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The Bane Chronicles #2
The Runaway Queen
Magnus Bane has a royal role in the French Revolution—if the angry mobs don’t spoil his spells. One of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles.
While in France, immortal warlock Magnus Bane finds himself attempting to rescue the royal family from the horrors of the French Revolution—after being roped into this mess by a most attractive count. Naturally, the daring escape calls for invisible air balloons…
This standalone e-only short story illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality populates the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series. This story in The Bane Chronicles, The Runaway Queen, is written by Maureen Johnson and Cassandra Clare.
While in France, immortal warlock Magnus Bane finds himself attempting to rescue the royal family from the horrors of the French Revolution—after being roped into this mess by a most attractive count. Naturally, the daring escape calls for invisible air balloons…
This standalone e-only short story illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality populates the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series. This story in The Bane Chronicles, The Runaway Queen, is written by Maureen Johnson and Cassandra Clare.
59 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Cassandra Clare
195 books273k followersCassandra Clare was born to American parents in Tehran, Iran and spent much of her childhood travelling the world with her family, including one trek through the Himalayas as a toddler where she spent a month living in her father’s backpack. She lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old.
Since her family moved around so much she found familiarity in books and went everywhere with a book under her arm. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles where she used to write stories to amuse her classmates, including an epic novel called “The Beautiful Cassandra” based on a Jane Austen short story of the same name (and which later inspired her current pen name).
After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan, her favourite city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never to have to write about Paris Hilton again.
Cassie’s first professional writing sale was a short story called “The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord” in a Baen anthology of humor fantasy. Cassie hates working at home alone because she always gets distracted by reality TV shows and the antics of her cats, so she usually sets out to write in local coffee shops and restaurants. She likes to work in the company of her friends, who see that she sticks to her deadlines.
City of Bones was her first novel. Sword Catcher is her most recent novel.
Since her family moved around so much she found familiarity in books and went everywhere with a book under her arm. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles where she used to write stories to amuse her classmates, including an epic novel called “The Beautiful Cassandra” based on a Jane Austen short story of the same name (and which later inspired her current pen name).
After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan, her favourite city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never to have to write about Paris Hilton again.
Cassie’s first professional writing sale was a short story called “The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord” in a Baen anthology of humor fantasy. Cassie hates working at home alone because she always gets distracted by reality TV shows and the antics of her cats, so she usually sets out to write in local coffee shops and restaurants. She likes to work in the company of her friends, who see that she sticks to her deadlines.
City of Bones was her first novel. Sword Catcher is her most recent novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,078 reviews
November 3, 2018
Ragnor was the best part of this book.
“I'll need you to get a leash for my monkey, Claude, and also a hat."
"Of course, monsieur"
"Do you think he needs a little coat as well?"
"Perhaps not in this weather, monsieur."
"You are right," Magnus said with a sight. "Make it a simple dressing gown, just like mine."
"Which one, monsieur?"
"The one in rose and silver."
"Excellent choice, monsieur.”
“I'll need you to get a leash for my monkey, Claude, and also a hat."
"Of course, monsieur"
"Do you think he needs a little coat as well?"
"Perhaps not in this weather, monsieur."
"You are right," Magnus said with a sight. "Make it a simple dressing gown, just like mine."
"Which one, monsieur?"
"The one in rose and silver."
"Excellent choice, monsieur.”
August 27, 2015
I love Cassandra Clare! Her world and characters earned a place in my heart.
The first story in this short-story series What Really Happened in Peru was very enjoyable and fun but nothing too special. I enjoyed it but I wanted to see more.
My main problem with the first story was that it was actually four short stories set around Peru. But this second story was one story with a beginning, a middle and an end.
It was hilarious, enjoyable and fun! While I was reading it I forgot about my problems and the real world and I got lost into Paris, Versailles and the French Revolution. Hanging out with the crazy Magnus Bane, Marie Antoinette and Axel Von Fersen was so much fun! I always travel into Clare's world! The setting of this story was so much more interesting than in the first one!
And again Cassandra Clare managed to put a few sweet heartwarming moments into the crazy adventures of Magnus and his friends that is also something I love about her!
Getting to know more about Magnus Bane was something I always wanted! You can never get enough of Magnus! If you loved the first story you will be amazed but this second one. And if you don't, I believe that you will love this!
