The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

“You do not have to have read The Mortal Instruments to read The Infernal Devices. You do not have to have read The Infernal Devices to read The Mortal Instruments. It is just more fun if you read both.”

This page explains the two series I am writing, what they are about, and what order to read them in.

To read this information in German, click here.

To read it in Spanish, click here.

Currently, I am writing two book series. They are both set in the same world of Shadowhunters. They take place at different times and have different characters in them.

One series is called The Mortal Instruments. It has six books in it. It is about Jace, Clary, Simon and their friends. The first three are called (in order) City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass. They have already been published. The fourth one is called City of Fallen Angels, the fifth City of Lost Souls, and the sixth, City of Heavenly Fire. City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, and City of Heavenly Fire continue the story begun in City of Bones. They contain all the characters from the previous three books and are told from a mixed POV — sometimes Clary, sometimes Jace or Alec or Simon.

City of Fallen Angels will come out April 5, 2011. That is a worldwide English release date. In other words, if you are reading the book in English, be it in Ireland or Australia or the US, that’s when it comes out. (I don’t yet have information on international, non-English (German, Spanish) publication dates for this book.)

The second series is called The Infernal Devices. It has three books in it. It is about Tessa, Will, Jem and their friends, It is a prequel to the Mortal Instruments. (”A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.” cf: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prequel.”) In other words, The Infernal Devices takes place before the events of The Mortal Instruments. In Victorian London to be exact, because I have always been fascinated by that period in history. No, Jace and Clary are not in this series, because they have not yet been born by about a hundred years. Magnus is in it, and so are some other immortal characters you may know. A more detailed plot description can be found here:

http://www.cassandraclare.com/cms/faqs#infernal

The site also has its own website:

http://www.theinfernaldevices.com/

The three books in the Infernal Devices series are: (in order) 1) Clockwork Angel 2) Clockwork Prince 3) Clockwork Princess.

Clockwork Angel will come out August 31, 2010. That is a worldwide English release date. In other words, if you are reading the book in English, be it in Ireland or Australia or the US, that’s when it comes out. It will come out in November in Spain and in December/January in Germany. I don’t yet have information on other international publication dates for this book.

You do not have to have read The Mortal Instruments to read The Infernal Devices. You do not have to have read The Infernal Devices to read The Mortal Instruments. It is just more fun if you read both.

When people ask what order to read the books in, I suggest that if you have already read City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass, you read Clockwork Angel before you read City of Fallen Angels. This is because characters who you first meet in Clockwork Angel show up in City of Fallen Angels and seeing them in CoFA will be more interesting for you if you have read Clockwork Angel first. Clockwork Angel also comes out six months before City of Fallen Angels, so it makes sense to read it when it is released. Nothing in Clockwork Angel will spoil COFA for you. Nothing in COFA will spoil Clockwork Angel for you. The two series are meant to be read as companion books. They enhance but do not spoil one another. You are certainly not required to read Clockwork Angel before starting City of Fallen Angels. Think about it this way — in a few years, all the books will be completed. Most people will either start with The Mortal Instruments or The Infernal Devices, and read their way directly through that series before starting the other one. That is how readers normally read — nobody just reads an author’s work in publication order — so by absolute necessity, the series must stand alone without each other. My current readers, however, do have the opportunity to read the books in publication order, and the reason I recommend doing so is because it’s fun — not because you have to.