The Shadowhunter's Codex (The Mortal Instruments)

My granddaughter has read the whole series and keeps asking for more books. What can be better than having kids read and not always playing video games. Our rule is I will buy any book as long as they read it.

Some of it was interesting, a lot of the information was already explained in the books, and some of it is kind of boring because too detailed. Did enjoy the comments in the book written by Simon, Clary and Jace. Probably would not recommend buying, not something I would read again, unlike the book series which I have read numerous times.

I did not read the book yet, but I will and then I will add a comment to this review if everything changed.
But for now, my impression is that I always thought about the codex as a beautiful book and it is!!!.

The cover is amazing, and when removing the book jacket it is impressive. Also, it is larger book I thought, the illustrations are beautiful and I can wait to read it and have more knowledge about Shadowhunters =).
If you are a truly fan, you have to buy this one.

Initially I questioned purchasing this because I do have a rather good memory when it comes to reading books. My best friend said she bought it because it helped her to look up information when she got confused about anything in the storyline. Eg. If a shadow hunter and a vampire have a baby, is the baby a vampire or shadow hunter? Or, the process by which you make a new vampire.
But I found it quite entertaining to read and an excellent dictionary, if you will, when writing fanfiction about Cassandra Clare the Mortal Instruments. Overall, a great purchase for ant fans of the series.

This book is poorly and annoyingly formatted, causing two readers here to quit reading very near to the beginning. It is the same on three different Kindles, including the Kindle Fire HDX and the keyboard model.

The problem is what are apparently supposed to be margin notes added by some unknown reader are in a text size about three times larger than the rest of the text. What was probably intended to make the book more interesting than a textbook instead makes it annoying and unreadable.

Perhaps the publisher will fix this someday and I will try out again.

It's not bad. It goes a little to far thought. It's a strange thing to have for a series of novels. You don't need to give the fans everything. Some of the things in this book are supposed to be left to the imagination. But still good. Mazing art in the back,

So disappointed. It's ridiculously difficult to keep track when reading the ebook version to the point where I just had to delete it. It was seriously a waste of money. For some reason it is the only book I have that does not give an option for the publisher's font.

I was really excited for this book, particularly because of the comments by some of the main characters in The Mortal Instruments series. Unfortunately, each comment shows up in the same typeface, just larger than the actual "text" of the Codex. It's hard to associate the correct voice to each comment, as well as envision the conversation between the characters. The larger font also just makes for some clumsy formatting, which is frustrating.

As a result of the poor quality of the Kindle edition it is likely that I will request a refund and purchase the physical copy instead.

Note, this review does not reflect on the author's content of the book, which, insofar, has been quite enjoyable.

The book is amazing but...i dont like the kindlr version because its impossible to see the hand write comentaries all is the same and thats a deception sorry but i hope more maybe it would be better whit scan images of the print book and the images doesnt have color what happen i see previous in color..
I buy the hardcover version too (i hope that it have colorfull and better presentation) , and i am glad of that because the kindle version dont cover my expectations.

I started to read the ebook....and became totally confused by the "handwritten" notes from Clary, Simon and Jace. You can't tell in the e-version where in the margin their text is written. The e-version only changes to GIANT font for Simon, but Jace and Clary comments are difficult to know whether it's a comment or part of the Codex text.

I got 60 pages in before I realized what was happening....when a couple of snarky comments finally struck me. I was in the store today and coincidentally saw the physical book and picked it up to see what the printed page actually looked like. Didn't think twice .... purchased it!

It's unfortunate that the e-version has no means of providing a better copy because reading the character comments in the margin and who "wrote" them,adds to the humor of the Codex (in fact it adds quite a bit of hilarity). So if you are deciding on reading this book - do yourself a favor and get the PHYSICAL book it will add immensely to your reading experience. There's also nice illustrations throughout.

As stated, I have only gotten part way through the book. This book is exactly what it states it is - the Codex is a guide for Shadowhunters so don't expect there to be a story, in fact it can be a bit dry as you'd expect a textbook to be. Where it's funny is the comments written in the margin by the characters and being able to discern by "handwriting" who wrote them. These character comments reflect Clary, Simon and Jace quite well, and that's exactly why you need a physical book.

** See images I've added showing an example of the e-version, and its corresponding physical page in the book.

Giving book 4 stars, but the e-version gets 0 stars

The book is amazing as all Cassandra Clare's work.
But this review is about the quality of this product: the ebbok edition (Kindle)

Hard to identify the handwriting that should be easy as it is in position 11.
I think you need to fix this by identifying the texts by name or putting then as images.

