City of Lost Souls is the fifth novel in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.
Description[]
The demon, Lilith, has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing, but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father, Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.
No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away – not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has brought – Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?
Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved – and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Seelie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this Earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell – a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.
And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace's soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?
Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.
Chapters[]
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Prologue
Part Two: Certain Dark Things
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Part Three: All Is Changed
Epilogue |
Characters[]
Shadowhunters[]
- Clary Fray - a new Shadowhunter whose training is cut short when her trainer, and boyfriend, Jace, is abducted by her brother. In an effort to save him, Clary makes a hasty choice with unknowable consequences.
- Jace Lightwood - one of the most skilled Shadowhunters of his generation and the boyfriend of Clary, Jace's resurrection made him a target of Lilith and Sebastian's plans.
- Sebastian Morgenstern - also known as Jonathan, Sebastian is the rather evil brother of Clary, and the son of Valentine and Jocelyn. Recently brought back to life, Sebastian binds himself to Jace and puts his plans into action.
- Alec Lightwood - the eldest Lightwood and Jace's parabatai, Alec is in a relationship with the warlock Magnus Bane.
- Isabelle Lightwood - Alec's beautiful younger sister, Isabelle is a strong and fierce Shadowhunter, who finds herself falling for Clary's best friend, Simon.
- Jocelyn Fray - Clary's mother and Luke's fiancé. Their wedding postponed indefinitely, Jocelyn is racked by the guilt of her son's actions and concern for her daughter who has gone off with her boyfriend and her brother.
- Maryse Lightwood - the mother of the Lightwood children and head of the New York Institute.
- Brother Zachariah - a Silent Brother who, for some reason, is unlike his other Brothers.
- Amatis Herondale - Luke's sister who becomes involved in Sebastian's dangerous plans.
- Iron Sisters - the forgers of the Nephilim's weapons whose aid 'Team Good' might just need to help a friend.
Downworlders[]
- Simon Lewis - Clary's best friend who, after being Turned into a vampire, is now not only a very rare Daylighter but now also bears the curse of the Mark of Cain.
- Magnus Bane - the High Warlock of Brooklyn who constantly helps the Conclave for Alec.
- Luke Garroway - Luke is the werewolf fiancé of Jocelyn, and is as close as Clary has ever gotten to a father.
- Maia Roberts - a member of Luke's New York werewolf pack.
- Jordan Kyle - a werewolf and member of the Praetor Lupus who, after Turning Maia years before, went to New York to be with her.
- Camille Belcourt - the true leader of the New York vampire clan and a former lover of Magnus Bane.
- Maureen Brown - a former admirer of Simon who was Turned into a vampire by Camille to spite Simon.
- Seelie Queen - the ever cunning queen of the Seelie Court faeries.
Mundanes[]
- Elaine Lewis - Simon's mother who has shunned Simon upon finding out that he is a vampire.
- Rebecca Lewis - Simon's sister who comes home from college in concern for Simon.
Others[]
- Raziel - the patron Angel of the Nephilim.
- Azazel - a Greater Demon credited as the Forger of Weapons who 'Team Good' will cautiously summon for help.
Gallery[]
Art[]
Editions[]
International covers[]
Trailers[]
Special content[]
- Special first editions: During it's first print run, City of Lost Souls had a number of special editions that came with one of four different bonus stories depending on the retailer it was purchased from.[1]
- Barnes & Noble, Indigo/Chapters, and Booktopia all have Stephen Herondale's letter to Jace that written before he died and that is mentioned in the series.
- Walmart, Walker Books, and Dymocks Booksellers have A Dark Transformation which is about how Jonathan Morgenstern took the identity of Sebastian Verlac.
- Costco and Leading Edge Booksellers (Independents) contain The Act of Falling, also known as Dirty Sexy Alley Scene, which is Jace's perspective during a scene from City of Fallen Angels.
- Target and Collins Booksellers have A Question of Power in which Alec and Camille talk about Magnus and his father.
- Repackaged paperback edition: The repackaged and updated version of the books' paperback, released on September 1, 2015 in the US and Canada, features a new cover with spine art and includes minor corrections and changes, a map of Shadowhunter New York by Drew Willis and new exclusive content written by Cassandra Clare, including a new foreword and an updated version of A Dark Transformation now titled Becoming Sebastian Verlac.[2][3]
- LitJoy Special Edition: A special edition box set of the series released in February 2022 as a part of the Cassandra Clare Collection. It features cover art by Carlos Quevedo with lettering by RJ Gualberto, symbol sprayed edges, endpaper artwork by Jorge Jacinto, 2 tip-in artworks by Sophia Volovik and Gonzalo Mendiverry, and all the books are in a slip case designed by Irina Shirokova featuring Clary's new Empathy rune by Valerie Freire created for the box set. Each book has Cassandra Clare's annotations and select chapters from The Shadowhunter's Codex. City of Lost Souls also has the map of Shadowhunter New York and Becoming Sebastian Verlac from the repackaged edition.[4]
Trivia[]
- The original (now hardbound) cover features Jace Lightwood and Clary Fray, with Paris as the background. The repackaged (paperback) cover features Alec Lightwood with his bow and arrow drawn and a "Courage in Combat" rune behind him.
- The models for Clary (Halle Arbaugh) and Jace (Judson "Fabio" Birza) on the book cover both reprised their roles for the book trailers of City of Lost Souls and City of Heavenly Fire. Birza was also the model for the repackaged US cover of City of Bones,[5] and Arbaugh for the original covers of City of Fallen Angels and City of Heavenly Fire. In the trailer, Valentine and Sebastian Morgenstern were played by Johnathan Vane and Chris Schellenger respectively.
- The book is told from several points of views, namely: Clary, Jace, Simon, Sebastian, Alec, Isabelle, Luke, Jocelyn, Maryse, Magnus, Maia, and Jordan's.
- In this book, Jace finds a copy of A Tale of Two Cities with a faded inscription signed by "William Herondale"; this is the same book Will gave Tessa Gray in Clockwork Princess, though Will was said to have signed it with just "Will Herondale".
References[]
- ↑ City of Lost Souls special editions on TMI Source
- ↑ "The new ones do have minor corrections and changes. Also maps and new stuff." Cassandra Clare on Twitter
- ↑ "All the repackages have maps of New York ... and forwards by me talking a bit about why I wrote each series." Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
- ↑ Special Edition The Mortal Instruments Box Set on LitJoy Crate
- ↑ City of Bones brand new look, Cassandra Clare on Tumblr.