The Eldest Curses

About The Eldest Curses

The Eldest Curses hands the spotlight to Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood, the Shadowhunter Chronicles' most beloved couple, in adventures that sit alongside the main Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices timelines rather than inside them. The Red Scrolls of Magic opens with Magnus and Alec's first vacation together across Europe, derailed almost immediately by the reappearance of Magnus's old friend Ragnor Fell with news of a demon-worshipping cult -- and by Alec's discovery of just how much history, and how many old flames, four centuries give a warlock. The Lost Book of the White raises the stakes with a magical grimoire capable of undoing Shadowhunter and Downworlder law itself.

Co-written with science fiction author Wesley Chu, the series leans into banter, romance, and globe-trotting adventure more than the main Shadowhunter novels, giving Magnus's centuries of backstory room to breathe while deepening his relationship with Alec. It's written for readers who already know the couple from the main series and want more of them front and center, rather than as a starting point for newcomers.

How to read this series

Read The Red Scrolls of Magic and The Lost Book of the White in publication order after finishing (or at least starting) The Mortal Instruments -- both books assume familiarity with Magnus and Alec's established relationship and reference events and characters from the main series. A third book, The Black Volume of the Dead, has been announced but has no confirmed publication date; Cassandra Clare has said its story is tied to events in the still-unfinished Wicked Powers trilogy, so it will likely arrive after that series progresses further.