"The Lost Book of the White" by C. Clare and W. Chu

The Lost Book of the White (Sept. 1, 2020) by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu.

*This is the second novel in a trilogy.*

That favorite star-crossed couple is making it work. No, not Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. High Warlock Magnus Bane and his Shadowhunter boyfriend Alec Lightwood. Obviously. Things are going well. Their loft is fabulous, their adopted son, Max, is learning to walk (there are also spontaneous bouts of magic from the warlock child, but no biggie), and life is relatively calm. But then Ragnor Fell (Magnus thought him dead a few years back) and Shinyun Jung, fellow warlocks, break into the apartment. Magnus gets stabbed with the Svefnthorn by Shinyun. She and Ragnor have been serving Sammael, “ruler of Greater Demons, the greatest of the Princes of Hell.” They also steal the Book of the White. To track the book down and learn more about the magical stabbing weapon, which is causing Magnus’ warlock powers to become powerfully erratic, they’ll travel from New York to Shanghai to Diyu (the realm of the dead in Chinese mythology). Time to confront powerful warlocks and “a demon so bad it took an angel to kill him last time” and lots of other demons, not other Greater Demons, but nonetheless, still not a picnic to deal with. So. Don’t die. Don’t fall into the thrall of Sammael. As usual, another basic mission for Magnus, Alec and their family/friends.

            Magnus continues to be one of my favorite characters in Clare’s Shadowhunters world (my other favorite is Jem). I was not disappointed with this installment with its dangerous action and intensive reaction to those numerous dangerous situations. The relationship between Magnus and Alec is intensifying, leading me to think that this novel may lose some of its appeal with younger YA readers. The overall feeling of this story is more mature with its romance and parenthood scenes, but it’s also as witty and cheeky as other stories of Clare’s have been. I enjoyed the introduction of Shanghai, the Shanghai Institute and Chinese Shadowhunters. Especially including Diyu, this installment deepens the mythology, and the ending! Along with the relationship between Magnus and Alec, another star-crossed romance between a Shadowhunter and a Downworlder symbolically mirrors the fight forward for marriage equality. This story is like a highly dangerous vacation. Strive to avoid the Devourer of Worlds (that one is Sammael’s favorite reference of himself). And amongst vampire dim sum, faerie dim sum and werewolf dim sum, you want the werewolf dim sum.

            Book One of The Eldest Curses: The Red Scrolls of Magic