Title: The Shadowhunter’s Codex
Authors: Cassandra Clare and Joshua Lewis
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: October 29, 2013
Pages: 288
Price: 27.42$ CAD (Hardcover) at Indigo Books & Music Online
Hey everyone! Today’s review is of The Shadowhunter’s Codex by Cassandra Clare and Joshua Lewis. Enjoy!
Description
The Clave is pleased to announce the newest edition of the Nephilim’s oldest and most famous training manual: the Shadowhunter’s Codex. Since the thirteenth century, the Codex has been the young Shadowhunter’s best friend. When you’re being swarmed by demons it can be easy to forget the finer points of obscure demon languages or the fastest way to stop an attack of Raum demons. With the Codex by your side, you never have to worry.
Now in its twenty-seventh edition, the Codex covers it all: the history and the laws of our world; how to identify, interact with, and if necessary, kill that world’s many colorful denizens; which end of the stele is the end you write with. No more will your attempt to fight off rogue vampires and warlocks be slowed by the need to answer endless questions from your new recruits: What is a Pyxis? Why don’t we use guns? If I can’t see a warlock’s mark, is there a polite way to ask him where it is? Where do we get all our holy water? Geography, History, Magic, and Zoology textbook all rolled into one, the Codex is here to help new Shadowhunters navigate the beautiful, often brutal world that we inhabit.
Do not let it be said that the Clave is outdated or, as the younger Shadowhunters say, “uncool”: this new edition of the Codex will be available not only in the usual magically-sealed demonskin binding, but also in a smart, modern edition using all of today’s most exciting printing techniques, including such new features as a sturdy clothbound cover, a protective dust jacket, and information about title, author, publisher, and so on conveniently available right on the cover. You’ll be pleased to know that it fits neatly into most satchels, and unlike previous editions, it rarely sets off alarm wards.
The old woodcuts and engravings have been replaced as well: instead, you’ll find lavish modern illustrations by some of the brightest luminaries of the fantastic. Creatures, weapons, people, and places have been carefully and accurately rendered by the likes of Rebecca Guay, Charles Vess, Jim Nelson, Theo Black, Elisabeth Alba, and Cassandra Jean. Chapters are beautifully introduced by the drawings of Michael Kaluta, and along with our condensation of the classic 2,450-page tome, A History of the Nephilim, you will find a selection of the best of the lovely illustrations of that volume by John Dollar.
This edition of the Codex will be available in Institute libraries and what mundanes sometimes call “book stores” in October 2013 – Goodreads
Ouf! What a long summary!
Review
I am a huge fan of The Shadowhunter Chronicles and just Cassandra Clare in general. I picked up The Mortal Instruments for the first time this March and now I’ve read all of The Mortal Instruments series, The Infernal Devices, The Bane Chronicles, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, and almost done The Dark Artifices to which the conclusion, Queen of Air and Darkness, comes out in eighteen days! You could say I’m quite a fan, huh? 🙂
Basically, The Shadowhunter’s Codex is a companion book to the bestselling YA series The Mortal Instruments followed by the sequel series, The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices. (Also to The Last Hours and The Wicked Powers but they haven’t been published yet 🙁 ) Which focuses on a race of angel blooded warriors called Nephilim or Shadowhunters who fight to protect the mundane world from Demons and keep the peace amongst Downworlders. (Vampires, Werewolves, Faeries, and Warlocks) The Shadowhunter’s Codex is basically a how-to for the Shadowhunters. It talks about all the types of demons, the origins of Nephilim, the first Shadowhunter, the magic runes they can draw on their skin to give them special abilities, the way of the Clave (the government for Nephilim) and Idris, (the hidden country for the Nephilim) and so much more amazing things from the Shadowhunter Chronicles!
My favourite part of this book was the section of Selected Marks. I always forgot what the runes look like when they mention them in the book. For example, when Emma draws an iratze rune on Julian in The Dark Artifices, I had trouble remembering which one was the iratze! I also enjoyed reading about other runes that were never mentioned in the novels.
The runes are so pretty, if I’d ever get a tattoo someday it would be cool to get one of the runes because you could get one for a specific meaning! I know the booktuber Emma Giordano has an iratze on her arm and its so nicely done! Look at these runes:
The rune, fortitude, is probably my favourite from this page. I mean look at the detail!
The added scribbles from Clary, Jace, and Simon really made the book more interesting to read. On almost every page, I could read a snarky comment from Jace and a conversation in-between Clary and Simon. I like how the fonts chosen fit the characters personalities well too. I could distinguish the scrawny handwriting as Jace’s, the smooth and “flowy” font as Clary’s, and the small handwriting as Simon’s. I also liked how its supposed to be the same copy of the codex that Clary first used when she found out she was a Shadowhunter that she then gave to Simon when he went to the Shadowhunter Academy.
The illustrations by Rebecca Guay, Charles Vess, Jim Nelson, Theo Black, Elisabeth Alba, and Cassandra Jean also made the book so much more interesting. I got to see what all the demons look like, the various weapons, the runes, and the angels! The hardback cover was also super pretty! The marble blue/black design with the mortal cup silhouette was minimalistic but still super cool. The dust jacket on the other hand was… a little weird? I don’t know, the angel Raziel with The Mortal Instruments looked pretty creepy. But my love for Cassandra Clare exceeds pretty book covers, so I knew the cover would never matter for one of her novels.
Final Thoughts / Recommendation
I throughly enjoyed reading The Shadowhunter’s Codex it really helped me understand in dept all about the world of Shadowhunters. Now when I read any of Cassandra Clare’s novels I get the words and names they are using and if I forget, I can always check my copy of the codex that lies nearby!
I’d recommend this book so someone who is obviously a fan or has read The Mortal Instruments or any of The Shadowhunter Chronicles in general. This book isn’t a story but more of an encyclopedia that will tell you all there is to know about Nephilim, Downwolrders, and demons so that you comprehend the Shadow World better! This is obviously a work of fiction thats a urban fantasy/ young adult , so if you like reading these genres, The Shadowhunter Chronicles and companion books might be the right choice for you!
The Mortal Cup silhouette on the hardback: (Look at that cool marble cover too!)
Thanks for reading this weeks blog post! Hope you enjoyed my review of The Shadowhunter’s Codex! (I rushed this review because its currently 1 AM and I’m tired! lol. 😉 )
Have an amazing weekend!
-Emma 🙂