I would give 5 stars if it wasn't for this... I really would love to know who was commenting.

The hardcover is a work of art, with beautiful illustrations and lot of laughs provided by the notes of Clary and co. But the e-book is a badly formatted mess. The notes especially were handled terribly; as an amateur e-book maker I know full well the notes could have been made and arranged much better re fonts, sizes, and placements. Not to mention the number of times no attempt is made at all to differentiate notes from the Codex-text, with both being in the same paragraph and font and impossible to tell apart.

So DEFINITELY buy the hardcover or paperback edition, which is beautiful. Steer well clear of the e-book!

:edit: I must retract everything I said about the e-book edition being poorly formatted. It isn't; I was just a twit and didn't realise I ought to turn on the Publisher Fonts. Once I did, it's as beautiful as the hardcover. Apologies, and thumb's up for the Codex!

I am very disappointed this suppose to a brand new book and the pages are wrinkled as are the dust cover even torn in one spot my daughter is a perfectionist when it comes to her books and this was a Christmas press ant just disapoointed

I was so pleased when I got my book in the mail today. I was expecting a shorter book with more pictures and less detail but this surpassed what I was expecting. When I took the book out of the package the cover was absolutely stunning, and the pages were filled with the same amount of words as a regular book in the series. When you take the cover off, the material of the book feels like an actual manual and has a neat, simple design. On the inside of the two hardcover sides of the book are lovely illustrations of the characters of TMI and TID. The codex is written like you are a shadowhunter and is very detailed. The details range from the origin of vampires to the height of a goblin. Ever since the movie came out, many books and merchandise that has been released is really just a trick to get fans to buy all they can get their hands on, and most of the time, the merchandise isn't very great. This book isn't just a scheme to get money, but a real treat for Cassandra Clare fans. With how busy Cassandra Clare is I was pleasantly surprised to have the codex be so detailed and beautiful. There is just so much more to learn about the shadowhunter world that I didn't realize I didn't know. This book helps paint the shadowhunter world much clearer. There are many sketches throughout the book that are gorgeous also. The comments are also very funny and really portray the characters of Jace, Simon, and Clary well. Just by skimming the book I have already discovered the main runes, Clary's training schedule, details of Praetor Lupus, and a bunch of fun facts on the history of vampires. This book is definitely worth the $12. Not sure about the Kindle version, it seems like it was a disappointment, but this physical version is very entertaining.

The Shadowhunter Codex is perfect for fans of the series who want to know more about the world and lives of the Nephilim than is explored in the novels. It covers information from demons and Downworlders to Idris and Alicante, to runes and more. The charm of the book is that there are comments written in the margins by Clary, Simon, and Jace that are witty and authentic. Clary even adds illustrations to various portions of the book.

It is introduced as a guidebook for mundanes, generally, who are going to drink from the Mortal Cup and become Shadowhunters. Since Shadowhunters are normally born into families that know about and participate in the Shadow World, they don’t need this information. They have grown up knowing this and it’s second nature to them.

While the runic section of the book does not include all of the runes purported to be in the Grey Book, it does have multiple pages illustrating a number of them. As a fan of the runes (and drawing them) it’s a great reference do make sure you’re creating your Marks accurately.

The other fun section of the book is where they talk about Shadowhunter last names. While many families have established and respected surnames, when Ascending you may choose your own. The names tend to be compound words like Fair-child, Heron-dale, Light-wood, etc. They recommend not picking ones that are quite obviously ludicrous names like Blood-dagger or Demon-spawn. No one will believe that it is your actual name. Quite possibly the most challenging decision as a future Shadowhunter (for me at least) is to select my surname. Would I like to join a respected family like the Herondales, or would I like to create my own name like Hawkwood. (Yeah, that’s not great. I’ll keep brainstorming.)

Although it is purposeful, some sections of the text are less interesting than others. Obviously, the Clave didn’t write the Codex for the express purpose of entertaining mundanes – so some can be dry. That is usually where some of the wittiest comments from our favourite characters are added, which certainly livens up the book. She even includes sections that detail Shadowhunter history, from the beginning with Raziel and Johnathan Shadowhunter to the more brutal time of the Hunt and the Schism.

Overall, it's an enjoyable addition to the Shadowhunter world and recommended to any fans of the series that want to immerse themselves deeper in the lore and land.

I'm trying to decide if I should buy this book. I've been reading the "The Immortal Instruments" series and am enjoying it immensely. But looking through the preview of this book, well, the art work is horrendous. Just awful. The cover is beautiful, but the inside art is all just scratches. Does anyone else feel this way? Is the book worth it?

