Bane Chronicles by Cassanda Clare

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This is a collection of novellas all centering around Magnus Bane from the Shadow Hunter Chronicles. Cassandra Clare co-wrote these stories with Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan. There are 11 stories. And since I listened to it audio book I thought I would tell you about my experience.

What Really Happened in Peru

This was a fun story. In The Mortal Instruments, Magnus alludes to something happening in Peru that gets him banned from the country. This story covers the many different trips Magnus has taken over his lifetime. It’s narrated by Jesse Williams (From Grey’s Anatomy) and was a delight to listen to. 5/5 Stars

The Runaway Queen

This short story was narrated by George Blagden. It was easy to listen to and a pretty funny little story. It’s all about how Magnus tries to rescue Marie Antoinette. 5/5 Stars

Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale

Narrated by Andrew Scott, (Sherlock) this short story is about Magnus and how he met Camille. They go to some meetings between Shadow Hunters and Downworlders at the London Institute. What made this story fun to read was that the characters are all from the generation before Will and Tessa’s so we meet and befriend Edmund Herondale. This sets up Magnus’ later reactions to Will in The Infernal Devices. 5/5 Stars

The Midnight Heir

In The Midnight Heir Magnus comes across old friends and meets Will and Tessa’s son James Herondale. This particular story, narrated by David OyeLowo, wasn’t my favorite. It wasn’t bad. I just hated that James fell into basically the same trap as his father. He wasn’t tricked by a demon but when he decides he won’t ever be with the girl of his dreams he turns into a jackass. And I’m just over that. But it was funny. 4. 5 /5 Stars

The Rise Of The Hotel Dumort

Narrated by Stephen Lunsford, this story takes place in the roaring twenties. We’re told the story of how a roomful of people wake up one morning after staying out all night drinking, only to find they are vampires. The story was alright, but I wasn’t like enthralled. The narration was pretty nice. Very nicable. 4/5 Stars

Saving Raphael Santiago

I really loved this story. One, it was narrated by Michael Trevino (Vampire Diaries) so it was fun to hear his voice. But also I always knew that Magnus and Raphael had known each other more than as acquaintances at some point in their pasts. So it was cool to finally hear the story of their friendship. 5/5 Stars

The Fall of the Hotel Dumort

I wasn’t a big fan of the narration of this story. It was done by Cecil Baldwin. But the story was pretty cool. It takes place in the 70’s during the drug craze and tells the story of how the vampires got addicted to drinking the blood of humans who were taking drugs in order to gain their own high. The vampires are rebuffed of course and lose credibility. Very enjoyable. 4.5/ 5 Stars

What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything.

I’m a big Malec shipper so I loved this story. Its all about Magnus wanting to buy Alec a birthday gift. Their relationship is just on the cusp of blossoming so it was quite cute to see their love being unveiled. The narration was done by Jordan Gavaris (Orphan Black) and was absolutely wonderful to listen to. This short story gave me all the feels. 5/5 Stars

The Last Stand of the New York Institute

Magnus crosses The Circle in this short story. It’s narrated by Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Gallactia) and was enjoyable enough. The first part of this story wasn’t what I would have picked in order to get a snapshot of Magnus’ life but I can see where people would want to know what his thoughts on The Circle were and if he’d ever actually met them.  I was giddy at seeing Tessa again and how she met Jocelyn. The Last Stand was very informative and overall worth the read. 4.5/5 Stars

The Course Of True Love

This is the story of Magnus and Alec’s first date. It was basically there for the feels. It was sweet, funny, and heartwarming. The narration was done by Gareth David-Lloyd and was pretty easy to listen to. I enjoyed the story and thought it was worth the listen. 5/5 Stars.

The Voicemail of Magnus Bane

This was my least favorite story. Part of this was because I was listening to Molly C. Quinn and Seth Numrich narrate the difference voices appearing on Magnus’ machine. But also it was just a bunch of against and teenage drama. I was rolling my eyes the whole time I was listening and ended up just stopping the audio book early. No thank you! 3/5 Stars

Overall

Most of the stories were 4.5 or 5 stars so I gave it 4.5 and rounded up on Goodreads. If you’re looking for a fun audio book and you’re a Shadow Hunter fan then I highly recommend this collection of novellas. All the different narrators really break up the stories so that they don’t start running together and make you loose conciousness. Plus many of these narrators were celebrities which is pretty cool!

 

Do you guys listen to audio books? Do you like collections of novellas. Let me know in the comments down below. I hope you are having a marvelous Monday! TTFN.