I don't really get why people say that Clare is overdoing it with the Shadowhunters world! Since her stories are so different and the only similarity in them is that they're set in the same world, I don't really get it. It is like saying that you are bored of stories set in the real world, in our world. Not all Realistic Fiction stories are the same! This is the case with Clare's book for me as well! And as long as they continue to be so good I will keep reading them!
I cannot really wait for the third short story in the Bane Chronicles!
The first story in this short-story series What Really Happened in Peru was very enjoyable and fun but nothing too special. I enjoyed it but I wanted to see more.
My main problem with the first story was that it was actually four short stories set around Peru. But this second story was one story with a beginning, a middle and an end.
It was hilarious, enjoyable and fun! While I was reading it I forgot about my problems and the real world and I got lost into Paris, Versailles and the French Revolution. Hanging out with the crazy Magnus Bane, Marie Antoinette and Axel Von Fersen was so much fun! I always travel into Clare's world! The setting of this story was so much more interesting than in the first one!
And again Cassandra Clare managed to put a few sweet heartwarming moments into the crazy adventures of Magnus and his friends that is also something I love about her!
Getting to know more about Magnus Bane was something I always wanted! You can never get enough of Magnus! If you loved the first story you will be amazed but this second one. And if you don't, I believe that you will love this!
I don't really get why people say that Clare is overdoing it with the Shadowhunters world! Since her stories are so different and the only similarity in them is that they're set in the same world, I don't really get it. It is like saying that you are bored of stories set in the real world, in our world. Not all Realistic Fiction stories are the same! This is the case with Clare's book for me as well! And as long as they continue to be so good I will keep reading them!
I cannot really wait for the third short story in the Bane Chronicles!
October 21, 2020
2.5/5
It was definitely better than the first installment and hilarious even(the monkey incident is my favourite 😂) but still boring and flat, with undeveloped characters and weirdly assembled plot.
It was definitely better than the first installment and hilarious even(the monkey incident is my favourite 😂) but still boring and flat, with undeveloped characters and weirdly assembled plot.
November 10, 2021
Reread. Not as enthralling as some of the other stories, but it was okay. I do always enjoy reading about Paris in any age of time. The annoying vampires and botched plot were downers.
April 5, 2016
3.5 stars!
"If one could look this fabulous, one had an obligation to. One should wear everything, or one should wear nothing at all."
I adore Magnus :) This short story takes place in Paris, June of 1791, during the French Revolution. Magnus is approached by a man named Axel von Fersen with a plea for Magnus to help save the king and queen, to help them escape Paris.
"It was also a very bad idea.
It was a terrible idea.
It was the worst idea he had ever heard.
It was irresistible."
I liked this one better than What Really Happened In Peru, as this one had an actual plot to it. Though I expected a bit more from Queen Marie Antoinette's portrayal. There was also a bit of a disagreement with Marcel Saint Cloud, head of the most powerful vampire clan in Paris. An interesting look into more of the past of Magnus.
"If one could look this fabulous, one had an obligation to. One should wear everything, or one should wear nothing at all."
I adore Magnus :) This short story takes place in Paris, June of 1791, during the French Revolution. Magnus is approached by a man named Axel von Fersen with a plea for Magnus to help save the king and queen, to help them escape Paris.
"It was also a very bad idea.
It was a terrible idea.
It was the worst idea he had ever heard.
It was irresistible."
I liked this one better than What Really Happened In Peru, as this one had an actual plot to it. Though I expected a bit more from Queen Marie Antoinette's portrayal. There was also a bit of a disagreement with Marcel Saint Cloud, head of the most powerful vampire clan in Paris. An interesting look into more of the past of Magnus.
March 31, 2016
3,5 STARS!!!
It was also a very bad idea.
It was terrible idea.
It was the worst idea he had ever heard.
It was irresistible.
It was also a very bad idea.
It was terrible idea.
It was the worst idea he had ever heard.
It was irresistible.
October 11, 2018
“A count! Named Axel! A military man! With black hair and blue eyes! And in a state of distress! Oh, the universe had outdone herself.”
