Infernal Devices



"Gently, the tide is rising,

corrupting the mechanism.

Salt, rust, and silt

slowing the gears.

Down at the banks"

- Thames River Song, Elka Cloke

"Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

When 16-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all." — back cover

The trilogy is written by Cassandra Clare as a prequel to her previous series, The Mortal Instruments. The first two books, Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince, have been released. This series has a character sheet, so please put all character-related tropes there.

Not to be confused with the third book of the Mortal Engines quartet.

"Jessamine, mocking Tessa: Oh, I must choose between Will and Jem! Whatever shall I do?"
 * Absent-Minded Professor: Henry - while not really being a professor in the first place. But he's a brilliant inventor who just happens to forget things.
 * Affectionate Nickname: Theresa Gray is called Tessa by most everyone, Tessie by her brother, and Tess by Will.
 * The Ageless: Vampires and werewolves stop aging after reaching maturity.
 * All Myths Are True
 * Arranged Marriage: Tess was going to be forced to marry the Magister before she was rescued.
 * Bilingual Bonus: "Ni hen piao liang." Not just Chinese but also French, Latin, I believe some Greek...there's really quite a number of them.
 * British Accents - Tessa's brother Nate, despite being from New York, has one of these. He uses "oughtn't" on several occasions. You know, like every American.
 * Consider the time period, though. It's not too hard to believe that the educated Gray siblings would use more refined word choice, regardless of nationality.
 * Call Back: Magnus tells Tessa he has a thing for people with blue eyes and black hair. Who has blue eyes and black hair? from Mortal Instruments! Though, since this is the prequel trilogy, it's really more of a call forward...
 * Also, Henry talking about inventing the Sensor.
 * Remember City of Fallen Angels when Jace sleeps in the Silent City and sees initials scratched onto the wall?
 * Chekhov's Gun: Will talking about  later on gives,
 * Chekhov's Gift: The
 * But we really don't know much about it
 * Also
 * Clockwork Creature: The automatons - humanoid clockwork creatures that answer to the Magister and
 * only very loosely "humanoid" and many times they are remotely humanoid they lack any facial features, up the creepy factor
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass:
 * Deadpan Snarker: Will... most notably. But also, Tessa, Jem and Jessamine.
 * Sophie should get a special mention.
 * Deceased Parents Are the Best: Tessa's and Jessamine's.
 * Definitely Just a Cold: Jem to Tessa.
 * Demon Slaying: The Shadowhunters' whole schtick.
 * Driven to Suicide: Subverted.
 * Epigraph: At the beginning of each chapter (usually hinting at what's about to happen)
 * Et Tu, Brute?:
 * Even the Guys Want Him: De Quincy and Magnus Bane both hint at this about Will
 * Of course this applies to Magnus Bane as well since De Quincy was interested in him, "as more than friends".
 * Tessa didn't know what Magnus was hinting at, but that was because such things were unheard of in such a time period... (or just not talked about)
 * Expy: Will, who is basically Jace with different coloring. It's worth noting that Jace is an expy of the original Draco in Leather Pants. Critics argue that the rest of the cast are Expies as well.
 * It's true. Jem is a straight Alec (or in the case of the love triangle, Simon). Jessamine is a pre-feminism Isabelle. And Tessa is Clary with an attitude.
 * YMMV. Once analyzed, the only thing Will and Jace share is their snarkiness.
 * Faking the Dead:
 * Falling Chandelier of Doom:
 * First Kiss: Will, for Tessa.
 * Five-Man Band: The Hero being Tessa in this case with Will as The Lancer, Jem as The Smart Guy, Thomas and Henry count as The Big Guy, and Charlotte is most definitely The Chick here.
 * Gaslamp Fantasy: Is most definitely this - Victorian London with magical elements.
 * Genre Savvy: Tessa.
 * Good Angel, Bad Angel: Played with having Jem and Will be Tessa's angels. It doesn't hurt that they're both part angel.
 * Guns Are Useless: so it's best to just bring your seraph blade with you.
 * Although a few times, guns did come in handy... they just aren't magic.
 * Hair of Gold: Jessamine. Jem is (probably) white-blond.
 * Jem was probably darkhaired before the start of the series, considering his heritage.
 * Confirmed in the second book.
 * Halfbreed: Technically anyone of note in this series. Shadowhunters are half-angel half-human, Warlocks are half-demon half-human, Faeries are half-angel half-demon, etc etc.
 * Happily Married: The Branwells, more or less.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Will and Jem.
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each book is titled "The Clockwork X".
 * If I Can't Have You:
 * The Infiltration: Having been given  information that de Quincey is the Magister, the Clave devises a plan to have Will and Tessa enter one of de Quincey's lavish parties   by having Tessa transform into Camille Belcourt. At the sign of de Quincey breaking the Law, Will is supposed to signal the Clave so that they can kick some vampire ass.
 * Jade-Colored Glasses: Arguably Will, as he alludes to a traumatic childhood quite often.
 * Subverted with
 * Jerkass: Will. He very occasionally strays into Jerk With a Heart of Gold territory, but he really isn't.
 * Gabriel Lightwood, and probably his older brother, who can make the former look sweeter than gingerbread.
 * Loads and Loads of Characters
 * Love Triangle: Will-->Tessa<--Jem.
 * Jessamine lampshades it in Clockwork Prince
 * Jessamine lampshades it in Clockwork Prince


