The Bone Season

This book has received a lot of hype, including a six-figure deal for only three books out of a projected seven book series, a seven-figure movie option deal, and an editorial letter at the front of the e-galley (which also emphasizes the aforementioned items). Samantha Shannon has also been called the next J.K. Rowling.Hype makes me wary, and quite honestly, I think calling anyone the next J.K. Rowling is setting the bars too high. I went into this novel already knowing of these claims--which turns on my critical side--and though I think some of hype is a bit much, this was a highly detailed and cinematic novel written by a promising author.Ten Likes/Dislikes:1. (+) Paige, the protagonist - Paige is the kind of strong, smart, confident, sassy & sarcastic heroine that you want to root for as she learns more about herself and her power. She defends the weak, which is an interesting contrast to her being from a syndicate and being highly mistrustful and cynical. It's always interesting to see who she will pair with, choose to trust, and who she cast off (she's highly judgmental of people's intentions). She's fire, fierce and bitter, but also achingly vulnerable, with the usual desire to be seen as a sum of all her parts. Her government tells her that she's unnatural, she hides what she is from her father, her mime-lord (syndicate leader) prizes her for her ability, and now she's been subjugated to another race--who will see Paige for who she is?2. (+/-) The beginning - The weakest part of this novel, I would say, is the beginning. I really loved the voice, but with the info-dumps and the somewhat clunky writing, I honestly considered putting down the book at several points. I'm glad I didn't obviously--and it's not hugely bad. It's on/off, engrossing at turns, then back to info-dumping. I felt this way for maybe the first 80 or so pages.3. (+) World-building - Although I loved the world, there are a lot of English slang words and terms which are not always properly explained as they're introduced, such as the link between the aether and the dreamscape. Of course there is an extensive glossary at the back and a map at the front to refer to, but whenever I read e-galleys, I find it hard to switch back and forth between the text--obviously, this is not going to be an issue when you have the physical copy of the book, and the world-building pays off in the end. This is a highly detailed and developed world. There are many different classes of powers across a spiritualist world that are differentiated by their relationship to the aether. This is reminiscent of the nineteenth century when there were followers of the occult who believed that the aether was a fluid-like substance that flowed through everyone, except that the aether in this world is a way of sensing others and messing with other people's lives, dreams, and minds (also reminiscent of Inception in a way). People who have powers based in the aether are called (clair)voyants; those who don't: amaurotics, and their government is Scion. The politics of this world as Scion clashes with the way the syndicates operate and the way Oxford and the Rephaites work is fascinating. It's also quite a treat to see how those powers work as the voyants are trained for the Rephaite army, and as you learn more of the Rephaite world and how they managed to twist the voyants into submission. Another thing that was particularly fun to explore was Paige's power, and her ability to access dreamscapes, the place in the mind where memories are stored and people feel safest. Basically, even though I'm not sure I have a handle on all the different terms, this world was just plain wonderful and easy to slip into the further you read.4. (+) Romance - Wow, this relationship may be one of my all-time-favorites. It is slow-burning, and may be one of the better developed hate-turned-something else relationships (I know the summary says he's her captor, but he never acts like her master, so I never saw him that way, though Paige does treat him hostilely). It takes a long time for both Paige and Warden to learn to trust (and be open with) each other, and to overcome their racial prejudices of the other. All the while they are completely and wholly themselves. They have separate lives (somewhat--since Paige lives with him), separate motives, separate attitudes, but you root for them together as you see that they fit well as a team. The tension is perfectly executed, their relationship complex and satisfying.5. (+) Themes - This book is ultimately about empowerment. It asks: how much is your freedom worth to you? What do you think you're worth? If everything were taken away from you and you were branded a number, treated like filth, what parts of you would be left? What is the price of your survival? Your humanity? How many trials can your relationships go through before they dissolve?6. (+) The Plot - There aren't a whole lot of major twists, but those that are there are wonderfully developed and surprising, and the rest of twists shine in the action-filled plot, battle and training scenes alike. The story is always moving forward, whether the characters are being developed (Paige's memories), the world is being developed (daily life at Oxford), or the actual story is being developed (one girl fighting for her freedom and belonging). Since the world is insulated with so many details and there is a large character cast, the plot is quite exciting, tension-filled, and unpredictable.7. (+/-) The Characters - The main difference I see from the Harry Potter comparison is that J.K. Rowling had a way with getting at the heart of a character, all the characters, no matter how pivotal a role they played. While there is some hint at what motivates some of these characters, I wasn't very attached to a lot of the side cast. They're not as developed as I would have hoped (such as her Oxford friends, Julian, and even some of the syndicate). I think my main objection would be that too many characters were introduced in this first book--at least, that some of them could have been taken out in favor of developing the others more fully. BUT note: this wasn't badly done. I just thought, in light of the highly detailed world and other complex relationships, that the character cast as a whole could have used a bit more work.8. (+) The Writing - There were definitely parts that needed more polishing. Sometimes it was a bit repetitive. But the further I read, the more engrossed I became in the world, because the writing became much, much smoother and had huge cinematic potential. Samantha Shannon is talented, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.9. (+) Pacing - It's really hard to ensure that a 480-page book remains well-paced and engaging, but Shannon does her job well. The pace never relents, the action always continuing and building to a stunning conclusion.10. (+/-) The Cover - While the cover is highly symbolic and representative of the book, I can't help but think that I would pass right by this book in a store, especially if I had heard nothing about it.While I do think that there were a few areas that could have been polished more, the beginning in particular with the various info-dumps, this novel was extraordinary, compelling, utterly absorbing. It's like Inception meets Divergent meets Days of Blood and Starlight meets a futuristic, nineteenth century London (aka if you're a fan of any of those: read this!) Mental and spiritual battles (and training) abound in a dystopian setting with a highly detailed fantasy hierarchy that challenges you to think about the price of freedom. Definitely recommended.

