The Bane Chronicles

A collection of short stories devoted to the back story of everybody's favorite Brooklyn warlock: Magnus Bane. This is definitely for fans of Clare's other books; a newbie would be completely lost. I've read the Infernal Devices trilogy and the first three Mortal Instruments books, and the only

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story I didn't really understand was the very last one (which refers to a specific incident in City of Lost Souls). I loved these. I loved seeing more of Bane's backstory, seeing familiar scenes from his point of view, and getting a couple more extra glimpses of the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices characters from outside their personal dramas. Perhaps the best touch was that these were almost all cowritten with other authors. Clare is a fine story creator, but her writing leaves a bit to be desired. The influence of the other writers is definitely felt here - for the better. Definitely recommended for fans of the series.

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The short and random stories featuring Magnus Bane were all mostly entertaining and humorous. Throughout Cassandra Clare's books, I've learned that sometimes he does things simply because he can even if his actions seem ludicrous, and his fashion sense always brought a smile to my face. Magnus Bane

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is brilliant, but one would have to deal with his character in every series to understand just how brilliant he is.

Even though his chronicles were entertaining, I still felt somewhat let down by the book. Things were briefly glimpsed at (such as his family life) and my only question was never answered: What really happened in Peru? Yes, a list of possible reasons were given about why he might have been banned from the area, but there was no definitive answer. The readers will never know. It was pleasant to learn of his earlier love interests besides Alec and how intertwined his life was with the Herondales, Fairchilds, and Lightwoods. But really, I would have enjoyed learning more about things that were glimpsed at. Why was he banned from Peru? What was his family like in detail? Who informed him of the identity of his actual father? Things like that are what I thought the Magnus Bane Chronicles were written for, but I was mistaken.

To be fair, even though the book wasn't nearly what I was expecting, it was still enjoyable. I didn't learn the answer to all of my questions about Magnus, and I probably never will, but reading about his adventures make up for that in my opinion. There were serious, humorous, and dramatic moments throughout every chapter that demonstrated how flexible Magnus could be. I'd recommend it to others to read even if they haven't read any other Cassandra Clare book before.

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This book confirms my belief that Magnus Bane is the best character in all of Cassandra Clare's books. He and Alec are also my favorite couple. Magnus is such a great character that he makes up for any lack in writing or the stories. You don't have to have read all of The Mortal Instruments series

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to enjoy this one, but it does help.

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What a delightful book! Magnus Bane was easily a favorite character in the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices novels, but I felt like I never got enough insight into his background. This book is a collection of stories on Magnus through several eras of his life, bringing back old characters

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and giving little histories of events we already new, in addition to sending Magnus on new adventures. I particularly enjoyed seeing Alec through Magnus's eyes, specifically because I never fully understood his attraction to Alec.
I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators were excellent for the most part. I took off a half star due to the fact that there was one story I had to skip past because I found the narrator's reading of it to be annoying.

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What a delightful book! Magnus Bane was easily a favorite character in the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices novels, but I felt like I never got enough insight into his background. This book is a collection of stories on Magnus through several eras of his life, bringing back old characters

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and giving little histories of events we already new, in addition to sending Magnus on new adventures. I particularly enjoyed seeing Alec through Magnus's eyes, specifically because I never fully understood his attraction to Alec.
I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators were excellent for the most part. I took off a half star due to the fact that there was one story I had to skip past because I found the narrator's reading of it to be annoying.

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I LOVED the first books in this series - the Mortal Instruments.
I liked the Infernal Devices series.
I am just tired of them now.

Here is my pet peeve.

I read the books years ago - they have very detailed and intricate story lines. Magnus is an important character - but honestly I have forgotten most

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of the details of his part.

Now this book comes up and it makes me feel like I am on the outside of the cool kids inside jokes. I wish there would more background - or more connections or something.

So - I did enjoy most of the later stories - the first few really fell flat. But the very last story was by far the most frustrating for me. I can't remember anything of the events.
I didn't like this book nearly as much as I did the others.
Shucks - I really wanted to because I liked Magnus!

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I absolutely love this collection of stories. It was so good and nice to understand Magnus Bane's point of view. I absolutely loved the voicemail story at the end of the book. The fact that everyone was so keen on getting to Magnus and getting him to make up with Alec was beautiful. In general,

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though, I just love Magnus and it was so nice to see things from a non-Shadowhunter point of view. I love The Mortal Instruments series, but the reason why The Infernal Devices and now The Bane Chronicles are my absolute favorites is because they take into consideration the viewpoint of the people who are marginalized by the majority. I want stories from each Downworlder perspective, to be honest. I think it's refreshing and fascinating and shows more of a complete magical world then one that solely focuses on Shadowhunters.