This short story follows Magnus in Paris during the French Revolution in 1791. And apparently Paris is the place to be if you’re a vampire (which I highkey love, actually). Magnus attends a party with Henri de Polignac, then meets Axel von Fersen and accepts a difficult mission to smuggle Marie Antoinette and her family out of the city, before the desperate people take matters into their own hands. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and Magnus somehow acquires a pet monkey that he names Ragnor, but it was still a really enjoyable story and adventure.
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(I read this in The Bane Chronicles!) ✨
May 26, 2013
Spoilers
Boring. Though I do have to say that it wasn't quite as dire as What Really Happened in Peru, which was just a mish-mash of random scenes in Peru. At least The Runaway Queen had some sort of a cohesive plot.
Unfortunately, the story was dull and unimaginative… Magnus is in Paris, and wants to ride a hot air balloon, the weather's rubbish so he can't. Some guy called Axel wants Magnus to help him save Marie Antoinette… Because Magnus is randy and easily falls for good looking guys, he says yes to Axel in the hopes that he'll drop his knickers for him. Also, some french vampires act cheesy and cliched, and Magnus is wary of them because they're really scary or some shit. Then he finally gets to ride in his hot air balloon in adaring boring escape. The end.
Oh and Magnus somehow gets a monkey. I was more interested in how Magnus ended up with said monkey than I was with his troubles with the French vampires and royalty. Sadly, his monkey adoption adventure of sorts was glossed over.
Magnus had very little personality, his voice was supremely dull, his adventures should have been somewhat exciting but his POV made everything sound so blah.
I'm beginning to think that Magnus only wants Alec for his looks — he's obsessed with blue eyed, black haired guys. I think if Alec was blond and brown eyed, Magnus wouldn't be all that attracted to him.
I really do hate Magnus, I used to like him… But his angsty-boring-teenage-emo personality annoys me. And I hate how he gets lusty and passionate about every person he meets — but he's never acted so hot and bothered around Alec, yet he's meant to be in love with him. Ugh.
My one wish for The Mortal Instruments series is that Alec falls out of love with Magnus, and then dates around, and eventually meets and falls for some sexy shadowhunter guy. That'll show the-I-fall for-everyone-I-meet-slut Magnus.
Boring. Though I do have to say that it wasn't quite as dire as What Really Happened in Peru, which was just a mish-mash of random scenes in Peru. At least The Runaway Queen had some sort of a cohesive plot.
Unfortunately, the story was dull and unimaginative… Magnus is in Paris, and wants to ride a hot air balloon, the weather's rubbish so he can't. Some guy called Axel wants Magnus to help him save Marie Antoinette… Because Magnus is randy and easily falls for good looking guys, he says yes to Axel in the hopes that he'll drop his knickers for him. Also, some french vampires act cheesy and cliched, and Magnus is wary of them because they're really scary or some shit. Then he finally gets to ride in his hot air balloon in a
Oh and Magnus somehow gets a monkey. I was more interested in how Magnus ended up with said monkey than I was with his troubles with the French vampires and royalty. Sadly, his monkey adoption adventure of sorts was glossed over.
Magnus had very little personality, his voice was supremely dull, his adventures should have been somewhat exciting but his POV made everything sound so blah.
I'm beginning to think that Magnus only wants Alec for his looks — he's obsessed with blue eyed, black haired guys. I think if Alec was blond and brown eyed, Magnus wouldn't be all that attracted to him.
I really do hate Magnus, I used to like him… But his angsty-boring-teenage-emo personality annoys me. And I hate how he gets lusty and passionate about every person he meets — but he's never acted so hot and bothered around Alec, yet he's meant to be in love with him. Ugh.
My one wish for The Mortal Instruments series is that Alec falls out of love with Magnus, and then dates around, and eventually meets and falls for some sexy shadowhunter guy. That'll show the-I-fall for-everyone-I-meet-slut Magnus.
April 22, 2015
3 hotair balloon stars
Narrated by Cecil Baldwin, Jamie Bamber, George Blagden, Gareth David-Lloyd, Jordan Gavaris, Stephen Lunsford, David Oyelowo, Andrew Scott, Michael Trevino, Jesse Williams
Two of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles.
