Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy
Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy is a series of short stories that follow fan favorite Simon Lewis during his time at Shadowhunter Academy. Unlike typical short story collections, there is an actual through-line here as Simon learns about his own past, and Shadowhunter history. Simon is not like the other “mundanes” at the school and has little memories of his past. Most mundanes are treated as “less than”, but because of Simon’s exploits in The Mortal Instruments, the other students do look up to him.
Therefore, it is important to at least have read The Mortal Instruments series as there is a lot of world-building and context you need to know to truly appreciate these stories. As for the other students at the school, some start out opposed to Simon and come to respect him. Others, like George, befriend him from the beginning. Unfortunately, not all of Simon’s friends will survive becoming Shadowhunters.
The stories in this book provide great context for both main and side characters in the Shadowhunter world. While not a “must read”, I do think it will be enjoyed by any Shadowhunter fan.
Here are some additional reviews for each specific shorty story:
Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy - This first story sets the tone for the rest of the book. Instead of a short story, it actually feels like the first chapter for a larger books, which is sort of what this book is - a series of chapters with other stories inserted in. This story is important though as it sets up Simon’s entrance into the Academy, the other students at the Academy, the social dynamics between the students from mundane families and Shadowhunter families, and Simon’s relationship with Isabelle. Since this does not feel like a typical short story it is hard to judge it as such, but like I said it’s a great first chapter that sets up the rest of these tales.
The Lost Herondale - Our first story within a story. Warlock Catarina Loss comes to Shadowhunter Academy, and tells Simon the tale of The Lost Herondale. I have to be honest, when I first started reading this book, I wasn’t sure what the point of this first story was, other than a fun tale about some Shadowhunter history. Having read the whole book now though, I can look back and see that this was Simon’s first cautionary tale. Because Simon is missing a lot of his memories, and he doesn’t know that much about the Shadowhunter world, the story that Catarina tells him is important. There is a constant theme throughout all of the Shadowhunter novels about how hard Shadowhunter law is, and how maybe the new generation can help change that.
The Whitechapel Fiend - This story within a story features Tessa, which was really fun to see. Here, you not only have to have read The Mortal Instruments, but The Infernal Devices as well to know who Tessa is and her history. A person could probably google the basics to understand the context of this story… but what fun is that! This story takes a look back at a famous “person” in London history - Jack the Ripper. Without giving anything away, this story is a fun take on actual real world history, with a Shadowhunter spin.
Nothing but Shadows - This is probably my favorite section of the entire book, and features James Herondale, the son of Tessa and Will. Again, without reading The Infernal Devices the dynamics of their relationship may be lost of readers. This story tells of James’ experiences at Shadowhunter Academy, and shows how the assumptions we make about others are often wrong. The fact is, you never really know what is going on in someone else’s life that they don’t show you. I feel like this story, compared to the others, had the biggest impact on helping Simon understand both his fellow students, and himself.
The Evil We Love - When Robert Lightwood comes to lecture at Shadowhunter Academy, he shares a lot of insight into his own past, and Valentine’s rise to power. While it was interesting to hear about Robert’s younger years and experiences within “The Circle”, I don’t feel like the message was that clear here. He claims that he went along with Valentine and the group because it was the easy thing to do… implying that that was why he married his wife, but I do feel that that was a bit of a cop out. This suggests that he never really loved his wife, but I don’t see how that can be true. To me, it would make more sense that he fell out of love with her, because sometimes that’s just what happens. Again, there is another lesson that Simon is supposed to learn here, to help make him the best Shadowhunter he can be.
Pale Kings and Princes - While all the past stories have had hidden messages and meanings, this one is very heavy handed. There are no questions here that the main point of this story is not judging an entire group of people based on the actions of a few. Fairy and Shadowhunter relations have always been strained, so hearing about Helen and Mark Blackthorn’s half-fairy upbringing was really sad. There is a very complicated history here, that you can obviously draw real world parallels to. Again, I believe that the point of this was to show that some people’s anger is unfounded, but it doesn’t change the fact that some faeries did, and probably still would, kill Shadowhunters so I don’t think that the lesson is as simple as they try and make it out to be.
Bitter of Tongue - In this chapter, Simon accidentally finds himself in the land of Fairie, and face-to-face with Mark Blackthorn, who still believes that someone in the Shadowhunter community is coming to rescue him. Obviously, it’s super sad that the Shadowhunters left one of their own to be basically captured and tortured by other fairies. Again, there is not much subtlety in the message here, showing that what happened to Mark is wrong, and that once Simon becomes a Shadowhunter, maybe he will have a chance to change the way that things are done.
The Fiery Trial - This was probably my least favorite part of this book. Simon is called to the Dean’s office where he and Clary are basically drugged into a crazy hallucination fueled adventure where those are him are trying to force Simon to recall things from his past that he’s forgotten. I believe that the point of this was to help Simon (and Clary) see that they should be parabati, but I feel like there should have been a better way to do this than drugging two young people against their will.
Born to Endless Night - Another one of my favorite chapters in this book because it features everyone’s favorite couple… Magnus and Alec a.k.a. Malec. Throughout reading the other Shadowhunter novels we know that Magnus and Alec wind up with children, but it was never really explained how, until now. When a blue skinned baby is left on the steps of Shadowhunter Academy, Simon immediately goes to Magnus for help. Alec’s family and friends instantly fall in love and accept the child as one of their own, leaving Magnus with nothing to do but accept the little one into his life. Once again, I never get tired of seeing these two men together. It is total cuteness overload, and I am here for it!
Angels Twice Descending - The ending to this tale is very bittersweet. All throughout the book, and throughout these stories, Simon has been trying to reconcile the Simon he was before, and the Simon he is now. This will all get put to the test when Simon officially does the ascension ceremony to become a “real” Shadowhunter. What happens at the end is both satisfying, and sad. They always make a big deal about this ceremony in other books, but it never seems to go wrong until here, which was a little shocking. While most books end on a high note, this one ends on kind of a bummer, even though there are good things that happen, and it sets up hope for the future.
