The Mortal Instruments is a series of six young adult fantasy novels written by American author Cassandra Clare, the last of which was published on May 27, 2014. The Mortal Instruments is chronologically the third^[1] series of a planned six in The Shadowhunter Chronicles but was the first one published. It follows Clary Fray, who interacts with a group of Nephilim known as Shadowhunters while also discovering her own heritage and her family history. The Shadowhunters protect the world of mundane/human people, who are also called mundanes or "mundies", from dark forces beyond their world. The book series falls under the young adult genre, specifically that of the paranormal romance/urban fantasy and supernatural genres.^[2]

This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. (January 2020)

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The Mortal Instruments

City of Bones (2007) City of Ashes (2008) City of Glass (2009) City of Fallen Angels (2011) City of Lost Souls (2012) City of Heavenly Fire (2014)
Author	Cassandra Clare
Cover artist	Cliff Nielsen
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Urban fantasy, Contemporary fantasy, Paranormal romance, Young adult
Publisher	Margaret K. McElderry (US) Walker Books (UK, Australia, New Zealand) Destino (Spain) Arena Verlag (Germany) Universal Poche (France)
Published	March 27, 2007 – May 27, 2014
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback) Audiobook
Preceded by	The Last Hours
Followed by	The Dark Artifices

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1. City of Bones (March 27, 2007)
2. City of Ashes (March 25, 2008)
3. City of Glass (March 23, 2009)
4. City of Fallen Angels (April 5, 2011)
5. City of Lost Souls (May 8, 2012)
   • The Shadowhunter's Codex (October 29, 2013)
6. City of Heavenly Fire (May 27, 2014)
   • The Bane Chronicles (Print Edition November 11, 2014)
   • Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy (Print Edition November 15, 2016)
   • Ghosts of the Shadow Market (June 4, 2019)

• Clarissa "Clary" Adele Fray/Fairchild is the sister of Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern, and the daughter of Valentine Morgenstern and Jocelyn Fairchild. As a teenager, Clary discovered that she is a Shadowhunter, or Nephilim: a human with angelic qualities. It was believed that she was a mundane (human) because her mother kept it a secret to protect Clary; after discovering that Clary's father administered angel blood to her while Clary was in the womb. This gives Clary the ability to create runes. Clary is an artist, and is described as being stubborn and impulsive. Her best friend is Simon Lewis. She is romantically involved with Jace.
• Jonathan Christopher "Jace" Herondale (also referred to as Wayland, Morgenstern, and Lightwood) is a Shadowhunter, and among their best fighters. Jace is often flirty and insensitive, due to insecurity. Jace's biological family was unknown until the last few books, although he refers to Isabelle, Alec, and Max as his siblings, and Maryse and Robert Lightwood as his parents (since they adopted him). He was misled about the truth of his parentage before learning that his biological father was Stephen Herondale, after which he took on that surname. Like Clary, he has special powers which make him swift and graceful, caused by the extra angel blood he received while in his mother's womb. His parabatai is Alec Lightwood.
• Simon Lewis is a teenage boy who described himself as being a "hipster," but his best friend, Clary, called him a "geek". Simon began life as an ordinary human (called a mundane), but in City of Ashes was transformed into a vampire. After becoming a vampire, he didn't age and physically remained 16 years old. Simon made a deal with a demon to take his immortality and memory so he and his friends could get out of Edom. He became human again and did not remember the Shadow World until he started training to become a Shadowhunter.
• Isabelle "Izzy" Sophia Lightwood is a 16 year old Shadowhunter that is described as very beautiful. She carries a gold electrum whip. Isabelle is described as being incredibly girly but with a fierce attitude. She often seems flirty and cannot hold a serious relationship, until she becomes interested in Simon Lewis. In City of Lost Souls, she admits to being in love with Simon Lewis and in City of Heavenly Fire she becomes Simon Lewis' girlfriend.
• Alexander "Alec" Gideon Lightwood is the oldest Lightwood sibling. He is described as quiet but protective of his younger siblings: Isabelle and Max, the latter of whom dies in City of Glass. Alec believes he is in love with Jace, his best friend and parabatai in the first book, City of Bones, until he meets Magnus Bane. In City of Glass, Alec kisses Magnus in front of his parents, revealing to them that he is gay. Alec later becomes insecure about his and Magnus' relationship because of Magnus' immortality and considerable romantic history. This leads him to consider turning Magnus into a mortal against his will, which causes Magnus to end their relationship in City of Lost Souls. However, Magnus and Alec eventually reconcile in City of Heavenly Fire.
• Magnus Bane is the self-described freewheeling bisexual High Warlock of Brooklyn. Magnus is an approximately 800-year-old warlock who appears to be 19. Magnus Bane is often described as glittery. Magnus helped Jocelyn, Clary's mom, erase Clary's memories of the Shadow World. Magnus began a relationship with Alec Lightwood. Magnus appears in the prequel series The Infernal Devices and the sequel series, The Dark Artifices as well as the anthology of short stories titled The Bane Chronicles describing some of the major events that occurred in his life before the events of The Mortal Instruments. His parents are an unnamed Indonesian woman and the demon Asmodeus.
• Lucian "Luke" Garroway/Graymark is a former Shadowhunter and the former second-in-command of the Circle. When he was younger he was best friends and parabatai with Valentine. However he was soon betrayed by Valentine who led him into a trap where he was bitten by a werewolf, causing him to become one. He was the leader of the Manhattan werewolf pack, proceeded by Maia Roberts. His fiancée is Jocelyn Fairchild and he is Clary's step-father. He is described as calm, level-headed and righteous. He is fiercely loyal to his loved ones.
• Jocelyn Fray/Fairchild is a Shadowhunter, a former member of the circle, and the mother of Clary and Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern. She was once married to Valentine but following the birth of their first child, Jonathan, she learned that Valentine mixed demon blood into her food, thus making Jonathan a monster. Valentine again mixed angel blood into Jocelyn's food, unaware that she was pregnant with Clary. After he faked his and Jonathan's deaths, Jocelyn left Idris and moved to Brooklyn where she gave birth to Clary. Every two years Jocelyn had Magnus Bane cast a block on Clary's "Sight" or "inner eye," to prevent her from seeing the Shadow world. In City of Bones she self-induces a coma to prevent Valentine learning the whereabouts of the Mortal Cup. She is reawakened in City of Glass. She is currently engaged to her childhood friend, Luke Garroway. Her current surname, Fray is revealed to be a portmanteau of her initial maiden name, Fairchild, and that of Tessa Gray, a warlock seen in City of Heavenly Fire, and the prequel series, The Infernal Devices.
• Valentine Morgenstern is Clary and Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern's biological father, and is Jace Herondale's adoptive father. He is the main antagonist for the first three books of the series.
• Jonathan Christopher (Sebastian) Morgenstern is Clary's brother, and the main antagonist of books 4–6. Like her, he is a Shadowhunter, but he was born with demon blood in his veins. It was administered to him by his father, Valentine, while his mother, Jocelyn, was pregnant. At the end of City of Heavenly Fire the evil was burnt out of him. He died soon after admitting to and apologizing for his wrongdoings to Clary and their mother.

