Cassandra Clare has a busy year ahead of her. The Shadowhunter Universe is set to expand further and fans can look forward to the start of two new series’ and a physical release of short stories coming out this year.
First up is a lighter, romantic comedy type companion series focusing on Magnus and Alec called The Eldest Curses of which the first instalment comes out in April 2019. The series will consist of three books: The Red Scrolls of Magic (Cassanda Clare and Wesley Chu, April 9th 2019), The Lost Book of the White, and The Black Volume of the Dead.
The Eldest Curses trilogy sees Magnus and Alec (affectionately known by their ship name Malec, to some fans) at the center of their own story, taking place in the timeline during and shortly after the events in the series that started it all – The Mortal Instruments. The Red Scrolls of Magic begins during the couple’s holiday away together during the timeline of the fourth book in The Mortal Instruments – City of Fallen Angels. The sequel, The Lost Book of the White , takes place after, in the years between the end of The Mortal Instruments and start of Cassie’s next series, The Dark Artifices.
Readers can expect to see more insight into the development of the relationship between Magnus and Alec, as well as the usual Shadowhunter business of taking down demons, as the plot of the first book involves the couple tracking down a demon worshipping cult known as The Crimson Hand.
At first, fans were under the impression this would be an adult series as Cassie first intended, but recently she has explained on her popular Tumblr blog that it can now fit happily in the YA category; “In recent years there’s been a sea change in YA, and it’s much more open to gay romances taking center stage, when once there was the harmful attitude that gay romance was necessarily more adult than straight romance. I’m really happy that gay teens and my other loyal readers will be able to find The Red Scrolls of Magic in the YA section with my other books”.
Then there’s The Last Hours trilogy, which I am so excited for. There will be three books; Chain of Gold, Chain of Iron, and Chain of Thorns. Chain of Gold is set for release in November 2019. It begins in 1903 in London and focuses on the next generation after the popular but tragic The Infernal Devices trilogy. Cassie has said we should expect to see James and Lucie Herondale, Matthew Fairchild, and Cordelia Carstairs take center stage. Do these names sound familiar? It’s no coincidence because the main stars are the children of Will, Tessa, Henry, and Charlotte (characters from the previous series). If readers are still missing Will and Tessa, then they will be pleased to know that Cassie revealed that there will be chapters with points of view from them too.
Cordelia Carstairs is the star of this gorgeous cover so we can predict her to be an important part of Chain of Gold.
With regards to the plot, the synopsis from US publisher Simon and Schuster reads: “James Herondale longs for a great love, and thinks he has found it in the beautiful, mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes the Shadowhunters, James, Cordelia and their friends are plunged into a wild adventure which will reveal dark and incredible powers, and the true cruel price of being a hero…and falling in love.”
We can look forward to some romance going on as Cassie has dropped a hint that not one, but two people will have a crush on Cordelia. She has also mentioned more drama in further hints on her Twitter that a character’s family tree may not be accurate. It’s never simple in the Shadowhunter Universe!
As for the antagonist in the new trilogy, Cassie has been quoted speaking about the evil of the series being a different type to previous novels, describing it as “almost a force rather than one specific person or thing”. Sounds ominous.
Now I am even more eager for The Last Hours as I am looking forward to meeting new characters and covering new ground. It may have the same vibe as The Infernal Devices as looks to be dramatic, with hearts on the line! Cassandra Clare takes the tired “love triangle” trope and puts her own spin on it. I wonder what pairing we will be rooting for next.
Lastly, we’ll see a short stories bind-up released on June 4th titled Ghosts of The Shadow Market, which were published as ebooks over the course of 2018. The stories are written by Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Robin Wasserman, and Kelly Link in collaboration with Cassandra Clare of course.
The Shadow Market is a meeting point for faeries, werewolves, warlocks, and vampires. There, the Downworlders buy and sell magical objects, make dark bargains, and whisper secrets they do not want the Nephilim to know. Through two centuries, however, there has been a frequent visitor to the Shadow Market from the City of Bones, the very heart of the Shadowhunters’ world. As a Silent Brother, Brother Zachariah is a sworn keeper of the laws and lore of the Nephilim. But once he was a Shadowhunter called Jem Carstairs, and his love, then and always, is the warlock Tessa Gray. And Jem is searching through the Shadow Markets, in many different cities over long years, for a relic from his past.
I was told that there will be another trilogy that follows Queen of Air and Darkness. That this trilogy too would be the end of Cassandra’s shadow hunter books. I sure hope this is true for I felt it left us hanging for more, especially concerning Jace & Clary.