Queen of Fantasy’s New Trilogy: Review of The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu

Bestselling fantasy writer Cassandra Clare is back with the first instalment of a new, highly anticipated series written with award-winning author Wesley Chu. The Red Scrolls of Magic (a Shadowhunters novel) follows Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood on a whirlwind journey across Europe.

If you need a recap on the fantasy world in which Cassandra Clare’s novels are set, you might like to read our review of the last book in The Dark Artifices series Queen of Air and Darkness or visit Cassandra Clare’s website. The wildly popular Shadowhunters has also been adapted for the small screen.

Magnus Bane (Warlock) and Alec Lightwood (Shadowhunter) are on a romantic vacation in Paris and while things start well – flamboyant Magnus has made elaborate plans for an unforgettable holiday – things soon go vastly off script.

Unexpectedly, Tessa arrives to warn good friend Magnus that someone has claimed he is the founder of a demon worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand. Magnus suspects that this is the result of a joke he was responsible for centuries ago but he’s vague on the details…

Is there a possibility that he can’t remember because someone has erased or changed his memories of this?  And what if Magnus really has done something terrible?

The holiday soon becomes a journey of a different kind when they realise that the only way to clear things up and stop the damage that the cult is causing – including human sacrifices to a Greater Demon – is to find the cult leader. They also need to locate The Red Scrolls of Magic …

Will they be able to overcome the demons now following their every move and who can they trust to help them on their quest?

It will be no surprise to Clare’s many fans that the book is full of non-stop action. With their detailed descriptions, Clare and Chu effectively immerse you in this elaborate fantasy world, transporting you to a wonderful, medieval Paris and Venice.

Like all great fantasy books,The Red Scrolls of Magic looks at the big issues, and is strewn with moral and ethical dilemmas: there is judgment around same sex relationships, acceptance of difference and diversity, along with power struggles, loyalty and more.

The relationship of Alec and Magnus becomes ground breaking and if you’re interested in learning more about Magnus, then this is the book for you.

The first in The Eldest Curses Trilogy for 14+ readers, it appears that once you have devoured a Cassandra Clare book, you’re hooked, so it’s good to know that another two will follow close behind!

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Cassandra Clare is the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of Lady Midnight, Lord of Shadows, and Queen of Air and Darkness, as well as the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and Infernal Devices trilogy. She is the coauthor of The Bane Chronicles with Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy with Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, and Robin Wasserman. Her books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages and made into a feature film and a TV show. Cassandra lives in western Massachusetts. Visit her at CassandraClare.com. Learn more about the world of the Shadowhunters at Shadowhunters.com.

Wesley Chu was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His debut novel, The Lives of Tao, earned him a Young Adult Library Services Association Alex Award and a Science Fiction Goodreads Choice Award Top 10 slot.