The Bone Season

I loved The Bone Season so much it has left me in a pretty annoying review slump. I keep putting the review off because I have an irrational fear that my review is going to suck, so to push myself out of my review slump, I’m going to give it a small, less detailed review and finally move on.

When I finally finished this book, I took the imitative to smack myself on the forehead for waiting so long to read The Bone Season. I put off reading this book for so long because I always fear I will hate those popular bestsellers that my friends in the book community always rave about. Instead, I wound up loving this and reading it in one night.

Paige aka “Pale Dreamer” is a mega-rare clairvoyant living in underground London because to live show more by-the-book in Scion London is to not be born clairvoyant. She’s kidnapped by a race of unknown creatures whom see clairvoyants as a meal ticket and the perfect unwilling army to die for their cause.

I enjoyed Paige as a main character because she is strong and even though she is terrified to die, she is unwilling to give up the “freedom” of her underground life in London to become the otherworldly slavers’ newest punching bag. Most clairvoyants forced to live in Oxford just give in to the fact that they are enslaved to the Rephaim and don’t bother to fight their fate, but Paige is not satisfied with the protection her trainer Warden gives her as Consort to the ruler of the Rephaim.

Like my friend Tika @ fANGIRL confessions and other bloggers have stated, The Bone Season doesn’t need to come with an instruction manual, because everything new about this fantasy world can be learned through context clues (and the glossary at the back of the book if necessary, but it wasn’t for me). I appreciate that the author didn’t bother to make up words in an attempt at creating an original fantasy novel – or make up the spelling of words (major pet peeve right there) – because the extraordinary world building in The Bone Season does the job all on its own. :) show less

Ten years ago, I received an ARC for the first book in a new series written by a debut author while she was a student at Oxford. I let this book sit on my bookshelves, unread, and focused on e-galleys and other books from better-known authors. I finally read it a few weeks after its publication date. When I finished it, I knew I would not hesitate to read anything Samantha Shannon wrote.

I stand by that original assessment today. The six novels Ms. Shannon wrote and published over the last ten years are among my all-time favorite books. The Bone Season series is my favorite series. I've read each book in that series at least twice and listened to the audiobook versions at least that many times.

I am in awe of Ms. Shannon's writing. She show more is so careful to build as much realism into her fantasy world. She never makes up words but chooses them for their meaning and linguistic origins; this is especially true of her proper nouns. For The Bone Season series, she visited each place that appears in the novels in order to get the details correct when adding them to a scene. The characters are as alive to the reader as they are to Ms. Shannon; it shows in every aspect of the stories.

When Ms. Shannon announced she was rewriting The Bone Season for its tenth anniversary, I could only wonder why she would do so. I loved it as it was, and I knew I wasn't alone. The series has a rabid fan base for a reason. While it wasn't perfect, it reflected Ms. Shannon's writing as it was then - untested and a little too descriptive. This isn't a bad thing; it simply is due to the fact that it was her first novel, and she was a young first-time author.

Having read The Bone Season: Tenth Anniversary Edition, I recognize the changes she made and acknowledge that her rewrites make for an even better series opener. The world-building is more fluid and done in a more natural manner. She connects key figures and plot points to future books. The pacing is more even. She fleshes out the world of Scion and the Underworld. More importantly, she matures Paige to reflect her years as the second-in-command of a crime lord. Gone is the slightly naive girl, and in her place is the world-weary, hardened, sarcastic Paige Mahoney we see in the later books.

In rewriting her first book, Ms. Shannon wanted to show her improved writing skills as well as do a better job of introducing readers to Paige, Warden, and the world of Scion. In my opinion, she has done exactly that. The Bone Season: Tenth Anniversary Edition is tight in all the right places and filled with the perfect balance of world-building and action. There is no doubt Paige and Warden's burgeoning relationship will be important in future books. More importantly, she sows the seeds for upcoming storylines and starts developing characters we most definitely see again.

As a fan, I want everyone to read The Bone Season: Tenth Anniversary Edition. The new cover design is so gorgeous that I almost feel unworthy to touch it, but it is what is between that cover that excites me the most. Ms. Shannon already proved herself to be an outstanding writer. In doing a few rewrites, she shows mastery of her craft and creates a series opener worthy of her characters. show less

"Believe the hype: orginal, gritty, exciting"

The hype said that Samantha Shannon had received a six figure advance for the first three books in a seven book series and had already sold the film rights to book one: The Bone Season.

What the hype didn't prepare me for was a rich, complex book filled with original ideas, vivid characters, powerful emotions, gritty realism and page-turning action.

Shannon's alternative future Britain is fully thought through and skilfully evoked. She weaves her tale from a deep understanding of the politics of hatred and fear and the fundamental evil of slavery and brightens it with new ideas on the nature of magic.

What makes the book truly exceptional is the character of Paige Mahoney (how nice it was to show more hear this name pronounced the Irish way for once): brave, dangerous, more than a little broken but fundamentally good. She is easy to care about and root for. Her way of seeing the world is humane without being in the least bit soft. Her bravery comes from a refusal to submit to fear or to be treated as anything less than human. Even when everything has been taken from her, she holds on to the power that comes from knowing what she values and what she is prepared to do to protect it.