I have to change my mind. I went to the book store and all the illustrations are not scratchy Anime. There are a slew of different artists whose artwork is beautiful. I ended up buying the book (gifted with some money to get the rest of The Mortal Instruments that I didn't have and the three Infernal Devices.

Just like the synopsis says this is for the large part a manual. So obviously there’s lots of chunks of information and while this was interesting, you pick up a lot of the facts when you actually read the series so I think it may have been better as a sort of reference guide for newbies to the Shadowhunter world. Unlike me of course ;)

That’s why it was quite a slow read compared to Cassandra's other books but if you're a fan of the series you'll love it. The commentary on the sides from Jace, Clary and Simon was by far my favourite part because I love their characters to bits and their personalities shone through even when all they wrote was 3 words! Oh here I go again; I’m starting to sound like I believe they’re real (sorry for popping anyone’s bubble there).

The beautiful art and annotations definitely made it worth the read and I even found myself laughing on occasion; not just because of the annotations/corrections but the actual codex had a sort of irony to the writing which I loved.

Posted on: http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk

As a fan, I enjoyed the heck out of this book. It's a well thought out, well planned compendium of Shadowhunter lore. (Complete with hand-written commentary from Clary, Jace and Simon, as they to turns "reading" the book. This is funny most of the time, but can get annoying.) About 85% of the lore can be found in the six books of the Mortal Instruments series, but it's nice to see it all in one place and expanded upon. If you're a fan of this series, chances are good you fantasized at some point about being or becoming a Shadowhunter (I'm secure enough to admit that I did, and I'm in my 30s). This book is fun because it treats you, the reader, as a beginning Shadowhunter who has been given this book to learn your way around this secret world, just as Clary did.

I'm happy to see a "companion" book that was taken seriously by the author and publisher, rather than just being a marketing piece thrown together to make money. (I could name a few that fit that later description, but I won't.) If you're a fan of the series, you'll enjoy this book.

This has been my favorite book series for so long. To be honest, many people have given complaints about Cassandra Clare, saying that she isn't good at plots, or that she gives too many details. So, be warned, that's a popular opinion. But I personally love her books. I have been a huge fan of this book series for several years, and I own every single Shadowhunter book there is. This one book, is just as good as the other books in its series. (Please do not watch the movie or the TV series; the books are literally a million times better)

I really like tie-in books with my favorite series, so I was glad to see there was one for The Mortal Instruments. For the most part, I really like it. It gives explanations and descriptions for Shadowhunter history, weapons, runes, demons, downworlders, and Shadowhunter custom. The art is beautiful and I LOVE the "notes" from the characters. I just have a few complaints. The main one is that in some parts, it seems like the authors were slacking a bit. For example, under 'facemelter' in the demonologie, the only description is 'self-explanatory.' While that's rather amusing, I kind of would've liked to have a more fleshed-out description. Also some sections of the book don't seem to be written in a legitimate-sounding instruction manual format; you can tell the authors were kind of joking around. Not that it's that huge of a deal, and we obviously know there is no real Codex, but still. I still like the book though and enjoyed it. :)

Welcome to the world of a shadow hunter!!!!! If you are a Cassandra Clare fan and enjoyed the Mortal Instruments series and the Infernal Devices trilogy then you'll love this! Before you can really become a shadow hunter you must know the things of a shadowed world. You'll get your demon information, the development of shadow hunter tools, and the backstories of some of the interesting groups of shadow hunters.

I recommend this to those people who have read the series or the trilogy it really clarifies a lot of the things in the books you may not have understood fully about the shadow hunter demon or downworlder world.

wow.realmente me encanto tanto que pienso comprar el proximo de esta saga.el libro esta lleno de seres magicos y pasan cosas excepcionalmente imposibles para los humanos.el libro es muy intenso aunque los protagonistas no pasan mas alla de un beso.clary es una chica normal o eso cree hasta que una noche ve a unos adolescentes que nadie mas parece veer matando lo que parece un joven que resulta ser un vampiro.su vida cambia drasticamente su madre es secuestrada y ella es atacada por una criatura de otro mundo y salvada por jace .jace y sus amigos son cazadores de sombras que protegen a los humanos y ellos mismos de seres destructivos.ellos la ayudaran a tratar de encontrar a su madre y porque fue secuestrada y como conecta esto a clary con estos casadores de sombras.los secretos que la madre de clary le oculto para protegerla.hay muchas sorpresas en este libro porque clary es mas que una simple humana y el casador de sombras es mas que un amigo .buenisima realmente una historia que te cautiva y te introduce a un mundo nuevo y diferente .lo recomiendo.