I feel like I should have loved The Bone Season. So much of it appeals to me and yet there was something underwhelming about it. I don’t think it was the hype; I’ve heard too much about ‘The next So-and-So/Title’ to take such lauding seriously. I’ll start by talking about what I did like and maybe that will coax out what detracted from everything that was done well in the book.The best thing about the book is the world building. Clairvoyance is threaded into the world from an alternate history and has been given about 200 years to grow into the world we see in 2059. There are several types of clairvoyance with their own abilities and though the book doesn’t go into each of them there is an immersive quality that keeps some things from being spelled out in an info-dumping way (though it sometimes has to happen). The systems behind clairvoyance were the backbone of the story from the dominating organization of Scion, come into power to protect society from the voyants, to the drugs and curious items that would come along with an underworld populated by people with such gifts. The enchanting uses the voyants put their gifts to as they work in syndicates that operate under Scion’s nose and learning about the various gifts and imagining what it would be like to have them was my favorite aspect of the book.The plot and structure were strong and there were some really fantastic moments. Everything meant something and it was well put together with a lot of action and something that should have been a mystery (there are some things that have become obvious devices over the years and years) that was still a strong point to the story. There is always that trouble with foreshadowing—too much and the realization comes too soon, too little and the revelation seems to come out of nowhere. I think The Bone Season was close to a good balance although there were several times that I knew what Paige should do a few pages before she decided to do it and given that we had all the same information (the book being in first person and all) that made me frustrated at her for taking so long.Thus I must come out with my real problem with the book: Paige Mahoney, a protagonist that I couldn’t get behind despite all her great qualities. She is tough and compassionate and righteous and has a powerful and rare gift to master and all different kinds of obstacles to overcome—all of these things spell out a fantastic heroine. Yet I couldn’t seem to really like her or care about her. Supposedly among the Seven Seals, the voyant syndicate she is involved with, she is the boss’s protégé, his ‘mollisher’, but I never got the feeling that she fit into that role. Her gift is yet undeveloped and she had just missed out on a deal when we meet her and she doesn’t seem to command any of that sort of respect from the other Seals. She is combat ready from her freerunner and weapons training from another of the Seals and wields a powerful gift in her dreamwalking so I don’t doubt that she could be a boss but so much of the leadership she gains is foisted upon her because the story demands that she have it.At the beginning of the book she is caught using her spirit in self defense against two of Scion’s guards, killing them. She is sent to Sheol I, a prison for voyants run by strange creatures called the Rephaim. Sheol I is supposed to seem like a terrible place but Paige’s rare power lands her a pretty sweet deal in comparison to everyone else—still slavery but all the real terror of it is from the treatment of the other prisoners around her, which comes off a little exaggerated, look how awful all of this is. Paige is supposed to be in especial danger because of her rare gift, coveted by the Blood-Sovereign but the threat is a loose one. I much more enjoyed the hierarchy that the prisoners are awarded as a way to exemplify Paige’s attitude toward the whole situation: her abilities push her toward the higher ranks but she despises those who accept the role of the Rephaim’s happy army and with valiance resists any attempts to be brought into the traitorous fold, preferring to hang out with the voyants or the people who ended up slaves in Sheol I despite an absence of any clairvoyant abilities and fighting the good fight with them.As much as he contributed to my inability to root for Paige because I never believed her in any lasting danger, I thought the character of Warden and the relationship they develop as teacher and student (it never came off to me as master and slave although I recognize that is exactly what they were) was gradual and fascinating. His history and his own gifts influence the story from plot to the very way the book is written and that is awesome with a capital awe.I’m glad I read The Bone Season because I’d been toying with the idea for a while, not really sure I’d like it but feeling like I should read it. The first in a projected series of seven, it is a solid foundation but I don’t think I’ll read on. In the end it was a great world packed with its own implications and imagery and symbolism using flowers deserves mentioning, but I kept deciding to go to sleep instead of reading into the wee hours of the morning, twice during the last 10% alone, and if that is the sole test of a book then I have to admit that this one wasn’t all it could have been.

