Review | Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy

My thoughts and opinions on Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson and Robin Wasserman

General warning: my general thoughts for the Shadowhunter series has now changed since writing this! I don’t read anything from this series anymore so take these opinions now with a pinch of salt.

The Dark War has ended, many lives have been lost, and new Shadowhunters are being recruited from all over the world to attend the Shadowhunter Academy in Idris. Simon Lewis is one of the attendees, and more than willing to ascend from a mere mundane to a Shadowhunter because for the last few years he has known more than most about the life of the Shadow World. Becoming a Shadowhunter means he can reconnect with Isabelle, Clary, Jace..etc, but also to help change the way Shadowhunters view themselves, Downworlders, and the world at large. Not to mention regain the memories he lost at the end of City of Heavenly Fire.

Nonetheless the Academy is not the easiest place to learn his future craft. It is dark, dingy, and representative of the horrors that the world went through during Valentine’s Dark War. Those already born as Shadowhunters are considered superior, and the mundanes (known as dregs) are separated into their own camps, forced to live in the basement filled with slime, unwelcome critters, and unusable bathrooms. However with the help of his roommate and friend George Lovelace, Simon throws himself into demon hunting and is determined to find himself again.

With stories involving other famous Shadowhunters and characters from previous books (note that the events of Lady Midnight succeed this specific tome), we follow Simon on his journey to Ascension, learn some life lessons, discover what is a true hero and what a good Shadowhunter ought to be.

This bind up of ten novellas previously released in e-book format include:

Welcome to the Shadowhunter Academy
The Lost Herondale
The Whitechapel Fiend
Nothing but Shadows
The Evil We Love
Pale Kings and Princes
Bitter of Tongue
The Fiery Trial
Born to Endless Night
Angels Twice Descending

If there is one thing in particular that I love about the Shadowhunter world in general, it’s the characters and how they are able to intertwine into every story and eventuality to make the world three-dimensional and rich with history. Simon is without a doubt one of the best from The Mortal Instruments and since he goes through a lot during the course of that series, it is no wonder Cassandra Clare decided to join forces with a couple of other authors to write short stories with him as the main focus. It makes sense in every way as he’s had experiences in the world that no one else can claim and it’s that influence that pushes the world into making important changes for everyone involved.

However what is equally fantastic about this collation of stories is that we are reacquainted with many other characters from the Shadowhunter world (Magnus, Alec, Clary, Jace, Isabelle…) and learn about what they’ve also been up to since the events of City of Heavenly Fire.

Since falling in love with this world, I can’t get enough of it and this collation was exactly what I needed to envelop me back into it, and regain my excitement for the upcoming/ future Shadowhunter releases.

Now all I feel like needing to do is re-read the latter half of The Mortal Instruments, The Bane Chronicles, and possibly Lady Midnight.

Have you read any of these novellas?
What did you think?