Sebastian Morgenstern’s final message to the Shadowhunters:
“ΕRCHOMAI. I am coming.”
The Shadowhunters have never faced an evil like Sebastian Morgenstern, and Clary is determined to find a way to defeat her brother, but no one could imagine the horrors Sebastian planned to unleash on the Shadowhunters. Using the Infernal Cup, Sebastian is creating a new army of Shadowhunters, by turning them into the Endarkened. Converted into something dark and evil, there is no saving a Shadowhunter who becomes an Endarkened, and families, lovers, and parabati are torn apart.
With Institutes under attack all over the world, the Shadowhunters withdrawn to Idris, leaving the world largely unprotected. But even the wards surrounding Idris can keep Sebastian at bay. No weapon from this world can defeat him, and when the Nephilim discover they have been betrayed by their Downworlder allies, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec, are forced to travel to a demon realm in the hopes of finding a way to defeat Sebastian.
The fate of the world rests in the hands of Clary. In this final installment, lives will be lost, sacrifices will be made, and the fate of the world will be decided.
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Cassandra Clare is one of the finest YA writers out there. Her books have a sophistication and an intelligence about them that make them truly unique. She is an amazing writer and every time I open one of her books, I find myself in awe of her talent. Her stories are complex and involve multiple characters and worlds, but she weaves them together seamlessly and in a way that keeps you turning page after page. The nerd in me loves how she integrates allusions to the Bible and myths, Latin, and other literary works. Her books are imaginative, without being cliche or hokey, and her ability to sustain this level of excellence throughout a long running series is impressive.
It is always a bittersweet thing when a series comes to an end. On one hand, I am dying to know what happens and how the series will come together in the end. On the other hand, I am hesitant to say goodbye to a story and characters that I have invested so much in. It’s like getting ready to say goodbye to a friend. And of course, you can always reread a series, but you will never again have the chance to experience the books for the first time again. As a quintessential book nerd, I have lived this experience over and over again. Sometimes I think I’m a glutton for punishment, but I can’t seem to help myself. The ending of this series is definitely a bittersweet one.
I have absolutely no complaints about the ending of this series. I was thrilled when it showed up in the mail and I saw that it was over 700 pages. Nothing bothers me more when the the final book in a series is rushed or too short. While fast paced, nothing about this book was rushed. It had everything you would expect - action, romance, tragedy, and plenty of plot twists. In fact, had the final twist not worked out the way it did, this would have been a very different review. I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say that there was a situation involving Simon that would have ruined the entire book for me had Cassandra not resolved it like she did. In the end, I was very pleased with how everything played out.
The good thing is that we will not have to say goodbye to the Shadowhunter world any time soon. Even though the production was delayed, a movie adaptation of City of Ashes is still in the works. No information on an expected release date, but as of now, we can still expect to see the second installment of The Mortal Instruments hit the big screen.
The best news, however, is that Cassandra will be releasing a new series! This will be a spinoff of The Mortal Instruments, and the new series will feature some of the characters introduced in City of Heavenly Fire. It appears that there will be three books in The Dark Artifices Series, and based on the story that was set up in City of Heavenly Fire, it promises to be another amazing read. It looks like we should expect the first book, Lady Midnight, in the Spring of 2015.