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Short stories about episodes in the life of Magnus Bane. Some were better than others, but the variety of readers was good. Cecil Baldwin's story sounded very Night Vale-y. Also Andrew Scott, who was perfect for a story that reached back to Will and Tessa, but was a bit too soft to listen to in the

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car. Entertaining, but I'm not really a fan of short stories, and everything felt quite disjointed.

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My Summary: If you've ever wondered about Magnus Bane, then this is the book for you. Written by three of the funniest women in YA, this collection of short stories chronicles the colourful life of Magnus Bane before the Shadowhunters.

My Thoughts: I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did

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while reading this amazing collection of hilarious short stories. Since the very beginning of my obsession with Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters, Magnus Bane has been one of my favourite characters. I was always a little frustrated about the lack of back-story we're given about Magnus, so the second I heard these stories were going to be released, I was giddy.

If you've ever read anything by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, or Sarah Rees Brennan, you know that every sentence any of them writes is bound to make you laugh and cry at the same time. Needless to say, I spent the entire novel in a fit of laughter.

I'm so glad we got to see more of Magnus, and I definitely can't wait for The Dark Artifices!

Final Thoughts: I recommend this novel to fans of Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices trilogy and The Mortal Instruments series.

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Reading this just for Magnus... the rest of the series is just going downhill.

Okay, so I read the first three in the Mortal Instruments series and Magnus Bane very quickly became my favorite character. (Along with Simon and Luke).

I had my own hesitations about continuing the series and after reading some truly scathing reviews of the next book in the series, I decided to

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skip it.

But having a chance to read about the exploits of Magnus Bane....I just couldn't resist. I saw some bad reviews of this book and I don't really understand why. Magnus is hilarious and always getting himself into some kind of situation. And unlike Clary and crew, his situations make me laugh. I've yet to want to strangle Magus and I ALWAYS want to do bodily harm to someone in that group of teenaged Shadowhunters.

The bonus story made me very sad. I've had enough spoilers to know that Magnus and Alec have a bad break-up, and eventually get closure and become friends. And apparently they manage to find their way back to romance, which makes me very happy. Not just for Magnus, but for Alec as well. I feel like he really needs his relationship with Magus, otherwise what else does he have--other than being a demon hunter?! It seems like his whole life revolves around looking after his sister and Jace in battle, and pining after Jace. With Magus in his life, he seemed to have broken out of his shell a bit.

Anyway, after hearing all of those voicemails begging and threatening Magnus to forgive Alec, I felt so sad. And Alec calling and finally giving up, saying that he wouldn't call or text anymore...well my little ice cold heart melted! Now I want to finish the series just to find out the full story behind the break-up, but more importantly to see them reconcile.

I very much enjoyed this. I read half and then listened to the entire audiobook. If you haven't listened to it, it's worth it to hear some of your favorite people voicing Magnus and his shenanigans--particularly Gareth David-Lloyd!

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This was like slipping on a comfy pair of jeans. I haven't read this one before now but it was so familiar to read about this world again that I just might have to start reading the dark artifices.

Magnus was himself no matter who was writing what. it felt very cohesive for a three way project.

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Though I would have really loved a story involving Magnus needing to pose as Marie antoinette and being "executed" for her "crimes". You know in order to keep historically accurate while still saving her. And I really want to know why he got kicked out of Peru. I suspect Ragnor was at fault here.

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Some of the earlier stories were amusing, but most of them were simply tedious. I listened to the audio version and again, some of the narrators were acceptable, but there was at least one that was completely dreadful. I listened to that story at 1.5x speed just to get through it. Overall, a very

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disappointing experience.

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I really enjoyed these chronicles. I especially enjoyed all of the stories involving Alec! The bonus story in my copy of the book was a bit bittersweet, but enjoyable anyway. Though my favorites involved Alec, it was also interesting to get stories of the Magnus that came before all that we'd seen

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in The Mortal Instruments. And the Magnus that was between The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments. Magnus is such a lively and lovable character and I'm so glad that Clare decided to give us more of him. Definitely recommended for people who love the Shadowhunter world, and especially if you've got a soft spot for the warlock Magnus Bane.

