The Shadowhunter Chronicles

The Shadowhunter Chronicles,^[1][2] also known as Shadowhunters,^[3][4] is a young-adult fantasy franchise comprised so far of four series (thirteen novels as of 2020) and several short stories written by American author Cassandra Clare, along with some companion books, graphic novels, manga, film, and TV series adaptations.

Each of the stories follow the supernatural conflict between the Shadowhunters, a group of powerful human-angel hybrids, and Downworlders, a society of mythological beings, and their battle against demons.

Main series

Companion books

• The Shadowhunter's Codex
• Shadowhunters and Downworlders
• The Bane Chronicles
• Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy
• Ghosts of the Shadow Market: An Anthology of Tales
• An Illustrated History of Notable Shadowhunters & Denizens of Downworld
• The Official Mortal Instruments Coloring Book

Adaptations

• The Mortal Instruments: The Graphic Novel (volume 1, volume 2, volume 3, and volume 4)
• City of Bones: The Graphic Novel
• The Infernal Devices: Manga Series
  • Clockwork Angel: Manga
  • Clockwork Prince: Manga
  • Clockwork Princess: Manga
• Constantin Film currently owns the TV/film rights to The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. So far, the following has been produced:
  • The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
  • The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (game)
  • Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments
  • A TV adaptation for The Infernal Devices is currently in the works, reportedly with BBC Three.
  • A screenplay for a film adaptation of The Infernal Devices as well as the two film sequels to The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones have been scrapped.

Future

• The Wicked Powers - the trilogy set to wrap up the Shadowhunter Chronicles;
• The Secret Treasons - the planned graphic novel project about the Circle which is currently on a permanent hold;
• When asked about the possibility of a project similar to The Bane Chronicles that focuses on Tessa's life after leaving London, Cassandra Clare stated that she was open to writing about it, though not until after The Last Hours, if at all.^[5]
• Cassie hopes to retell City of Bones from Jace's POV and dig more into the Lightwoods' relationships.^[6]
• Cassandra has a number of novella collection projects that she would like to work on—including one on Julian Blackthorn and Emma Carstairs, one on Clary Fairchild and Jace Herondale, and one following a character from The Last Hours series—but nothing is confirmed or planned as the The Wicked Powers is her next priority to schedule after TLH.^[7]

History

In 2003, Clare started working on her first published novel, City of Bones, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan. City of Bones was released by Simon & Schuster in 2007 and was adapted into a film that was released on August 21, 2013.

City of Bones became a New York Times bestseller upon its release. City of Ashes and City of Glass completed the trilogy. Clare originally intended to have a spin-off graphic novel follow up the story;^[8] her plans for the story built on elements already set up in the trilogy and were mostly similar to how the events of the second half turned out,^[9] with Simon Lewis becoming a Shadowhunter at the end of it.^[10] The graphic novel didn't work out for her, and the series was instead continued with City of Fallen Angels,^[11] announced in 2009 and published on April 5, 2011, the start of a second Mortal Instruments cycle. City of Lost Souls followed and the conclusion, City of Heavenly Fire, was released on May 27, 2014.

In 2009, Clare also announced a new series called The Infernal Devices, a prequel trilogy set in the Victorian era, in the same universe as The Mortal Instruments. The first installment, Clockwork Angel, was released on August 31, 2010, followed by Clockwork Prince, and the last, Clockwork Princess, was released on March 19, 2013.

The Dark Artifices, a trilogy set in 2013, five years after the end of The Mortal Instruments, was first announced in 2011.^[12] The first installment, Lady Midnight, was published on March 8, 2016, followed by Lord of Shadows, and the last, Queen of Air and Darkness, was released on December 4, 2018.

In 2013, she shared that she hoped to get more stories set in the same universe released: The Last Hours, focusing on the children of The Infernal Devices characters, and The Wicked Powers, a trilogy set three years after the end of The Dark Artifices. The Last Hours publication rights were acquired by Walker Books, and its first installment, Chain of Gold, was released on March 3, 2020. Much like The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, The Last Hours will interconnect with The Dark Artifices.^[13]

Co-written with Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson, The Bane Chronicles, following the adventures of Magnus Bane, was released in installments in e-book format beginning in 2013, with its print edition published on November 11, 2014 with a bonus story and art by Cassandra Jean for all 11 stories.

Additionally, some of the ideas that would have been used in the spin-off featuring Simon was altered and later used in the following books, particularly the second half of The Mortal Instruments and even The Dark Artifices (for example, Simon's story would have taken place in Los Angeles, and the questions left unanswered in City of Glass were eventually resolved).^[14] In 2014, a collection of novellas revolving around Simon and the Shadowhunter Academy, entitled Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, was announced and released in a monthly e-book format beginning on February 17, 2015, with a print edition published on November 15, 2016.

A collaboration series with Wesley Chu called The Eldest Curses was announced in November, 2016.^[15] The stories center on Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood and take place over several years in the breaks between Cassie's other series. The first book in the trilogy, The Red Scrolls of Magic, was released on April 9, 2019 with the second book, The Lost Book of the White, following it on September 1, 2020.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market, a collection of novellas focused on Brother Zachariah and later Jem Carstairs, was announced in October 2017.^[16] The book was co-written by Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Kelly Link and Robin Wasserman. The first 8 short stories were released in e-book format every month from April 10 till November 13, 2018. The print edition was published on June 4, 2019 with an additional two stories.

Trivia

• So far, all of the official book covers for the series have been designed by Russell Gordon, and its photo illustrations done by Cliff Nielsen. Michael Rosamilia designs the interior layout of the books, and the book text of all the main installments have so far all been set with the font Dolly.
• The US/Canada paperback book covers for The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices were updated and officially replaced with new ones with a more modern look in September 2015,^[17][18] while the old/original ones remain hardcovers.^[19] These were still designed by Russell Gordon and illustrated by Cliff Nielsen. Cassandra Clare also gave a lot of input for the final cover, such as giving the general direction or vision for the covers, and also picked the models and the poses.^[20][21][22] The book spines line up and form an image (Manhattan for The Mortal Instruments and Blackfriars Bridge for The Infernal Devices) drawn in pen and ink by another artist.^[23][24][25]
  • The repackaged version are updated with minor corrections and changes.^[26] It also features a number of bonuses, including maps of cities (such as Shadowhunter London and New York) with book locations illustrated,^[27][28] new forewords,^[29][30], and new exclusive content written by Cassandra Clare.^[31]
• The UK publisher also released new, alternate covers in July 2015.^[32] Unlike the US repackages, these did not replace the originals.^[33]
• Alternative US adult covers are also in the works for both series.^[34][35]
• Cassandra Clare draws inspiration from several classical works for her series, namely: Paradise Lost, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and Annabel Lee.

See also

• The Shadowhunter Chronicles/Extras
• The Shadowhunter Chronicles/Teasers
• The Shadowhunter Chronicles/International editions

External links

• Shadowhunters.com, official site

References