Paris, city of love and fashion, everything Magnus loves, while he gets to play and work, he also finds himself on a daring adventure to save the Royal Family all because a pretty face told him so. But his presence has caused a stir with the Vampires of Paris and he finds himself needing to pay respect to the Vampire Clan as well as the the Royal Family all in one night. This wouldn't be Magnus' story if there wasn't a bit of monkey business involved.
I think by now I am starting to get the hang of these little novellas, they are not meant to give you the beginning, middle and end, just the story as it is at that time. The narrators again did a brilliant job with telling the story, making me laugh and wishing Magnus was real.
Narrated by Cecil Baldwin, Jamie Bamber, George Blagden, Gareth David-Lloyd, Jordan Gavaris, Stephen Lunsford, David Oyelowo, Andrew Scott, Michael Trevino, Jesse Williams
Two of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles.
Paris, city of love and fashion, everything Magnus loves, while he gets to play and work, he also finds himself on a daring adventure to save the Royal Family all because a pretty face told him so. But his presence has caused a stir with the Vampires of Paris and he finds himself needing to pay respect to the Vampire Clan as well as the the Royal Family all in one night. This wouldn't be Magnus' story if there wasn't a bit of monkey business involved.
I think by now I am starting to get the hang of these little novellas, they are not meant to give you the beginning, middle and end, just the story as it is at that time. The narrators again did a brilliant job with telling the story, making me laugh and wishing Magnus was real.
August 9, 2015
A friend of mine wrote: shit like this usually happens in some badly written fanfics. Plus all self-respecting fanfic writers won't make such a mistake anyway.
As easy as it is to show what is wrong with this book, as easy would it be to do better for everybody reading this book with just a little effort and an honest editor. But apparently these authors had neither.
How can you do so much wrong in so little time? And I personally think this book was only better (not good!) than the 1st not because of the writers but rather because it was shorter and only dealt with one story; fewer chances to mess up, but they used them to full advantage.
If you follow these five steps you may enjoy this book:
1. Completely eradicate any sort of disbelief.
2. Throw logic out of the window
3. Have no knowledge of normal human behavior.
4. Do not know any other of Clare's books and if you do erase their content from your memory.
5. Do not know history.
Even if you say that the historical events are correctly referred to (which they are clearly not or at least it is very weird to just gloss them over) there is still the problem of their cliché usage and the characters, first among them Magnus himself. Instead of the backstabbing arrogant asshole of the first book, here he was a fashion-obsessed, cock-crazy diva who cared about nothing but himself and was so dumb that Bella Swan from the Twilight looks like a genius next to him. Well either that or he cares so little for other people even when they are part of a job that he cannot think of the most efficient ways to use his magic. In that case he is just plain selfish.
And the story itself was not only cliché it was all so jumbled together that it was hard to say whether something was historically inaccurate or one of the many plotholes. And there were many, so incredibly many, the whole book had so many clichés, inaccuracies and plotholes it was unbelievable.
And before anybody says "it's just fiction", think of this:
On average when you insert actual historical events into your story people will automatically consider this to be the grain of truth, that is a fact. So as an author you have the responsibility to make sure that what you use is as accurate as possible to the best of your abilities and I think this is not what the author's did. If it were, it would not have been so easy for me to spot all the errors.
The start was already so horrible and my trust in the authors' writing abilities was so low I found myself asking questions about nearly every second sentence and that only after the first 4 pages. And these pages were small, quite small.
And I just don't understand what they are doing. They already messed up the character in "What happened in Peru" and it is no better here. And why are they doing this? This is not fair to the fans whom they make hate this version of Magnus. I never really liked Magnus because of his major character flaws but I readily admit that he wasn't this asshole in Clare's other series. As bad as he was he came not even close to this.
Ok, I said my opinion about this book without spoiling anything, so here is the spoiler section which for convenience I structured into several points. This is not all there was, just the most obvious:
This is only a severely shortened version of this spoiler section and review but I think it should be sufficient. If you are interested in the full review you would have to visit my deviantart journal: http://fav.me/d66nljk
As easy as it is to show what is wrong with this book, as easy would it be to do better for everybody reading this book with just a little effort and an honest editor. But apparently these authors had neither.
How can you do so much wrong in so little time? And I personally think this book was only better (not good!) than the 1st not because of the writers but rather because it was shorter and only dealt with one story; fewer chances to mess up, but they used them to full advantage.
