Cassandra Clare Tells What to Expect From Her New Adult Fantasy, Sword Catcher
Photo: Sharona Jacobs
Avid readers will know Cassandra Clare as the creator of an iconic universe of teenage demon hunters, known as Shadowhunters. Since 2007, her stories have spanned several centuries over 20 books, marking almost two decades of beloved characters and familiar worlds. But Clare’s upcoming Adult Fantasy debut, Sword Catcher, is a clear indication that sometimes, leaving comfort zones can bring great things.
Sword Catcher follows Kel, a boy saved from an orphanage only to be given the most dangerous job of all: the role of Prince Conor Aurelian’s sword catcher, a physical double meant to help keep the prince alive. Now in his early twenties, Kel is navigating the precarious waters of Conor’s looming betrothal, and what that means for the already tenuous nature of Castellane’s alliances and politics. Kel’s entire world shifts one night when he’s almost killed by a blade meant for the prince, causing him to meet Lin, a mysterious young physician and a girl who might contain traces of their world’s disappearing magic.
We got the chance to catch up with Clare herself to learn more about her foray into a new genre—and a new fictional world. With incredibly well-crafted writing, a fresh magic system, and unforgettable characters, this is one you don’t want to miss.
Paste Magazine: What was most exciting for you about diving into the fresh new world of Sword Catcher, after having spent almost two decades building and living in another?
Cassandra Clare: Before I wrote Sword Catcher, I was a little daunted by the idea of creating a whole world from scratch. Part of what I enjoyed about the Shadowhunter Chronicles was bringing magic into our familiar, mundane world. But there were times when our world created constraints, so it was exciting to step out of that setting.
With Sword Catcher, I loved creating a whole new world, one that has echoes of our own history but also a very distinct character and culture of its own. I love to travel, and over the years the trips I’ve taken and new cultures I’ve experienced have informed the world of Castellane. I was always sort of adding little bits of ideas to that growing fantasy world, snatching them here and there like a magpie, and when I finally sat down to write I was pleasantly surprised to realize how much of the setting already existed in my head!
Paste: And speaking of spending so long in another world — did you initially find it difficult not let yourself to slip back into that Shadowhunter world?
Clare: Not at all—I think they occupy very different spaces in my brain. That said, it did take a little while to frame a story that was about older characters. The teenage years are such an intense period of change and so many things that happen to characters that age are for the first time—first love, first loss.
As people in their 20s, Lin and Kel are in very different places in their lives, each having experienced some of life and having already distinguished themselves in their fields, so to speak. But once I got going, it was fun to be writing about people with such different perspectives and problems.
Paste: You’ve written so many characters at this point, and all of them are unique and nuanced individuals. I can’t imagine this is an easy process, to find voices that differ for each character – who was the hardest to write in Sword Catcher?
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