Review: The Red Scrolls of Magic

The Red Scrolls of Magic
by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: April 9, 2019

Set between the events of CITY OF GLASS and CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS, THE RED SCROLLS OF MAGIC follows the warlock Magnus Bane and his Shadowhunter boyfriend Alec Lightwood through their trip across Europe. Finally together despite the odds, all Magnus wants is to treat Alec to the vacation he deserves. But when rumors begin to circulate that Magnus founded the demon-worshipping cult the Crimson Hand, Magnus and Alec must leave their vacation behind to track down the cult before they can cause any damage. As demons follow their every step and deadly secrets are revealed, both Magnus and Alec must find a way to dismantle the cult before they destroy the world—and their relationship—for good.

I can’t think of a single thing that I did not like about this book. Starting with the obvious, this book was a welcome return to one of The Mortal Instruments’ power couples, Magnus and Alec. After the original series ended, many readers assumed that CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE would be the last we saw of the two of them together, but this book proves that wrong. Giving each of the boys their own point of view, the authors make sure to not only continue with what the original story has created, but to also reestablish their relationship and character traits in a way that doesn’t jolt readers who haven’t picked up the series for a while. One of the main ways the authors did this was by providing enough details to keep readers unconfused while recharacterizing both Magnus and Alec through various quirks in their internal dialogue, and by having them do/say certain things. I really appreciated this as I myself haven’t read any of the The Mortal Instruments books in a while and was afraid that I would be confused. But through the authors’ recharacterization and description, they avoided any confusion that a reader could possibly have.

THE RED SCROLLS OF MAGIC also marked the return of one of my favorite things about Clare’s writing: her plot. Paced not too fast and not too slow, I loved how Clare and Chu included just the right amount of fun and seriousness to make this book shine. What I mean by this is that books often contain a multitude of jokes to keep with the lightheadedness of some of their characters. But what often happens with this is the author can get too heavy-handed with the jokes and the book can lose its seriousness. I’ve seen this happen many times, and yet never has this happened in any of Clare’s work. Though she does have a lovable cast of always joking characters, the most obvious in this book being Magnus Bane, she still masterfully creates an atmosphere of tense joking throughout the book. Readers will be impressed with how she manages to maintain this through her serious plot to keep readers both invested in the action and mystery of the book, but not bored from lack of fun.

Overall, THE RED SCROLLS OF MAGIC is a book that no Shadowhunter Chronicles fan should miss out on. THE RED SCROLLS OF MAGIC will keep fans both old and new entertained for hours on end.