If you follow these five steps you may enjoy this book:
1. Completely eradicate any sort of disbelief.
2. Throw logic out of the window
3. Have no knowledge of normal human behavior.
4. Do not know any other of Clare's books and if you do erase their content from your memory.
5. Do not know history.
Even if you say that the historical events are correctly referred to (which they are clearly not or at least it is very weird to just gloss them over) there is still the problem of their cliché usage and the characters, first among them Magnus himself. Instead of the backstabbing arrogant asshole of the first book, here he was a fashion-obsessed, cock-crazy diva who cared about nothing but himself and was so dumb that Bella Swan from the Twilight looks like a genius next to him. Well either that or he cares so little for other people even when they are part of a job that he cannot think of the most efficient ways to use his magic. In that case he is just plain selfish.
And the story itself was not only cliché it was all so jumbled together that it was hard to say whether something was historically inaccurate or one of the many plotholes. And there were many, so incredibly many, the whole book had so many clichés, inaccuracies and plotholes it was unbelievable.
And before anybody says "it's just fiction", think of this:
On average when you insert actual historical events into your story people will automatically consider this to be the grain of truth, that is a fact. So as an author you have the responsibility to make sure that what you use is as accurate as possible to the best of your abilities and I think this is not what the author's did. If it were, it would not have been so easy for me to spot all the errors.
The start was already so horrible and my trust in the authors' writing abilities was so low I found myself asking questions about nearly every second sentence and that only after the first 4 pages. And these pages were small, quite small.
And I just don't understand what they are doing. They already messed up the character in "What happened in Peru" and it is no better here. And why are they doing this? This is not fair to the fans whom they make hate this version of Magnus. I never really liked Magnus because of his major character flaws but I readily admit that he wasn't this asshole in Clare's other series. As bad as he was he came not even close to this.
Ok, I said my opinion about this book without spoiling anything, so here is the spoiler section which for convenience I structured into several points. This is not all there was, just the most obvious:
This is only a severely shortened version of this spoiler section and review but I think it should be sufficient. If you are interested in the full review you would have to visit my deviantart journal: http://fav.me/d66nljk
August 28, 2018
Better than the first one, but still ridiculous and unrealistic
May 17, 2019
3.5*
*******
1.) What Really Happened in Peru ★★★★
*******
1.) What Really Happened in Peru ★★★★
March 11, 2015
Reading this I remembered why I love Magnus Bane so much. I had read the first short story many months ago and I wanted to read the rest of the short stories ever since. Now, I finally picked it up. I will say that this was considerably better than the first, straight to the point. I loved the whole "helping the queen escape" plan and of course I loved seeing Magnus getting some action in Paris.
December 16, 2020
(2.5/5)
I like that it was set in French Revolution-era France, but the world-building was lacking.
Although, what else can you expect from 59 pages, I suppose.
Overall, very "meh" to me.
Loved the monkey though!
I like that it was set in French Revolution-era France, but the world-building was lacking.
Although, what else can you expect from 59 pages, I suppose.
Overall, very "meh" to me.
Loved the monkey though!
October 3, 2020
Oh this one was hilarious 🤣
Read
November 23, 2021To be honest, I liked the first short story more, I got pretty bored with this one. But it did kind of give me Infernal Devices ish vibes in particular but I just didn't really feel the plot for this one. Again, I just like how we're given more of a look inside the inner workings Magnus' head hehe
COFFEE SHOP JAZZ AMBIENCE ROOM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0_ej...
---
I'm really enjoying the music at the beginning of the audiobooks in this series.
1. What Really Happened in Peru - ★★★☆☆
2. The Runaway Queen - ★★☆☆☆
3. Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale - ★★★★★
4. The Midnight Heir - ★★★★★
5. The Rise of the Hotel Dumort - ★★☆☆☆
6. Saving Raphael Santiago - ★★★★☆
7. The Fall of the Hotel Dumort - ★★★★☆
8. What To Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything - ★★★★☆
9. The Last Stand of the New York Institute - ★★★★★
10. The Course of True Love [and First Dates] - ★★★★★
11. The Voicemail of Magnus Bane - ★★★☆☆
⟹ BLOG | SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI | BOOKSIRENS ⟸
COFFEE SHOP JAZZ AMBIENCE ROOM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0_ej...