The book that contains it all. Be it Shadowhunter law, their history, weapons catalogs, a short & detailed writing on Downworlders imaginable. Idris, the institutes, the Shadowhunter capital of Alicante, to the Silent City or the Adamant Citadel. The Shadowhunter's Codex is the handbook, nephilim need to be aware of this hidden world around them. What to do and what not to do, the codex tells it all. Alongwith some running commentary from Clary, Jace &Simon providing the biting and silly humor to the serious textbook material of the codex.

Coupled with some gorgeous artwork and illustrations, the codex tells the story of world before the beginning of the nephilim. Of what led Jonathan Shadowhunter to call upon the Archangel Raziel, his parabatai David establishing the Silent City and becoming the first Silent brother and Abigail Shadowhunter becoming the first Iron Sister. To a short description of the void and precisely, the Pandemonium City from where the demons appear to come from, or the history of the Accords.... This is a book to be cherished. Praises to Cassandra Clare and Joshua Lewis and all those who had a hand in the publishing of The Shadowhunter's Codex.

4.3 stars!
Everything you ever wanted to know about Shadowhunters and Downworlders all in one textbook like novel. The best part was that there were some hilarious narratives from Clary, Simon, and Jace while they were reading the codex. Filled with beautiful illustrations and information on the Shadowhunter culture and history, this was definitely one interesting read for Shadowhunter fans!

"Cazadores de Sombras: Ciudad de Hueso" es la primera parte de la saga Cazadores de Sombras escrita por Cassandra Clare. Está escrito en tercera persona. El título en sí, es nada más "Ciudad de Hueso", cada uno de los libros de la saga tiene como título una ciudad diferente. Está ciudad corresponde al lugar más importante de cada uno de los libros. Lo que me llamó la atención a leer este libro, es lo mucho que se habla sobre esta famosa saga y además de que este año (Exactamente el 23 de Agosto) se estrenará el filme basado en el primer libro. El libro está organizado en capítulos, cada capítulo es nombrado con un número y un título. Desde el primer capítulo la historia se vuelve sumamente interesante. Al finalizar cada uno de los capítulos tienes ansías de leer otro más. La historia es contada cronológicamente. La autora utiliza un lenguaje informal, ya que va dirigido a un público joven. Es un buen libro para un lector promedio, una lectura fresca, no pierde el hilo de los acontecimientos y a pesar de los repentinos cambios de escenario se entiende muy bien. La historia trata sobre Clary, Clarissa Fray. Una chica de quince años que vive junto a su madre, Joselyn Fray. Ella tiene una vida normal, le gusta dibujar y pasar tiempo con su mejor amigo Simón. La historia empieza cuando Simón y Clary van al club de moda Pandemónium. Ahí, Clary conoce a los cazadores de sombras Jace, Isabelle y Alec, y desde entonces toda su vida cambia para siempre. Aunque todos sabemos que es ficción, se me hace un libro muy realista. Los mundanos (que es como llaman a los humanos normales), no se dan cuenta de la existencia de seres mágicos pero eso no significa que no existan. Es extraño, pero sería maravilloso que ese mundo existiera. Para seguir leyendo entra a Geek Marloz

I truly love this book. I was going through a bit of a Cassandra Clare withdrawal and I needed another hit of the Shadow World. I ordered this primarily because I thought it would be a nice addition to my bookshelf, and maybe something I flipped through or skimmed. When it came I couldn't get over how beautiful it was. It's honestly the nicest hardback book I've ever owned. I immediately began reading, and before I knew it I had stayed up nearly all night. The amount of detail fascinated me, and it neatly combined all the bits and pieces of the Shadow World that I've learned about through Clare's books. Clary, Jace, and Simon's notes continuously made me laugh, and were a wonderful reminder of the characters I fell in love with in the first place. The illustrations are wonderfully made, and they made it feel like a textbook that really had belonged to Clary. Not only is the book a wonderful reference tool to look to in your adventures through the Shadow World, it is also a beautiful piece of art. It is the perfect addition to any avid Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices fan's collection. :)

Although much of this book read like a textbook, I still enjoyed it. I liked learning more about the history of the world that I've come to love. I also really enjoyed the illustrations and the commentary from Jace, Clary, and Simon. There is information that we already know if we've read the series, but there is more that we've never learned. I think this book is a great addition to Clare's other books for true fans of the series.

