Below is the complete list of Cassandra Clare’s The Eldest Curses books in order. For this series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Publication Order of The Eldest Curses Books
with Wesley Chu
About The Eldest Curses
Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu’s The Eldest Curses is a Shadowhunter trilogy centered on Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood, giving one of the franchise’s most beloved relationships its own extended arc. The series sits inside The Shadowhunter Chronicles rather than apart from it, but its focus is narrower and more intimate than the main ensemble books. Instead of introducing a new generation of Shadowhunters, it follows Magnus and Alec across different stages of their relationship, from early uncertainty to established family life and the larger dangers that come with being tied to both Downworld and the Nephilim.
The first book, The Red Scrolls of Magic, takes place after the Mortal War, during the early period of Magnus and Alec’s romance. The setup is deliberately romantic and adventurous: the two are traveling through Europe together, still learning what it means to be a couple when one is an immortal warlock and the other is a young Shadowhunter raised within a rigid society. Their trip is interrupted by the discovery of the Crimson Hand, a demon-worshipping cult that appears to have an embarrassing connection to Magnus’s past. That premise gives the book a lighter, more playful surface, but it also explores trust, secrecy, and the difficulty of building a relationship when both partners are still holding parts of themselves back.
The Lost Book of the White moves the series forward to a later point in the Shadowhunter timeline, when Magnus and Alec are living together and raising their son Max. The story begins with the theft of the powerful Book of the White and takes them to Shanghai, where their mission expands into a confrontation involving unstable magic, old acquaintances, Greater Demons, and the realm of the dead. This second book is more domestic and more ensemble-driven than the first, bringing in Clary, Jace, Isabelle, and Simon while still keeping Magnus and Alec at the emotional center.
The planned third book, The Black Volume of the Dead, is intended to complete the trilogy, but it has not yet been released. That unfinished status is important because The Eldest Curses was designed as a three-part arc, with each book set at a different stage of Magnus and Alec’s life together. The delay also reflects the way the series intersects with the wider Shadowhunter timeline. Its final installment is expected to connect with later events, so it cannot be treated as a fully closed sequence yet.
What makes The Eldest Curses distinct is its perspective. Magnus has existed across centuries of Shadowhunter history, often appearing as a glamorous, witty, and powerful figure who helps others through crises. These books give more space to his vulnerabilities: his memories, his father Asmodeus, his complicated past, and the emotional cost of immortality. Alec, meanwhile, is shown growing beyond the insecure young Shadowhunter first introduced in The Mortal Instruments. His love for Magnus pushes him to question inherited prejudices, but the series also lets him become steadier, braver, and more openly committed on his own terms.
The series blends romance, humor, travel adventure, demon politics, and magical danger, but its real purpose is character deepening. It shows Magnus and Alec not as a finished couple preserved in fan memory, but as two people learning how to choose each other through secrecy, parenthood, supernatural conflict, and history that keeps resurfacing. Within Cassandra Clare’s larger bibliography, The Eldest Curses works best as companion reading for those already invested in the Shadowhunter world, especially readers who want the emotional thread between Magnus and Alec to move from beloved subplot into the center of the story.