---
I'm really enjoying the music at the beginning of the audiobooks in this series.
1. What Really Happened in Peru - ★★★☆☆
2. The Runaway Queen - ★★☆☆☆
3. Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale - ★★★★★
4. The Midnight Heir - ★★★★★
5. The Rise of the Hotel Dumort - ★★☆☆☆
6. Saving Raphael Santiago - ★★★★☆
7. The Fall of the Hotel Dumort - ★★★★☆
8. What To Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything - ★★★★☆
9. The Last Stand of the New York Institute - ★★★★★
10. The Course of True Love [and First Dates] - ★★★★★
11. The Voicemail of Magnus Bane - ★★★☆☆
⟹ BLOG | SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI | BOOKSIRENS ⟸
Currently reading
December 17, 2013Why does this have 5 star ratings already if it hasn't even been released?
I'm certainly excited to read more about my favorite MI character, but I thought ratings and reviews were supposed to mean something?
I'm certainly excited to read more about my favorite MI character, but I thought ratings and reviews were supposed to mean something?
May 20, 2013
Apparently I need to note on here that I received this from one of the authors before it was out to read/ review, so my review is NOT based on what I think will happen in the book. I've read it, I know what happens.
My review:
Magnus, Paris, the French Revolution. This second installment is fabulous!! Magnus is my favorite character of Cassie's, and I love getting more of history. There's some fabulous new characters introduced into this story, and the way history was tied into The Runaway Queen was perfect! I loved it. I can't wait for the next installment.
My review:
Magnus, Paris, the French Revolution. This second installment is fabulous!! Magnus is my favorite character of Cassie's, and I love getting more of history. There's some fabulous new characters introduced into this story, and the way history was tied into The Runaway Queen was perfect! I loved it. I can't wait for the next installment.
August 30, 2018
The Runaway Queen - The Bane Chronicle, 2
“It was a very bad idea. It was a terrible idea. It was the worst idea he had ever heard. It was irresistible.”
Paris in 1791!
Magnus helping a queen to runaway. Only in a favor of an handsome young man with dark hair and pretty eyes ofcoure, who would Magnus be if he could resist such staring eyes..
“One did not turn down an invitation from Saint Cloud. At least, one didn't if one wanted to continue living contentedly in Paris. Vampires took offense so easily - and Parisian vampires were the worst of all.”
“It was a very bad idea. It was a terrible idea. It was the worst idea he had ever heard. It was irresistible.”
Paris in 1791!
Magnus helping a queen to runaway. Only in a favor of an handsome young man with dark hair and pretty eyes ofcoure, who would Magnus be if he could resist such staring eyes..
“One did not turn down an invitation from Saint Cloud. At least, one didn't if one wanted to continue living contentedly in Paris. Vampires took offense so easily - and Parisian vampires were the worst of all.”
June 14, 2019
Since the audiobook was read by George Bladgen this was definitely a must listen for me, I really enjoyed it.
In this tale Magnus Bane meets count Axel Von Fersen and queen Marie Antoinette during the French revolution in Paris, there are vampires and a hot air balloon, and a very interesting pet... ;)
All of it was crazy, but that's just Magnus Bane's life.
In this tale Magnus Bane meets count Axel Von Fersen and queen Marie Antoinette during the French revolution in Paris, there are vampires and a hot air balloon, and a very interesting pet... ;)
All of it was crazy, but that's just Magnus Bane's life.
June 28, 2013
The low rating is for my own personal shelving purposes and does not reflect on the writing or story itself.
I am reading these just to make sure I don't miss any clues or hints about the bigger picture in general, but am not a big fan of most "side stories" for series, with a few rare exceptions. I'd rather just read it all in the main books, so I am kind of halfheartedly skimming these just to make sure I don't miss anything because it's not unlike Clare to slip little details in that connect to the bigger picture.
That's all. No real complaints here. Ignore the rating.
I am reading these just to make sure I don't miss any clues or hints about the bigger picture in general, but am not a big fan of most "side stories" for series, with a few rare exceptions. I'd rather just read it all in the main books, so I am kind of halfheartedly skimming these just to make sure I don't miss anything because it's not unlike Clare to slip little details in that connect to the bigger picture.
