladin
  12. The Seeing Ones
  13. Angels Alone
  14. Never Simple
  15. Old Voices
  16. Chimes at Midnight
  17. Lamp of Night
  18. One False Glass
  19. Marks of Woe
  20. Iron Heart
  1. Under A Dragon Moon
  2. Deep Malice
  3. A Single Chant
  4. Fire Falls Asunder
  5. Vexed With Tempest
  6. The Remorseful Day

Intermission: Grief

  1. Clouds of Darkness
  2. Tides of London
  3. Exile from Light
  4. Antique Land
  5. Bright Volumes
  6. Whatever Gods May Be
  7. A Fortress Foiled
  8. Communion
  9. Winged With Lightning

Coda

Epilogue

Characters[]

Shadowhunters[]

Downworlders[]

Others[]

more...

Gallery[]

Art[]

Editions[]

International covers[]

Special content[]

  • Collector's First Edition: All first editions come with a reverse second cover on the inside of the dust jacket by Charlie Bowater, 10 interior illustrations by Alexandra Curte, and an extra short story, Aught but Death, about Cordelia and Lucie's parabatai ceremony.[2]
  • Waterstones Exclusive Edition: This special edition includes the above content and a letter from Matthew to James. It's cover features a pattern of Love runes and flowers.[3]
  • LitJoy Crate pre-order: Those who order through LitJoy's Chain of Thorns pre-order special receive an exclusive letter from Jesse to Lucie.[4][5]
See all freely released additional content here

Trivia[]

  • The title "Chain of Thorn" can be referenced to the thorns around Blackthorn Hall, though it also holds a metaphorical meaning in respect the "chains of secrecy, grief, and responsibility" that connects the characters, and is originally derived from a quote in Great Expectations.[6]
  • The roses on the cover symbolize secrecy—a major theme of the series and fitting for the revelations of secrets in this installment.[7]
  • The chapter titles, like in The Infernal Devices, are all taken from poetry of the Victorian and Edwardian era that the characters would be familiar with.
  • The paperback edition for this book is the first main series paperback since 2015 to not have a map included. It is unclear as to why this was excluded and if one will be added eventually.
  • This book is told from several characters' points of view, namely: Cordelia, James, Lucie, Thomas, Ari, Grace, Anna, and briefly Jesse, Alastair, Brother Zachariah, and Letty Nance.
  • Cassie originally planned on the first edition's short story being the story of the found family tree, with explanations as to why it is incorrect and what the true family tree is.[8][9]
  • The book was published nearly a year later than initially planned[10] due to Covid-19 related publishing delays[11][12] and resulting supply chain issues.[13]
  • The series was originally meant to have a very tragic ending with numerous horrible deaths and the final scene being James on his deathbed as an old man reflecting on the best friendships of his life and seeing those friends waiting for him on the other side;[14] however, due to the pandemic, Cassie couldn't bring herself to write it in an already troubling time.[15] This change happened early on in the series' writing process so the characters are not completely the same as they would have been for said ending.[16]
  • The song Cassandra Clare listened to the most while writing was "Lilith" by Halsey.[15]

References[]

  1. Chain of Thorns synopsisSimon & Schuster
  2. Cassandra Clare's June 2022 newsletter
  3. Cassandra Clare's October 2022 UK newsletter
  4. Cassandra Clare's second May 2022 newsletter
  5. "It is from someone whose name rhymes with "Dressie" to someone whose name rhymes with "Gloosie."" Cassandra Clare on Twitter
  6. "The chain of thorns would be both the wall of thorns around Blackthorn Manor and the invisible chains of secrecy, grief and responsibility that bind the characters." Cassandra Clare in a comment on Instagram
  7. "Roses actually symbolize secrecy." Cassandra Clare on Twitter
  8. "I decided [the extra for Chain of Thorns is] going to be the story of the family tree, what it actually is and why there was a messed-up version of it." Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
  9. "There is an explanation of why the family tree ended up the way it did; that’s special content in the first edition of Chain of Thorns. But a new family tree is not." CC on Tumblr
  10. "CoT in 2022. All March." CC on Tumblr
  11. "It's likely that because of delays in the publication process due to COVID, the last TLH book and Sword Catcher will publish later than originally anticipated." Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
  12. Cassandra Clare's July 2021 newsletter
  13. Cassandra Clare's April 2022 newsletter
  14. "Part of it was older James on his deathbed, and as he lay dying seeing all of his friends who had died so horribly so long ago waiting for him on the other side, and thinking how he had never had friends again like the ones he had when he was young." Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
  15. 15.0 15.1 Chain of Thorns cover reveal on SimonTeen's Instagram Live
  16. "I knew really early on... So none of the characters that you know are the characters as I would have constructed them for a much less hopeful ending." CC on Instagram
Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter Chronicles
The Mortal Instruments
City of Bones City of Ashes City of Glass
City of Fallen Angels City of Lost Souls City of Heavenly Fire
The Infernal Devices The Dark Artifices
Clockwork Angel Lady Midnight
Clockwork Prince Lord of Shadows
Clockwork Princess Queen of Air and Darkness
The Last Hours The Wicked Powers
Chain of Gold The Last King of Faerie
Chain of Iron The Last Prince of Hell
Chain of Thorns The Last Shadowhunter
The Eldest Curses
The Red Scrolls of Magic The Lost Book of the White The Black Volume of the Dead
The Bane Chronicles
What Really Happened in Peru Saving Raphael Santiago
The Runaway Queen The Fall of the Hotel Dumort
Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything
The Midnight Heir The Last Stand of the New York Institute
The Rise of the Hotel Dumort The Course of True Love (And First Dates)
The Voicemail of Magnus Bane
Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy
Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy Pale Kings and Princes
The Lost Herondale Bitter of Tongue
The Whitechapel Fiend The Fiery Trial
Nothing but Shadows Born to Endless Night
The Evil We Love Angels Twice Descending
Ghosts of the Shadow Market
Cast Long Shadows Son of the Dawn
Every Exquisite Thing The Land I Lost
Learn About Loss Through Blood, Through Fire
A Deeper Love The Lost World
The Wicked Ones Forever Fallen
Companion books
Secrets of Blackthorn Hall
Better in Black: Tales of Romance
The Shadowhunter's Codex
A Long Conversation
An Illustrated History of Notable Shadowhunters & Denizens of Downworld
All the Stories are True: Classics Reimagined in the World of the Shadowhunters
Adaptations
The Mortal Instruments: The Graphic Novels
The Official Mortal Instruments Coloring Book
The Infernal Devices: Manga Series
City of Bones: The Graphic Novel
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments
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