When it was released, The Bone Season by Samatha Shannon was marketed as being the next big thing, the new Harry Potter, despite being nothing like Harry Potter. The second in the series is freshly available at a bookshop near yourselves, so it seemed like a good time to read it. It was... okay.Paige Mahony is a clairvoyant in a future alt-England where such powers are illegal. More specifically, she’s a dreamwalker, one of the rarest types of voyant, who can separate her spirit from her body. Paige lives in London where she works for Fagi- erm, Jaxon Hall, her Mime Lord (Gangster boss), until she accidentally kills an Underguard. She’s captured, drugged, and sent to a place she and the rest of the populous didn’t know existed: Oxford. Okay, Sheol 1. Formerly Oxford.There she learns the things which make this book and this review such a challenge: the extensive world building. It is confusing. For a start, there are the various types of voyants. I spent my youth with an orange dot energised by Yuri Geller himself so I came to this knowing terms like ‘cartomancer’ and when I didn’t know I word I could make an educated guess. Then there’s the world of Scion, the government, and its creation in the first place (Edward VII was the first voyant, and also Jack The Ripper, and apparently still Edward VII rather than Prince Albert Edward, despite people knowing this at the time of its occurrence). Then there’s the world of Sheol where the Rephaim – a race of beings from the Netherworld, as scholars of Hebrew mythology will remember – keep voyants as slaves and mobile larders, feeding on their auras. Those who embrace their new overlords can become Red Jackets, a necessary part of the attempt to stop the Emim from overrunning the city and the rest of the world. Then there’s a whole host of other stuff, sometimes with nicknames and a light smattering of Victorian slang in addition to the books own terms, and as a result the book proceeds in fits and starts, bogged down by its own exposition, not really getting into to gear until a good half-way through. It’s intermittently interesting until then but the first 20% is quite a slog requiring more than one consultation of the book’s glossary.Because this is YA, it’s necessary for the MC to be imprisoned in some fashion. Paige becomes the property of a Rephaim who instructs her to call him Warden, even though that’s not his name, whose job it is to train her to earn her Red Jacket. If she doesn’t [world building stuff] but if she does [world building stuff] but there’s also the fact that [character] wants to [spoiler] because [spoiler]. Did I mention this gets a tad bogged down by itself?Some aspects of the plotting are bland and predictable – Paige does something for Warden then repeatedly asks herself why she did it. Then it happens again and she repeatedly asks herself why she did it again. Other aspects give a nice spin to that predictability, setting up threads for coming tomes in the 7 book series. Others feel like they’re ripping off another YA series entirely.The main story is ... merely okay. As is the trend in YA books, we have a female MC who gives the illusion of being active. Paige, like Katniss Everdeen, is at the mercy of her situation and can only act within its restrictions so much of the book involves Paige hoping to get out of her situation but having to go along with it. Your enjoyment will depend on your tolerance for reading about Paige being Paige. I was fairly meh. There are some good scenes – Shannon can write action when she wants to - but the final sequence, like much of the book, could have been a lot tighter.I read this because it was an offensively low price but I don’t think I’ll be picking up the sequel. I didn’t expect huge amounts from it and it gave me pretty much what I expected. The world building is going to be a huge plus several books down the line and this has got the potential to create internet communities in the way Harry Potter and Game of Thrones has but I, who can barely remember how to spell her own name sometimes, was left unengaged and frustrated. I suspect I may get more out of it on a reread, but right now I feel no compulsion to give it one, nor to continue with the series.3 stars.

