The Shadowhunter's Codex (The Mortal Instruments)

First, I want to start out with saying if you don't get a hardcopy of the book and get the Kindle edition you're going to be disappointed. Much of why we love the Shadowhunter's world and Cassandra's writing is because of the small details and touches that she puts into her work. I had read the series when it first came out between my middle school and high school years and, to be in college now it was great to see the TV series on Freeform. Though I had a bit of early confusion, as I remembered the characters and storyline but the details of her mythological world had been faded to me. The codex serves as a great reference and collectable to those who adore the series and the hardcopy is beautifully crafted. The hardcover copy has an embellished cover that has 3D detailing and a very unique look to it. The inside is neatly broken down and holds the same terminology and even images for some of the content to really showcase the fantasy world even more. There are some little 'notes' that look handwritten as if done by Jace and Clary and are a great touch to the overall book. If you get a Kindle edition instead of a hardcopy, you miss out on the effects of the notes and the overall craftsmanship that makes it such a neat book as it all becomes the same format text and lacks in many of the details.

I love the Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments. This book provided me with a lot of insight into the Shadowhunter world. It set up just like it should be for the real characters. It has beautiful illustrations and I really enjoyed reading the notes written by "Simon", "Clary", and "Jace". I also enjoyed the parts at the end of the chapters where you could write your own answers. My favorite parts in the book were when they had a list of names that you could combine to create your own Shadowhunter last name and the rune section where they drew them all out. I also like the weapons *evil grin*. If you like Cassandra Clare and her books, this is the thing for you. It is also good to have read this before you start her new series (Last Hours).

Finally arrived and love it

I received this for my 18th birthday from my mother (this is her account). As a fan of The Mortal Instruments series, I LOVE this book. It puts you in the world of the characters (much like the 'Tales of Beedle the Bard' or 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is for Harry Potter fans) The little commentary written by the characters in the books is hilarious. I share a love of this series with my Parabatai and I'm considering getting her this for her birthday. I highly recommend for fans of the series. However, don't read if you haven't finished the series yet, because there are minor spoilers.

"Welcome and Congratulations. You have been chosen to become one of the Nephilim." The Shadowhunter's Codex is a manual for new Shadowhunters. It is meant to guide them into their new, dangerous, usually short life. The life of a Shadowhunter is violent and often brief, but their role in containing rogue Downworlders and preventing harm upon mundanes by demons and the like is an important one. While most Shadowhunters are born into the life, some mundanes can ascend to become Raziel's soldiers. For those who have not been raised as a Shadowhunter, there is a lot to learn. The Codex is meant to guide those young, new Shadowhunters to prevent their even more untimely deaths. This is a brief little book that is mostly unnecessary if you have followed along with the series up to its most recent book. It details everything from the Mortal Instruments to a Shadowhunter's weapons to the different kinds of Downworlders. While I didn't mind all this information, and enjoyed this little manual, it is pretty repetitive and would make only the most die-hard fans happy. The most important information you get is the history in the last part of the book. The history of the Shadowhunters has been touched on in bits and pieces throughout the series, but it was good to have it all together in one place. The most entertaining part of this book wasn't the actual book itself, but the "notations" made by Clary, Jace, and Simon. They were funny little quips, especially about the parts where the Codex is lacking due to plot events from previous books. If I hadn't read the series, though, these little smart-guy comments wouldn't make much sense. I would use this book for a student who is going through the series but reads slow and might lose track of different names that are complex and unfamiliar. Using this as a dictionary/reference of sorts for those oddball items and names would help them keep up with the series at their own pace. It was a cute companion to the story, but if you read pretty steadily with the series, it isn't entirely necessary for your Mortal Instruments enjoyment!