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It had a lot of feels, talking about the different generations and characters, but it was also really funny. I enjoyed this look into Magnus's life.

This is several stories about the life of Magus Bane. I enjoyed it. He has such personality, and has lived so long. Some of the events and people included were real, but of course things are changed just a bit to include him. Some of the stories are random adventures. Shadowhunters of the past and

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present from the other books pop up also. Several include a love interest of his. That's what I took away from this the most. Magus never looses his ability to love and yearns to find it. Despite everything he isn't left cold with the idea of life. He's open to it.

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This is several stories about the life of Magus Bane. I enjoyed it. He has such personality, and has lived so long. Some of the events and people included were real, but of course things are changed just a bit to include him. Some of the stories are random adventures. Shadowhunters of the past and

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present from the other books pop up also. Several include a love interest of his. That's what I took away from this the most. Magus never looses his ability to love and yearns to find it. Despite everything he isn't left cold with the idea of life. He's open to it.

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I give this a 4.5. I am such a huge fan of Magus Bane. I love his spirit, his heart, his sense of humor, and of course his sense of style. This book follows along different points in Magnus's life that we don't really get to witness in the other books. I loved getting to see his parts of the story.

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The only issue that I had was that for most of the book it followed along chronologically and then all of a sudden it skipped backwards and then continued chronologically from that point, and I felt it just kind of messed up the flow with that.

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Okay, so I read the first three in the Mortal Instruments series and Magnus Bane very quickly became my favorite character. (Along with Simon and Luke).

I had my own hesitations about continuing the series and after reading some truly scathing reviews of the next book in the series, I decided to

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skip it.

But having a chance to read about the exploits of Magnus Bane....I just couldn't resist. I saw some bad reviews of this book and I don't really understand why. Magnus is hilarious and always getting himself into some kind of situation. And unlike Clary and crew, his situations make me laugh. I've yet to want to strangle Magus and I ALWAYS want to do bodily harm to someone in that group of teenaged Shadowhunters.

The bonus story made me very sad. I've had enough spoilers to know that Magnus and Alec have a bad break-up, and eventually get closure and become friends. And apparently they manage to find their way back to romance, which makes me very happy. Not just for Magnus, but for Alec as well. I feel like he really needs his relationship with Magus, otherwise what else does he have--other than being a demon hunter?! It seems like his whole life revolves around looking after his sister and Jace in battle, and pining after Jace. With Magus in his life, he seemed to have broken out of his shell a bit.

Anyway, after hearing all of those voicemails begging and threatening Magnus to forgive Alec, I felt so sad. And Alec calling and finally giving up, saying that he wouldn't call or text anymore...well my little ice cold heart melted! Now I want to finish the series just to find out the full story behind the break-up, but more importantly to see them reconcile.

I very much enjoyed this. I read half and then listened to the entire audiobook. If you haven't listened to it, it's worth it to hear some of your favorite people voicing Magnus and his shenanigans--particularly Gareth David-Lloyd!

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What Really Happened in Peru
I liked getting to see more of Warlocks living and interacting together. I felt so much for both the boy and for Magnus, how this is two different stories and loves and lives through two different eyes. I also love seeing how much you can go through, accept and forget if

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you are among those who are living forever. I'm not sure this was long enough to warrant a huge write-up yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how that goes.

The Runaway Queen
Gah. And then GoodReads ate my review for this one after I wrote it up. Lets see if I can do a fast split out on it all again.

Installment two! We are now out of Peru and into Paris. We engage politics with both Downworlders and with crossing into the French Revolution (as a lot of this has to do with, as the title says, "The Runaway Queen," of whom we're speaking of it's not too hard to guess then). I loved that in this one we got more into intruige and magic, into the political lines of who can do what, when, with who, and why, especially under what rulers, at what "seen" and "unseen" levels of society.

Vampires, Scones & Edmund Herondale
All my hearts, stars and love, again.

This one, more than the one before it, took me back into the enchanting world I loved.

The slow grace of the Mages, Vampires, and Werewolf romances. I was so, so, so moved by how Camile, Magnus, and Ralf romance triangle worked here. The way we're continually looking at the choices people make when they watch mortals or other immortals in love. The last conversation with Camile and Magnus seriously locked it in for me in this book where it came to this subject.

