A review by anchovysaurus
The Shadowhunter's Codex by Cassandra Clare, Joshua Lewis

adventurous

3.5

I adore when fantasy authors release books centred solely on the lore of their worlds. I particularly liked the unreliable narrator aspect of the Clave framing its history in a certain way, with Luke, Magnus, and Jordan interjecting with different perspectives. Interestingly, some aspects of Clave history seemed allegorical, like the Clave supporting Downworlder hunts in the 1600s while providing no tangible reparations thereafter.

Nevertheless, this book inadvertently revealed some holes in the worldbuilding: 
  1. Shadowhunters are meant to be secular, but the language often gravitates toward the Abrahamic religions, like "demons" and "denizens of Heaven". It's even stated that Raziel named them the Nephilim after the Book of Genesis. 
  2. After a thousand years of fighting demons, they still don't know why demons come to Earth.
  3. It may have just been the digital version I was reading, but Simon’s lighthearted homoerotic fanfic of Jonathan Shadowhunter and David appears directly after the section describing the Circle and all the lives lost because of prejudice, which felt distasteful and tone-deaf.