That's all. No real complaints here. Ignore the rating.
July 19, 2021
3/5 ⭐
Buddy read this with Sanyam ‼
Chech out his review here
Magnus keeps being the best character 😌
I liked "The runaway queen", even though I prefered the first short story. It was a really interesting story, about the French revolution, where Magnus helped the queen Marie Antoinette escape. The scene where Magnus was travelling on the balloon with the queen was really funny 😂
And the fact that he named his monkey Ragnor 🥺
~ What realy happened in Peru: Review 3.5/5 ⭐
Buddy read this with Sanyam ‼
Chech out his review here
“It was a very bad idea. It was a terrible idea. It was the worst idea he had ever heard. It was irresistible.”
Magnus keeps being the best character 😌
I liked "The runaway queen", even though I prefered the first short story. It was a really interesting story, about the French revolution, where Magnus helped the queen Marie Antoinette escape. The scene where Magnus was travelling on the balloon with the queen was really funny 😂
“When one steals a flying balloon and animates it to fly over Paris, one should, ideally, have some idea how said balloon normally works.”
And the fact that he named his monkey Ragnor 🥺
“Hello," Magnus said to the monkey. The monkey did not reply. "I shall call you Ragnor.”
~ What realy happened in Peru: Review 3.5/5 ⭐
May 22, 2013
So, this review is titled 'Cassandra Clare makes bad decisions (and I'm not talking about that Mortal Instruments anthology)' *shudders* - because compared to What Really Happened in Peru (nothing), The Runaway Queen is actually... decent. Or at least we still have all the usual problems inherent with writing a ten part short story collection, the elaborate fan fiction aspect, the less than hundred pages not being nearly enough for any character or plot development of note problem, the obvious money grab angle, but at least Maureen Johnson seems to be actually trying here (for the most part). I love Sarah Rees Brennan (or her writing style and Unspoken at least), but What Really Happened in Peru was so obviously pointless filler and Brennan's style just too flashy for historical, Johnson I think has a much better hand for the material and while the plot's definitely still filler, at least there is a plot to speak of. That actually matches real history.
Which brings me back to why I titled the review the way I did:
Bad decision number one - skimping out on an editor: This one isn't even funny. There are obvious typos like a character being named Axel and Alex and random names left as blanks, at this point I doubt anyone still thinks Clare cares but come on at least keep up the illusion.
Bad decision number two - letting Johnson write Magnus off a cheat sheet: His character is so by the books I should be laughing - from being insulted. There's his flashy dress. The usual gay references. A monkey. And that's it. Brennan's take may have been outrageously anachronistic, but Johnson's is just flat. There's something seriously wrong when the setting's well written and the character is... not.
Bad decision number three - not making this the first short story: With the obvious difference in quality, you gotta hook 'em in before you slack off. Despite flat Magnus my overall impression is way more favorable with this one and I definitely think anyone who's read both will see why this should've been first. And she's supposed to be a marketing genius. Lol.
Tldr(really?): I doubt Cassandra Clare even read these before hawking them to the general public.
Which brings me back to why I titled the review the way I did:
Bad decision number one - skimping out on an editor: This one isn't even funny. There are obvious typos like a character being named Axel and Alex and random names left as blanks, at this point I doubt anyone still thinks Clare cares but come on at least keep up the illusion.
Bad decision number two - letting Johnson write Magnus off a cheat sheet: His character is so by the books I should be laughing - from being insulted. There's his flashy dress. The usual gay references. A monkey. And that's it. Brennan's take may have been outrageously anachronistic, but Johnson's is just flat. There's something seriously wrong when the setting's well written and the character is... not.
Bad decision number three - not making this the first short story: With the obvious difference in quality, you gotta hook 'em in before you slack off. Despite flat Magnus my overall impression is way more favorable with this one and I definitely think anyone who's read both will see why this should've been first. And she's supposed to be a marketing genius. Lol.
Tldr(really?): I doubt Cassandra Clare even read these before hawking them to the general public.
October 30, 2016
Magnus, darling, incluso en medio de la Revolución Francesa eres un loquillo y no dejas de ligar, ¿eh?