As for the rest of this books, oh my god. WE NEED MORE SCONES! I think that should be the caption for this one. The politics were delightful! Horrid, terrible, oppressing, oppressive, looking down their noses, asking and agreeing to terms only if people would agree to be slime and then scoffing when the dirt under their feet came expecting what they were offered, equality. I was so hurt (and by that HAPPY) to see how the Accords came about. That it took anger, hurt, insult, growing, everything on all the sides before it happened.

I loved that we see how it divides the lines between The Shadowhunters and the vampires, the mages, the werewolves. Who was willing to play ball after the big explosive conclusion and who really wasn't.

And, of course, Edmund Herondale. Who you can't help but love. Being a dashing Shadowhunter, watching him make choices of daring and do to talk to Magnus, to court the beautiful woman he saves, and where those ripples lead. The way we know what will become of that life, and it's so painful almost then. Wistful, sad. Because you see all his potential and we already know (as readers of the series) what will happen to him, his wife, his children, the box he's keeping.

The Midnight Heir
I think, oddly enough, the thing that made me love this book most fiercely was the end of it. Yes, I did adore getting to see the trio, and the fact they are almost almost entirely still addressed as a trio, or as three different equally important relationships all existing side by side with each other. But my favorite part -- about this being Magnus's book and series -- is the end. Because he leaves. Without helping. Emotional and dramatic as he is, and he goes home. Without helping. And finally I got to see the him that wasn't saving the day, that was just a little too old, and not wanting to be involved, and that felt right, for how often it's all referenced being in there.

The Rise of the Hotel Dumort
These are becoming like monthly popcorn, and I have to say I think there's something to it. It's like tv snippets, or comic books on Wednesday, and I'm kind of learning to slow down and love getting a monthly slice of Magnus's life. Getting to check in on him, through the years and through my busy weeks and months, as these tiny bites are released.

I loved this one. A great little story folded around the events of Prohibition and The Great Depression. While one is happening, and leading up to/going through the other. The non-involvement of the supernatural kind, and the whole idea of being outside of time. What is the fall of one economic system, after all, when you've already lived through the rise and fall of whole countries and continents during your life?

I like the way a lot of things are spun differently, and we still have Magnus wandering around with his heart on his shoulder even if it is the kind of heart that would as soon forget you as charm you as wander two floors away and hide from you. I find him to be compelling character for all of these things, and because of a lot of the way we play with history in these.

Saving Raphael Santiago
Very much so a delightly. I love getting more morsels on Magnus, but I loved seeing a secondary character who was so staunchly himself. That needed direction, knowing both what he didn't want and what he had, but could not turn away. The mother was brilliant, but I loved best Raphael and even his friendship with Magnu's bur of mage friend best. All these tiny glimpses into the world that made up our favorite demon-mage, friend and baston of the main books.

The Fall of the Hotel Dumort
This is another one of those I'm not quite sure how I feel about. It's a very middle of the road and middle of the world story. It's drug use, and collapse, the nitty gritty of this time period. I definitely didn't dislike it, but it simply didn't end up being a favorite story of Magnus's.


I did love the ending and the choice he made regarding his love. Both for her and for himself. It felt complicated and the kind of thing he would do.

What to Buy the Shadowhunter who has Everything
I really did kind of love this one. I have a hapless adoration for the moments when immortals fall in love with very mortal people and suddenly have no idea what to do to talk to/display their affection to a mortal person, because they've strayed so far from mortal things for so long, that they wander around confused like teenagers again, even with their great age and history. More of this. Love.

The Last Stand of the New York Institute
This one was good but not quite as good as the one I read before it. I did love getting to see more of Tess and Clary's mother. I did love getting to see more of Valetine's Circle in action -- both those who knew what they were doing and delighted in it, and those were disgusted with realizing just exactly what they'd fallen in to.

I like the idea Tess was the one to decide about Clary, but I also feel like that is major revisionist history at work, when it was never part of the original Magnus telling. And I'm also a little sad it didn't go any further past the point it ended at a little too safely.

The Course of True Love [and First Dates]
I madly, truly loved this bookend story to our whole roller coaster with Magnus. I love just how terribly uncertain and certain everyone is, and how they keep messing up from both sides, and that outside world is not helping him them in the slightest really. But the nugget of gold at the center, that feeling of newness and wanting, is so fragile and raw and true. I love that we see a shadow hunter helping someone for no more reason than to help, and I like the tenuous feeling of hope and fledging joy at the end.

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