3.5 stars. I went into this thinking it was YA and have since discovered it’s actually classed as adult fantasy. I think in reality it’s probably a good crossover from one to the other – the protagonist is 19, so the older end of YA – there’s more complicated worldbuilding and moral grayness than a lot of YA fantasy (though I can think of YA example with both of those things as well), but the plot has a lot of familiar elements and themes a YA reader will feel comfortable with.I really enjoyed the setting, a mix of Victoriana and futuristic elements with a seedy, gritty feel to it that portrayed the main character, Paige, and her life very well. Paige was strong and resourceful, with a confidence in herself and her abilities and a fierce vein of anger and injustice which fuelled her throughout the story. The side characters, at least the human ones, were intriguing and complex. But while the Rephaim certainly had a sense of otherness and being able to understand them too clearly would have lost that, they did often feel a bit of a stretch too far for suspension of disbelief – like pantomime monsters, at times, particularly (if I can say this without getting spoilery) the way they treated the humans in their city – it seemed counterproductive, evil for the sake of evil.There was a lot of info-dumping in the first few chapters which really stalled my ability to get invested in the plot. Partly it’s a result of the complicated magic system – I’m sure it could have been simplified, or at least the broad shape of it fed to us with details coming where they were needed. After that things got interesting, with danger and intrigue and betrayal or the prospect of I on every side, and I was keen to see how it played out. I think the romance was unnecessary, and didn’t fit with the story or the characters – not that I can’t see them together but the way it happened. Maybe rushed would be a better word – it could work but needed a lot more development. The later books in the series might flesh it out a bit more, I suppose. Overall, it did feel very much like the first book in a series.

The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of London, scouting for information by breaking into people's minds. She is a dreamwalker, and is committing treason simply by breathing. One day her life changes forever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, she is transported to the city of Oxford which has been kept hidden for 200 years, and is controlled by an otherworldly race. She is assigned to Warden, who becomes her trainer. Although he is her natural enemy, she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.The setting was very interesting and I was hooked right away. Scion London was soooo interesting to read about, and part of me wishes that the whole book had been set there, rather than Oxford. Paige is being held captive in Oxford for the majority of the book, but a few chapters here and there detail her life in both Ireland and London. These chapters were some of my favourite parts of the book. The world-building was done really well, but a lot of times the author just dumped information in, and the reader is expected to know what this means. There is a glossary at the back, however, and I was constantly flicking back and forth so that I could remember what different words mean. I would've liked it if the author had spent more time fleshing things out, but I'll forgive her for this, as the glossary helped a lot.I have conflicting feelings towards most of the characters in this book. At times I loved Paige, and really rooted for her, but at other times, I wish she'd just keep her mouth shut. Too many times, she acts without thinking about the consequences. Warden was very mysterious, but I liked him, and I hope that in future books that a few chapters are told from his point of view. I liked the majority of the other characters, but there were just too many of them to keep track of. I had to keep looking back to see who was who.I'll be honest, if I knew that there were seven books in this series, I probably wouldn't have picked this book up. I often lose interest in series that are several books long but I'm determined to see this one through to the end. Three of the seven books have been published so far, with the fourth coming in January 2020.I've already bought the second book and I'm going to read it as I've read the short prequel to this one. I've no idea where the story is going to go next but I'm really excited to find out.

Wow. What a fun, fast paced ride. We meet Paige who is a clairvoyant living in 2059, London. She is captured and taken prisoner to Oxford which has been hidden from the world for 2 centuries. In Oxford there is more powerful creatures called Rephiam. Each clairvoyant that is taken is claimed by a “Reph”. Paige is chosen by the “blood consort” aka “Warden”.The Warden is now her (i dont want to say caretaker because thats not what he is, but hes in charge of her training and “care”). With all her friends and family back in London and no freedom to speak of, shes either gotta trust The Warden and his secretive ways or fight her way out of Oxford.Oh and theres other monsters.There is some Queer rep and im so excited to see where it goes further into the series!Samantha Shannon is definitely an auto buy author for me.

The start of this book is a little overwhelming. A lot of phrases are thrown at you in a very short amount of time and I ended up just kind of going along with it until BAM it all started to click into place… like an elaborate jigsaw. Of course it would have helped if I had realised there is a glossary at the back (or to continue the jigsaw analogy ‘the picture on the box’), but once you get into the story, it’s very hard to drag yourself away.Shannon has an incredibly smart and unique writing style which lends itself well to the alternate universe where the story takes place. I really liked the juxtaposition of my own experience in Oxford and London with the futuristic yet Victorian-esque parallel world Shannon created.As the story is told entirely from Paige’s POV it can feel a little Paige-centric and as she’s a very reflective character there is a lot of internal conflict, which is annoying at times. The cast of characters are really interesting if lacking a little depth but I’m looking forward to seeing them develop as the series progresses.I enjoyed this story, it was a break from the other high-fantasy books I’ve read recently, and am looking forward to seeing where the series goes.