It’s been a good couple years since the finale of Shadowhunters aired, and just about two years since I’ve last read anything about this wonderful cast of characters, so when I saw I’d been sleeping on the release of the second book in the Eldest Curses trilogy, The Lost Book of the White, I immediately went to my local library to rent it out. It was a quick read, given how much I love the series, and this adventure was just as fun as the first outing of the trilogy!
The books in this trilogy differ from the initial Mortal Instruments in that they are told in alternating perspectives between warlock Magnus Bane and his Shadowhunter boyfriend, Alec Lightwood. Unlike the last outing, which took place during events of the original Mortal Instruments, The Lost Book of the White takes place well after the Nephilim and downworlders fought Valentine Morgenstern together, and even after they took down Lilith. Now, unlike the show, Magnus and Alec are not married yet, but in something a bit different, they’ve announced themselves the parents of an abandoned baby demon who they named Max, after Alec’s deceased younger brother.
All seems well and good for everyone and things are pretty slow at the Institute after all the prior chaos, but that obviously doesn’t last or it’d be a pretty boring book. Very early on one evening, a demon that Alec secretly pardoned, Shinyun Jung, and Magnus’ thought to be dead best, Ragnor Fell, show up and declare they now work for the Greater Demon, Sammael. Shinyun takes it one step further and strikes Magnus’ chest with some thorn that will eventually force him to choose to die or to serve Sammael. Not long after the two depart with the stolen Book of the White, Clary, Jace, Simon, and Isabelle all show up determined to save Magnus and destroy Sammael, while Magnus is focused on saving Ragnor now that he knows he is still alive.
Their journey first takes them to Shanghai where they meet up with Jem, formerly Silent Brother Zacariah, and he teams them up with his younger family member Tian to navigate the Shadow Market. They all hope while they’re there that they can figure out what Sammael might have wanted the Book of the White for and how to even get to Sammael to fight him. Magnus and Alec are given two powerful gods, which are now wielded in the form of swords to take with them to a hell dimension. It appears that the hell dimension our group lands in is an exact negative of Shanghai, so they are soon able to right themselves. That relief is short-lived however, when Isabelle sacrifices herself to go through a mandatory torture, and then Simon gets captured and tortured by Sammael for killing his love, Lilith. They also discover that Tian is actually working for Sammael, but then find out that was a lie so he could gain intelligence on Shinyun, Ragnor, and ultimately Sammael’s plans.
Since this is a book about Shadowhunters fighting crime, there is naturally a lot of that going on, but since most of the novel is told through Mangus and Alec’s perspectives, there is also a lot of emotion throughout the pages. It is clear their love, while still new, is genuine and deep. Not only for each other, but for their new son Max. That love is the through-line for all the torment they experience on this quest. It makes each of them just strong enough to make the tough decisions and to be braver maybe than they ever have before.
I really like this extension of the series and I’m really glad there will still be another installment in the future! It’s crazy to think about the rabid fandom the show was able to generate for its source material, and it’s nice to know Cassandra Clare is still looking out for her fans with new content! Not for everyone, but this book was definitely for me!