I hadn’t intended to read this right now; I have so many other books I need to read. However, it was one of those times where you think you’ll just leaf through a page or two and the next thing you know, it’s three hours later and you’re half way through the book. Cassandra Clare’s world is totally captivating and I REALLY want to just sit and marathon my way through the rest of the Mortal Instruments series (I’ve only read the first book, City of Bones) but I have other books I must read and review first. The Shadowhunter’s Codex provides background information to the two series. I have seen some very minor spoilers in there – for example, I didn’t know about Simon’s status – but nothing that would spoil the series. Although I am an advocate of ebooks, this is one book I would strongly recommend buying in hardback format. Part of the fun of the book are Clary’s and Simon’s in-world notes in the margin of this Shadowhunter’s training manual. In the hardback format, this is represented by what look like handwritten scribbles. This has had to be translated into different fonts in the ebook and the formatting is often not quite accurate, leading to some confusion.

goes with the story

I love this book! It is an excellent companion to the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices books. I particularly like that this is supposed to be Clary's personal Codex. To demonstrate this, there are lots of drawings that Clary is supposed to have drawn and comments in the margins from Clary and friends. The side comments are often quite funny and they are my favorite part of the book. This can be read either from cover-to-cover or by flipping open to random sections of interest. I personally love the added information and details about everything from this world! Excellent book!

Todo del libro esta genial, las portadas están muy bien hechas, llegó en buenas condiciones y antes de lo esperado, la información que tiene es muy amplia y te explica muy bien todo, además de que trae pequeñas notas de Simon, Jace y Clary lo que se me hizo muy divertido, por último otra cosa que me encantó fueron las ilustraciones, principalmente la primera y la última en la portada, que hayan puesto a Los Instrumentos Mortales y luego a TID fue de lo mejor 10/10

If you love Shadowhunters then this book is a must-have in your collection 😍👏🏻

Comme nombre de passionnés de l’univers des Mortal Instruments. J’avais été déçu que l’éditeur VF de la série annonce que ce codex ne serait jamais traduit en français. Malgré tout, j’ai fini par craquer et me procurer ce petit bijou en version reliée. Je ne regrette absolument pas cet achat, en plus d’être magnifique grâce à ses nombreuses illustrations. Il est intéressant car on en apprend plus sur la création et comment a évolué cette organisation au fil des siècles. Il y a de tout du bestiaire (ma partie préférée), aux armes et armures, les entraînements, les marks, l’histoire et un peu de géographie. Il est très complet et se lit facilement. L’anglais est basique, les débutants ne seront pas perdus sauf pour un ou deux mots de vocabulaire mais dans son ensemble, il est abordable pour n’importe qui. Un autre point plaisant en plus des illustrations, ce sont les annotations qu’ont laissées Clary, Jace et parfois Simon dans ce livre. Ils apportent une petite touche amusante à la lecture. Pour finir les illustrations en elles-mêmes. Il y en a énormément en plus de celles en couleur sur les rabats. Cela permet de ce faire une idée de certaines créatures et personnages car oui il y a des différences entre les livres et la série. Pour conclure, j’ai adoré ma lecture. Même si je ne suis pas une fan à proprement parler, j’aime beaucoup cet univers et je compte bien continuer mon chemin chez les Shadowhunters.

Good

The 2013 hardcover edition is very beautiful : the dust jacket displays an exquisite front-cover & lateral spine ; inside, there are illustrations, a lot of annotations in different styles of calligraphy, and a lot of Shadowhunter runes (pp. 153-161) -- useful if you want to ink "marks" on your skin or trace "sigils" for magic(k)al operations. Besides the edition's gorgeous aesthetics, its informational content is extremely rich. Even if you have read all the 'Mortal Instruments' books, you shall find a lot of new information that will enrich your perception & understanding of the complex Shadowhunter/Downworlder multiverse. (If you do not see yourself as a "mundane" or a "muggle", in non-fictional "real"-life, the book can give you hints, clues, and new insights to refresh your mystical or magic(k)al endeavours. As it is said in 'City of Bones' : "All the stories are true"...) If you have not read the novels, having or not having seen the CoB movie, the book can be used as a very enlightening instrument in order to understand a lot of bizarre events which occur in the movie. I saw the movie as a DVD a few weeks after having read 'The Shadowhunter's Codex' and it helped a great deal to understand a lot of the weird stuff thrown at you in the movie. It can be noted that the movie has cut out many aspects of the CoB novel -- such as faeries, which only make a very brief, silent appearance in the movie (at the warlock's party, for about two seconds). If you have only seen the movie, the 'Shadowhunter's Codex' might incite you to read the CoB novel, because it could show you that the Shadowhunter/Downworlder multiverse is much more complex & fascinating than the movie's chopped, diluted and simplified version.