The relationship between Paige and Warden, her "keeper" is rich, complex and credible, exploring the boundaries or trust and otherness, suspicion and attraction, power and weakness.

Although it is book one in a series,"The Bone Season" is a full novel and not just an instalment in a story.

This is one of the best speculative fiction books I've read in a long time. That it was début novel from a young author fills me with pleasure. I look forward to reading all of her books as they come out over then next several years. show less

It took me a while to get into this one -- so much language, so much unfamiliar cant and a new world on top of that.

Alt-British Dystopian Steampunk-ish? Clairvoyant London with a tough as nails crime syndicate heroine known as the Pale Dreamer. First book of seven planned. *sigh* This is a perfectly fine book, but the complexities weigh it down, and the characters don't engage the reader enough to make a slow book great. If you're looking for excellent paranormal/clairvoyant historical fiction, try Libba Bray's "The Diviners". If you're looking for gritty fast-paced crime syndicate paranormal London, try Ben Aaronovitch's "Midnight Riot". If you want intricate worlds but a totally predictable plot, well then, you are in the right place.

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#1 The Bone Season - ★★★★
#2 The Mime Order - To Be Read

I was surprised by how much I really enjoyed The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. When I picked the book up, I knew I was looking at an international bestseller, but I still had my doubts. Well, not anymore…

Synopsis:

The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.

It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged show more and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.

The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

My Thoughts:

The Bone Season gripped me from the start. Literally from the first chapter, I was alongside Paige, getting to know her clairvoyance as she’s discovering it herself. Paige is a character that you want to root for, but you also want to understand the other side, just to ensure she’s making the right decisions. Meeting the gang in the underworld of Scion London gave me an introduction of the dystopian world that Paige lives in. Clairvoyant people are being imprisoned left, right and centre, and when something goes horribly bad for Paige, she discovers that it could be much, much worse. And somehow she managed to end up there.

“I fitted with these people. They understood the strangeness of my world, a world I was only just beginning to discover.”

The world building in this book is on another level. Samantha Shannon created a world with different orders of Clairvoyance. On top of that, she created dystopian cities and a different type of creatures that have a role to play as well. Through Paige, we meet so many vivid characters, all unique and lovable in their own way.

I loved the chapters when Paige would reminisce about her past. It helped me understand her so much better and it ties very well with the story in the present. I also loved how the parts with the past tie into the plot to create a plot twist in itself. I feel like every scene was created the way it was with a certain purpose. To serve a bigger role and to tie into the plot in one way or another. But it never felt as if a scene was written just for the sake of it.

One of my favourite parts in this book were the parts focusing on emotion. There isn’t a romance in this book, so to speak. But there were moments of building connections. Of building trust. Times of sharing experiences, memories and big heartbreaks. But all these moments were an addition to a friendship that turned into a little bit more. It only complimented a personality, rather than become a main focus of the story, which made these moments even more special.

“I didn’t believe in hearts. I believed in dreamscapes and spirits. Those were what mattered. Those made money. But my heart had hurt that day. For the first time in my life, I’d been forced to acknowledge my heart, and acknowledge its fragility. It could be bruised. It could humiliate me.”

And that ending… When that ending happened, it shattered me in a very delicate way. I grieved for one reason, but felt joy for another. The bittersweet taste is still between my fingers, feeling it as I was closing the last pages. But there is one thing for sure – this story doesn’t end here and I’ll sure as hell read the next book in the series. show less

I loved this book SO much! It immediately pulled me in and kept me engaged with the fast-paced action and dynamic characters. The author was very good at balancing telling us about the world and showing us aspects of the world. It kept the world building from being too info dumpy. The humor in this book was also great. Right at the beginning of the book, the line “Pieter was depressed again. Being dead got to him sometimes.” That line made me laugh. I loved the relationships in this book. The buildup of tension between Paige and Warden was so great. I kept waiting and wishing something would happen, and when it did, it was so satisfying. I also appreciated the author’s willingness to put the reader through an emotional roller show more coaster. One minute something in the book would make you happy and rejoice, but the very next minute, the author could rip your heart out. This book was a trip, a weird and fun one that had me laughing and crying and scared all the way through. show less

Reread scheduled for January 2015.


Took me several days to wrangle my head around a rating for this one. I think a lot of that had to do with the first 100 pages. As others have pointed out there is an info dump in this book that will leave you with a massive headache if you dwell on trying to understand what the hell is going on. And there is a damn glossary!! Yes, you heard right.

After the first chapter I was struggling to make heads or tails out of what I was reading to the point my head was spinning. But what I was getting was fascinating...wanting more, I just said to hell with it...forge on and trust that the author has a plan and that things will come together. Do I understand everything yet...No. Will I reread this before book show more 2...Yes. Does that make me mad...Hell No...because I was taken on one hell of a ride, filled with some unbelievable moments that, even this week, I have reread numerous times.

I have learned that this is the start of a seven...yes seven book series. Once I heard that I just accepted and understood that our writer needed these first 100-150 pages to set the foundation of this quite remarkable world of hers.

So don't get discouraged and you are bound to find yourself on an amazing journey.

Another fantastic buddy read with my dear friend Andrew." show less