Sabes que una historia corta como The Runaway Queen va a ser interesante cuando todo empieza con alguien contratando a Magnus para que ayude a huir a la familia real de Francia y así evitar que todos pasen por la guillotina. Ahora, sabes que el relato va a ser aún más genial cuando aparece un chico sueco guapo y Magnus empieza a tontear con él. Y la cereza del pastel: hay vampiros involucrados.
"You will never be forgotten for this", Axel said in a low voice. "France will remember. Aweeden will remember".
"I don't care if France or Sweeden remembers. I care if you remember".
Magnus was genuinely shocked when it was Axel who instigated the kiss—how sudden it was, how passionate, how all of Paris, and all the vampires, and the Seint and the balloon and everything fell away and it was just the two of them for one moment. One perfect moment.
Sabes que una historia corta como The Runaway Queen va a ser interesante cuando todo empieza con alguien contratando a Magnus para que ayude a huir a la familia real de Francia y así evitar que todos pasen por la guillotina. Ahora, sabes que el relato va a ser aún más genial cuando aparece un chico sueco guapo y Magnus empieza a tontear con él. Y la cereza del pastel: hay vampiros involucrados.
"You will never be forgotten for this", Axel said in a low voice. "France will remember. Aweeden will remember".
"I don't care if France or Sweeden remembers. I care if you remember".
Magnus was genuinely shocked when it was Axel who instigated the kiss—how sudden it was, how passionate, how all of Paris, and all the vampires, and the Seint and the balloon and everything fell away and it was just the two of them for one moment. One perfect moment.
September 25, 2016
just like with What Happened In Peru, Magnus' personality and and interactions were what made this book enjoyable; there wasn't much else that made it particularly memorable.
May 26, 2023
~~𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨~~
★★★☆☆
Set in Revolutionary Paris, this short story has Magnus, the flamboyant Warlock as dapper as always and with a weakness for dark haired, blue eyed men as always.
We meet evil powerful vampires, a monkey named Ragnor (possibly because Magnus is missing his best friend, Ragnor Fell) and.... *drumroll please*
Her Majesty, the Queen Marie Antoinette!
A short but shockingly wild ride that features a hot air balloon crashing landing into the Seine. And I'll stop here lest I give too much away.
Overall--- I had fun reading this. Historical fiction meets magical/supernatural fantasy in a fine blend. 🥂
★★★☆☆
Set in Revolutionary Paris, this short story has Magnus, the flamboyant Warlock as dapper as always and with a weakness for dark haired, blue eyed men as always.
We meet evil powerful vampires, a monkey named Ragnor (possibly because Magnus is missing his best friend, Ragnor Fell) and.... *drumroll please*
Her Majesty, the Queen Marie Antoinette!
A short but shockingly wild ride that features a hot air balloon
Overall--- I had fun reading this. Historical fiction meets magical/supernatural fantasy in a fine blend. 🥂
June 3, 2020
3/5
Mucho mejor que la primera historia. Aquí si he conectado ya con Magnus y me ha vuelto a gustar mucho el personaje, Ojalá saber en un futuro qué fue de Axel. Me encantan los vampiros, siempre lo vuelven todo más emocionante. Seguiré leyendo los siguientes a ver qué tal.
Mucho mejor que la primera historia. Aquí si he conectado ya con Magnus y me ha vuelto a gustar mucho el personaje, Ojalá saber en un futuro qué fue de Axel. Me encantan los vampiros, siempre lo vuelven todo más emocionante. Seguiré leyendo los siguientes a ver qué tal.
July 11, 2021
it was better than the first part but still slow, boring and undeveloped in the beggining.
June 19, 2013
GRABE!!! ANG LANDI NI MAGNUS!!!
SO GAY!!! AND I LOVE IT!
SO GAY!!! AND I LOVE IT!
Magnus: Claude!
I’ll need you to get a leash for my monkey, Claude, and also a hat.
Claude: Of course, monsieur.
Magus: Do you think he needs a little coat as well?
Claude: Perhaps not in this weather, monsieur.
Magus: “You’re right, make it a simple dressing gown, just like mine.
Claude: Which one, monsieur?
Magus: The one in rose and silver.
Claude: An excellent choice, monsieur.
Magus: And take him to the kitchen and get him a proper breakfast, will you? He’ll need fruit and water, and perhaps a cool bath.
September 14, 2022
why are these so boring
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