Usually for me, the first thing that comes in a story is the characters, and then the story weaves itself around them. With Sword Catcher, for the first time the people and the place came at the same time, in a sort of burst of images and color…from the beginning of my working on it, Sword Catcher has been a story about adults rather than about teenagers, so it was always going to be an adult fantasy.
The big difference to me is that in YA, your characters are working on problems of identity: What kind of person am I? What are my values? What does it mean to love someone new? But the characters in Sword Catcher are in their early twenties, and they’re facing a different question: What does it mean to take on the responsibilities of adulthood?
― Cassandra Clare, Interview, Paste Magazine
What booksellers are saying about Sword Catcher
- Get ready to be pulled headfirst into a beautiful, rich world full of life, magic, and history. In Sword Catcher, concepts of identity and loyalty take on new life with characters who are viciously human. (Not to mention, there’s a very healthy dose of spice.) You’ll fall in love with Cassandra Clare all over again.
― Tori Finklea, Union Ave Books in Knoxville, TN | Buy from Union Ave Books
- I thoroughly enjoyed Clare’s foray into the adult book world. Sword Catcher is a fantasy of rich city-states, magic inspired by Jewish mysticism, and characters who find themselves in tangled webs of secrets and loyalty. I was absolutely TICKLED by Lin and Conor’s banter, and appreciated how much character depth Clare gave to Kel. The ending about did me in so I cannot wait for The Ragpicker King.
― Candice Conner from The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, AL | Buy from The Haunted Book Shop
- I’m utterly obsessed with this book, but, who is surprised! I grew up reading Cassandra Clare, and now here I am as an adult, getting to read her adult debut, a masterwork of world building and beautiful respect for her own history woven through the pages. The queernormativity makes it even more beautiful, setting the stage for every reader to feel comfortable and at home as they dive into a world that promises adventure, love, and lore that begs you to get lost in it. Sword Catcher is brilliant- the next unstoppable force of nature in the world of adult fantasy.
― Caitlyn Vanorder from Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC | Buy from Bookmarks
About Cassandra Clare
Cassandra Clare is the author of the #1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Shadowhunter Chronicles. She is also the coauthor of the bestselling fantasy series Magisterium with Holly Black. The Shadowhunter Chronicles have been adapted as both a major motion picture and a television series. Her books have more than fifty million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Cassandra lives in western Massachusetts with her husband and three fearsome cats.