 * Meaningful Name: Axel Mortmain makes mechanical devices.
 * Mundane Solution - Of the Ass Pull variety, when
 * Morality Pet: Jem and Tessa, for Will.
 * Muggles: or, "Mundanes"
 * Which, actually makes more sense here when you think about it. "Mundane" means not sacred, ordinary versus divine. But, in Mortal Instruments it takes a bad meaning, sounding boring and the Shadow Hunters use it with bad connotations -- here it's more friendly.
 * Odd Friendship: Will and Jem.
 * Only Child Syndrome: The only characters who aren't only children are Tessa, whose search for her brother Nate  kicks off the plot, the Dark Sisters, Gabriel, whose siblings aren't seen until at least the second book, and Will  . Aunt Harriet, who was Tessa and Nate's mother's sister, is dead. Everyone else's parents are either deceased or simply not there, leaving them only children.
 * Our Angels Are Different
 * Our Vampires Are Different
 * Parental Abandonment: Everyone suffers from this. And I mean everyone. Jem even mentions that everyone is an orphan.
 * The Reveal:  also,   BUT this is Mortal Instruments so expect some of this stuff to change as the series progresses.
 * The Woobie:  after we find out the
 * Ridiculously-Human Robots: The automatons - despite walking with a graceless gait, they can pass for normal humans well enough.
 * Running Gag: "There's no such thing as demon pox, Will!"
 * The Scapegoat:.
 * Scars Are Forever: Sophie, who has a long scar running down the side of her face that distorts her beauty.
 * Shape Shifter: Tessa! This starts off the whole story because of her ability to change into anyone, even possessing some of their memories and personality (she just has to touch one of their items to do it the first time)
 * In a way, different from Mortal Instruments
 * Soap Opera Disease: Jem's.
 * Stock Foreign Name: James and William.
 * Could be justified, considering how common those names were when the story is set.
 * Take Over the World: The Magister wants to do this, very much.
 * Token Trio: Will being the lead "white guy", Tessa being the lead "white girl", and Jem being the lead "ethnic guy".
 * Trailers Always Spoil: Wanna know if  good! Go here!
 * Luckily, it's not too much of a spoiler.
 * Trilogy Creep: The series can be considered one to the original Mortal Instruments series.
 * Two Guys and A Girl: Will, Jem, and Tessa.
 * The Verse: This is a prequel to Mortal Instruments that takes place in the same universe.
 * Victorian London
 * Who You Gonna Call?: Shadowhunters.
 * Victorian London
 * Who You Gonna Call?: Shadowhunters.