Ah, Ms. Clare. You are the death of my productivity and the consumer of my spare time! 🙂 When I saw that she was releasing an entire book compiling all those random Magnus Bane stories that’ve been trickling out to Amazon, how could I possibly say no? And, as soon as my eternity of reading monolithic Victorian novels concluded, how could I not immediately jump at the opportunity to devour such wonder? Well, obviously I couldn’t. On any count.
The Bane Chronicles, featuring none other than everyone’s famously sexy, powerful, and flamboyantly bisexual warlock is, amongst other things, probably one of the most entertaining books that you’ll pick up this year. Why? Because for those of you who, much like myself, have been eagerly paging your way through the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series with Cassandra Clare and her several shadow writers, what you really can’t bear the idea of is that these worlds of wonder would ever really end. And with the conclusion of both these series–even with the suggestion of additional Shadowhunter series being released–it’s hard to imagine saying good bye to this amazing world and having to start over again in a new one. Surely there can be no best friend as endearingly witty and annoying as Simon! Certainly no hot guy as oddly hot as Jayce! No cats as cleverly named as Chairman Meow (and, apparently, the Great Catsby)!
But as the series fan realm crosses our collective fingers that we won’t see the end of these beloved characters, there is hope. The Bane Chronicles presents another perspective of the stories and characters we’ve come to love and adore. We get more information about the complex politicking that rules the downworlders, more about what warlocks are actually supposed to do/be, more about Magnus himself and the events that shook the world (both human and magical) during his centuries of living, more about his ties (both nefarious and otherwise) with the characters that we know from the series. Interestingly, we even get a closer look at why Raphael is, well, Raphael. We see an insider perspective on Magnus’s relationship with Alec. We get a taste of what eternity really means for Magnus, and have the wonderful opportunity to roll around in his head for a little while. Delicious. 🙂
What you won’t get–if that’s really what you’re looking for–is explanation about the series itself. If that’s really what you’re hunting for, save this little cupcake for later and get thee to Wikipedia to investigate the answers to what you don’t understand. Better yet? Go reread the series again and figure out what you missed the first time.
But if what you really want is to flesh out these beloved characters a little better; if what you’re hoping for is a giggle or a hundred over witty comments and awkward moments, then this is a read you absolutely can’t miss.
The Alpha and the Omega: The Endless Ramblings of a YA Lit Lover 
I thought the Bane Chronicles read sort of like a fanfiction written by Cassandra Clare and her friends. I mean this positively, of course. My only wish was that there had been even more Malec. It will never be enough!
It really did! More Malec, more Simon, more Chairman Meow, all around! 😉