Wow. Este libro de verdad que me consumió totalmente.
Y no lo digo en un mal sentido, si no que es tan interesante y tan diferente que cuando lo lees te imaginas todo tan bien.
La escritora hizo un excelente trabajo en la descripción de todo lo que rodea a los personajes.
La historia es super intensa. Un libro bastante bueno, totalmente recomendado!

This wasn't what I expected. I probably should've researched it more. I was so excited about reading The Infernal Devices that I wanted more and so bought this. But I had thought it would have color pictures and describe all the characters. It's not that. It's more of a created tome from the story of the Shadowhunters. It describes their history, how they came to be, the rules & customs, etc. It is mainly text and does have some fun stuff, but is not something I would sit down and read.

***Spoilers if you haven't read City of Heavenly Fire!***

Now, this is a great book if you like reading into some facts and love reading the comments from Clary, Simon and Jace (which I absolutely did). Now the only problem I have with it is that Simon is now a Shadowhunter by the end of City of Heavenly Fire, so... Should this be redone? I mean, I'm not arguing everything that was done to it was amazing, I love the art work and the descriptions of most things. But I just hope that she'll clarify on whether or not she's gonna work on it to see if there's a way to make it so Simon's no longer a vampire... I know that it does make sense that he would write in it when she first got it, but would he not have done something to fix some of it? I don't know. Either way, I love it, she doesn't have to fix it, it will still be perfectly fine.

Lo que nos presenta aqui la Autora Cassandra Clare es un mundo maravilloso, no de un modo inocente, sino que presenta una creacion de seres que realmente te dan escalofrios, la manera en que ella escribe es tan seductor que una vez que hayas abierto es libro no tendras suficiente, querras mas y mas... de esta trama. los personajes son divertidos y muy misteriosos a la vez. recomiendo a todo lector que este en duda en la compra de este.

Cazadores de sombras I, Ciudad de hueso: City of Bones (Mortal Instruments) (Isla del Tiempo) (Spanish Edition)

this book is amazing. it is essentially a field guide on everything you need to know to be a shadowhunter with notes scribbled into the margins by the main characters. The notes make the book that much better and I found myself laughing out loud a few times, drawing curious looks from people sitting around me.

Escrita de manera sencilla pero entretenida, Cassandra Clare crea una saga emocionante, donde todos los personajes fantásticos que conocemos se mezclan en un Nueva York subterráneo, seduciendo al lector desde la primera pagina.

I recently bought this as I'm a HUGE fan of TMI and TID and I can honestly say I'm not disappointed. Everything is so detailed and really lets you see the world of the Shadowhunters from their history to their runes and weapons. Amazing drawings from 'Clary' are on nearly every page and comments/conversations between Jace, Clary and Simon have you laughing but also have you understanding Cassie's world better.
I give it a 10/10, I seriously recommend it to all Shadowhunter fans!!!!!!!

I love that is has comments from Jace, Clary and Simon that look like they actually wrote in the book, and each one had a different handwriting. I loved the index it came with and how you could look and all of the runes. It also had drawing from Clary, it was just like she got bored and started drawing in it when she was suppose to be reading it.

Not only does it help the reader understand the ins and outs of the Shadowhunter world -- it's entertaining too. Clary, Jace, and Simon have all annotated the codex which keeps it from becoming a boring old textbook. The hardcover comes with beautiful artwork portraying characters from all of the books. I am 100% satisfied with my purchase. This is definitely a good buy if you are a fan of Cassandra Clare's work.

Esta saga es absolutamente envolvente! No puedes parar de leer!! Super divertidos, romanticos, y la narrativa es genial!!! Para los que les gustan las historias tipo Crepúsculo, con vampiros, esta es mucho mejor!! De verdad que excelentes!!! Estoy esperando para comprar el cuarto libro de la Saga!! :D

Getting this book, I had some doubts. I honestly thought it was gonna be a sellout, but getting into it I realize its much more interesting and comical than I originally thought. I really recommend it. But then again who am I to tell you what to read. I could be a creepy old man. I mean, I'm not, but still I could be. This is why Internet safety is an issue people!

I am happy that I didn't buy my copy for my Nook tablet. It felt weird reading it on there. So, I went in search of it lastnight. Happy to say I love it! The art on the inside of the book is rad! Happy reading fellow Squidlings :):)

This book was amazing with the runes, pictures,and side notes from clary, jace, and simon! It came in perfect condition without a scratch, if you love the mortal instruments I would get this awesome book.

Did/can you make a big book filled with all the magic, like the runes, and definitions of them, and other definitions of the magic words and stuff? That would be awesome. Like the book in the movie- when Clary found out where the cup is.