Some thoughts on the Red Scrolls of Magic and the Lost Book of the White

I was a massive fan of TSC back in the mid-2010s and am rereading the entire series for the first time in several years. I read these two books when they came out, but this is my first time rereading. Reading these quick 350-page adventures after the behemoth that was QOAAD was refreshing. Here are my thoughts on the Eldest Curses (side note: when is the Black Volume of the Dead coming out???)

(Spoilers for pretty much everything)

Red Scrolls:

- I'll preface my review with saying that I am not really a fan of Malec. I never have been, and I've grown more cynical of them on my recent TMI reread. However, a big part of my issue with Malec is that I feel that they are underdeveloped, and this book (and I suppose its sequel) do a lot to help remedy that. This is the first time that we have seen Magnus and Alec be a couple and not be dealing with some kind of relationship-ruining interpersonal problem, and it was really refreshing and definitely helped get me on board. This book doesn't really fit in with Malec's plotline in COFA at all, but if I ignore that, I enjoy them.

- The little cameos of Izzy and Jace were so delightful to me. I love the TMI gang and their sense of humor so much and have missed it dearly in the other series. There is a certain comedy in books featuring the TMI gang that other TSC books don't really have and it's a big part of the charm of these characters for me.

- I appreciate so much that Alec in his POV deals with some implicit bias against Downworlders and is actively trying to change that. His POV feels very distinct from other characters in general. More pragmatic and self-conscious and down-to-Earth.

- Tiny quibble: every minor character hitting on Alec 24/7 got old quickly. It was funny the first couple of times, but got to be ridiculous after a while. I get it, he's hot, you don't have to bash me over the head with it.

- I liked the inclusion of Helen and Aline and getting to see the beginning of their relationship a lot. I also liked that Aline was still the ridiculous person she was in COG, even if she is annoying. Their relationship sure moved quickly if they met during COFA and were openly dating two weeks later in COLS lol.

- Shinyun was a really interesting villain and I really sympathized with her. Her warlock mark making her an expert liar and manipulator was really clever and I like that Magnus relates to her too much to really hate her.

- We didn't really learn anything strictly new about Magnus in this book but it was really interesting to get more perspective from him on his childhood and his past relationships, etc. In my TMI reviews, I complained that Magnus was very underdeveloped and that it made it hard for me to connect with him as much as the main 5, and things like TBC and this really help to alleviate that complaint. Getting more interactions between him and other warlocks (Shinyun, Tessa, Ragnor, Catarina) and having him relate to them for various reasons has been really great.

- I enjoyed this a lot but it is kind of ridiculous to picture this having happened slightly before/during COFA, considering how much of a hot mess Malec is during that book. They're very fluffy, have a lot of conversations, and work very well together, which did bother me a bit. I prefer this version of them as a couple to their more toxic selves in TMI, but I think that the authors could have struck more of a middle ground here, where we see a sweeter side of their relationship now that there is more focus on them, but those insecurities and conflicts still come through. It just feels kind of fan-servicey (which of course it is).

Lost Book of the White (warning: negative):

- This book is kind of like if COHF was bad. We start in New York, the gang gets attacked, they go to another city, have a bunch of meetings (including with Jem), fight a few battles, Simon gets kidnapped, Magnus gets sick, they go to a hell dimension and face a Prince of Hell. But this time, the writing - especially the dialogue - is really bad and the plot feels a lot more rushed and nonsensical. The plot borrows from COHF but the book is structured the same way that TRSOM is structured, which is not a good match. A lot happens in this book that should have been a big deal, but it mostly gets brushed past, which I think is a shame.

- Shinyun was a fun antagonist in the last book, but she is ridiculous in this one. I get that she is under Sammael's control now, so that would influence her behavior, but that's more of an excuse for bad writing than an acutal justification of the character's actions. She's also pretty non-threatening (so long as Magnus isn't being an idiot), so I don't see why she didn't just die at the end of this book. She'll just be another character to juggle in the Black Volume of the Dead, if it ever comes out.

- I'm getting tired of Magnus being sick. This is the third time we've used this plotline, and though this is a little more complicated than "he's sick", it's getting repetitive. Also, I suppose it could be chalked up to the influence of the Sventhorn or whatever, but Magnus was STUPID this book. Shinyun tricked him into getting stabbed TWICE and the second time was so stupid as to be unforgivable.

- I thought that Asmodeus was pretty lame in COHF and Sammael was equally as lame. He kidnapped Simon to torture him for killing Lilith and all he did was chain him up and give him flesh wounds... extremely weaksauce torture. He should have been psychologically tortured instead. Also, no one is remotely afraid of Sammael! I know they've faced Azazel and Asmodeus and Lilith and whatever, but being this blasé about encountering a Prince of Hell IN HIS OWN REALM really takes the stakes out of this book. The authors leaned too hard on the goofy persona.

- Ragnor being under Sammael's control was much more interesting than Shinyun being under his control and probably should have been focused on more. It's much more engaging for a character's old friend to be turned on them than some guy that they've met a few times. I liked that we got to learn more about why he faked his death in the first place and flesh that plot point out.

- If you've seen my TMI reviews, you'll know that Simon is my ultimate favorite TSC character and that I really hate him becoming a Shadowhunter. This book did not make me feel any better about that. It was very strange in this book and in TDA to even picture him being one. I appreciate that the story engages with the idea that being a Shadowhunter isn't all he thought it would be and that we actually get to see him grieve George, since he didn't get to grieve Jordan in COHF and his reaction to George's death was glossed over in TFTSA and I very much appreciate that someone is traumatized by all of the shit these characters go through, but the execution of his grief feels overdramatic and underdeveloped. It either needed to be cut down or focused on more. There was very little resolution to anything, just an outburst and getting consoled by Izzy, and then all's good from then on out. I think the idea that realizing that part of what allowed him to be brave in TMI was that he was physically tougher as a vampire and, for a decent portion of the series, was literally invulnerable, is interesting, but I'm not sure that is really in line with his characterization back then? His relative invulnerability only really came up when it was relevant to plot points, the only one of which was technically his choice to get involved with was raising Raziel, and he was pretty damn convinced he was gonna die doing that, anyway. I'm not sure that he ever really thought of himself as invulnerable. I could imagine him developing this mindset re: his time as a vampire if he still couldn't remember it, but he should be able to remember now. This framing also feels like it presents him as a bit of a coward, which I also disagree with. He's a flawed character, but cowardice isn't one of his flaws. Like Magnus' inner monologue in this book says, I'm not sure that being a Shadowhunter is actually any better for him than being a vampire was, so my dissatisfaction with him being a Shadowhunter isn't at all tempered with "well, at least he got a happy ending".

- If I were a big fan of Malec, I think I'd find this book a little disappointing with regards to their relationship. This book tries to cover so much in so little time that there isn't really time for much Malec besides the occasional steamy scene (whereas TRSOM was more restrained and more focused on the relationship).

- The ending of this book is kind of insane and I think there's no way that they're going to be able to follow through on that in a satisfying way. Lucifer??? TSC hasn't had a great track record with big demons before (Lilith was pretty good and Azazel was fine for what it was but Asmodeus and Sammael were jokes) and I would assume that the Lucifer plot will be happening in Black Volume of the Dead which is in a spinoff series and it feels weird to face The Devil From the Bible in a spinoff series. Oh, well. Maybe it'll be epic?