City of Bones was popular at the time of release, reaching #8 on the New York Times Best Seller list (Children's books) in April 2007.^[3] City of Ashes was one of the YALSA's top ten teen books for 2009.^[4]

Publishers Weekly commented that it "is a sprawling urban fantasy packed with just about every type of creature known to the genre".^[5] Locus praised the book as "a highly readable first novel".^[6] Booklist said that there was "plenty of romance, loss, honor, and betrayal to make the journey worthwhile. An experienced storyteller, Clare moves the plot quickly to a satisfying end."^[7] School Library Journal said "Though the story is hampered by predictability and overblown writing, Clare continues her talent for mixing hip, modern humor with traditional fantasy, and fans eagerly awaiting the series conclusion should come away more than satisfied."^[8] A review in the School Library Journal noted that the book contained a variety of narrative flaws including characters that were "sporadically characterized" and whose behavior was predictable. In spite of this they noted that the book was entertaining and would leave readers anticipating the next installment.^[9] The series has been in the New York Times Best Sellers List for 102 consecutive weeks as of September 5, 2013, and No. 1 for 9 weeks straight, knocking series such as The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson and The Olympians off the top spot.^{[citation needed]} The last time The Mortal Instruments spent 100 consecutive weeks on the best sellers list was in May 2012. On August 29, 2013, City of Bones topped the USA Today's Best Sellers List, which made it the Best Seller Book of the country at the time. Four other Mortal Instruments books also made the list. City of Ashes was No. 8, City of Glass was No. 20, City of Fallen Angels was 35 and City of Lost Souls was No. 46.^[10]

In City of Ashes, the Faerie Realm and its inhabitants are characters from Holly Black's faerie series, beginning with Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale. Also, the characters Val and Luis from Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie appear in another scene in that book. Within Holly Black's third book, Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale, there is a reference to the Mortal Cup mentioned in The Mortal Instruments series.

Clare delved deeply into world mythology in order to build the Shadowhunter world featured in The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and all other offshoots of the series. There are strong influences from Paradise Lost and The Inferno; while there are many references to Western religious mythology, Clare also studied world mythology deeply, specifically demonic myth featured in Japanese, Tibetan, and other Eastern cultural texts. Her references to angels and nephilim throughout the series also come from this study of world religions and folklore. These myths were then adapted to fit into her stories.^[2]