The Bone Season: Author's Preferred Text (The Bone Season, 1)

I honestly didn't know what to expect and wasn't feeling particularly enthusiastic about starting this series, but I was shocked by how much I loved this book! This was more of a 4.5 star read for me, but I didn't feel good about rounding down for this one.

Despite Paige sort of falling into the classic YA "chosen one" trope, she's a really enjoyable narrator. She develops a lot during the book, and by the end, she has come to this realization that a lot of her pre-Rephaim life was not what she thought it to be (no spoilers, don't worry). She did bug me a couple of times with her relentless sarcasm and cynicism, but it was nothing worth writing home about.

Arcturus... what can I say? I joked with some friends that I was worried I was temporarily trading in my feminist card for how much I loved his character, despite his being portrayed as her "captor". I won't spoil the ending, but there's a lot more than meets the eye with this big teddy bear.

There are also a handful of really delightful side characters, like Julian, Liss, and Michael, all of which I just wanted to squeeze and hug and keep safe forever.

This was my first book by Samantha Shannon, of course, and I was really pleased by the writing in it. It wasn't anything extraordinary, but it definitely did the job for me. She uses a lot of words that are not ones you would find in everyday speech, but the physical book has a glossary in the back with definitions. I didn't find that I needed it more than three or four times, honestly.

The world itself is built pretty efficiently, and since it's a magical realism book, there isn't much to tell that isn't already the reader's basic knowledge (like locations, etc). I enjoyed how in-depth the world of voyants went, with references to a multitude of different varieties (dreamwalkers, soothsayers, oracles, etc). (Fun fact on the topic: the hadal zone, as referenced in this book, is also a term for the deepest parts of the ocean. I enjoyed that comparison!)

If you're familiar with the YA/NA dystopian genre, I really don't think this will be an earth-shattering read for you, but it is a fun story with a lot of enjoyable characters and action. If you absolutely hate the "master-turned-lover" trope, you may not be able to delve into this one much, but then again, this is a slightly atypical variation on that theme. There are definitely some cliche moments throughout it, but altogether, I found this a delightful read that kept me up late and craving more, and I will definitely be continuing the series!

It should come as no surprise by now that I went into this book mostly blind. My initial interest in The Bone Season was based on these things: the title, the fact that it’s going to be a large series, a few small fragments of its insides I happened to catch a glimpse of online. And my interest was piqued enough, in fact, to get me to pre-order the book. While I don’t think this formula always works, and I wouldn’t suggest anyone else follow me lead here, it definitely did not disappoint this time around.

I have to admit that it did take a few chapters to convince me that I was going to like this book. Organized crime has never been a topic of interest for me, and the somewhat dystopic London I was thrust into was not really my thing either. But — oh my god — once things really got rolling, I was unbelievably hooked.

Here are a few key areas where The Bone Season really shined for me:

-The world building is thorough and magnificent. Thought I didn’t like it at first, that quickly changed, and it was easy for me to believe every piece of the setting and the lore within. -The paranormal abilities and hierarchy are fascinating. There is no doubt that Shannon put a lot of thought and time into developing the magic in this world, and it very much appeals to me. I love it because it is equal parts magic, paranormal, psychological, and science fiction. I love it because it takes things I already have interest in and twists them even deeper. -The conflicts and threats felt real and three-dimensional. This book does a great job of posing moral dilemmas, asking what-if questions, and putting the characters in tough situations with multiple avenues of escape. I love that Paige (and the many other characters) had choices, even when it seemed that they didn’t, and that they exercised them thoroughly. -The real-world history and mythology was so cleverly mixed and morphed into this imagined future. Reading about Paige’s childhood in Ireland was a pleasant change from the main story (and felt especially relevant since I was in Ireland while reading this!). -The writing is spectacular. Did you know that this is a debut novel? I was quite impressed. I was left breathless countless times by the beautiful phrases, the vivid imagery, and the eloquence of the prose. This book feels written by a mature and practiced had, which means things will only get better in the subsequent books!

There was one part that kind of threw me off, and almost seemed unnecessary, but it did grow on me toward the end of the book. Needless to say, The Bone Season was one of my favorite books of 2013. If you haven’t read this yet, know that it comes highly recommended from me!

I have no idea why, but one day I decided that I absolutely must read The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. I don’t exactly recall reading the synopsis or paying much attention to the hype, but one day I couldn’t stand it anymore and preordered the audiobook. I downloaded it the morning it was available, but since I was listening to an audiobook for review, I had to wait to read it. It was brutal because all I could think about was the book that I had found myself obsessing over.

Once I FINALLY began reading, I was immediately drawn into the world in The Bone Season. I was afraid my longing would work against the book (my expectations being so high and all), but it was all that I hoped for. Paige Mahoney was an interesting and tough heroine who would not back down, and the world-building was awesome in every sense of the word, both literal and slang. I want to go ahead and let it be known that I disagree completely with many comparisons made about the book and some other popular novels because too many publishers and reviewers try to compare a writer who is capable of genius world-building with Rowling and anything gritty with The Hunger Games. I mean, maybe the scale of the series may be comparable to the others, but there really isn’t much in the way of other similarities. Samantha Shannon and The Bone Season are forces to be reckoned with on their own.

The world-building and the sheer size of this imaginative, alternate England is what made the book for me. In 1857, there was some sort of event that supposedly created clairvoyance. Paige Mahoney and the people she works with under the radar are all clairvoyants who must keep their talents hidden. To be clairvoyant – called Unnatural – is against the law in Scion London, and bad things will happen. I’m not an expert on paranormal and astrology, so I learned a lot in this novel. (I can’t tell you where what Shannon created and what is a commonly held belief regarding these things meets.) The other races and mythology are woven together very well, and I swear to Bob there will be spoilers if I gush too hard. Just exploring SciLo was a treat in itself and something I hope I get more of in the next books in the series. Sheol I and the æther were also well-done and fascinating.

As for the characters, there are a lot because The Bone Season is a fairly long book. We have the Seven Seals that the series will be supposedly featuring, but they didn’t get as much time on the pages as I expected. Paige, of course, was a badass Voyant that was stronger than everyone imagined. There are other Voyants and amaurotics (non-clairvoyant humans) with her in the penal colony, Sheol I, ran by the Rephaim, but only Liss really stood out to me. I guess it was because I came to a lot of conclusions about her, that all ended up being VERY wrong. Oh, the Rephaim! Well... I don't want to say too much about them because it was interesting to find out about them in the book. (I'm being difficult, aren't I?) Anywho, I will say that Warden is my new book boyfriend. He is such a complex character, and he's very tall. I like tall men.

Since I did listen to the audiobook, I suppose I should tell you about the best parts about. Alana Kerr, the narrator, had a beautiful voice and did a great job with the large cast of characters. I loved to hear her speak as Paige because her very slight Irish accent was so lovely. I didn't realize it until well into the book how much the audiobook helped me through all of the Victorian phrases and obscure names. I've read reviews where many people have had trouble getting past these things, and I barely noticed them. I loved listening to Kerr's performance of The Bone Season, and I hope that she will be doing the other books as well.

The Bone Season is definitely a book well worth the hype, and one that I will be rereading before the next book in the series releases. Both author Samantha Shannon and voice actress Alana Kerr are now on my auto-buy list. I recommend this to anyone who likes alternate history, the paranormal, and colossal world-building. Though this is an adult novel, I think it is fine for older young adults. Again, if you've made it this far in the review - JUST READ THE DAMN BOOK ALREADY!

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.

I've been oblivious to super hyped up books this year. Apparently, Samantha Shannon was touted as the "next J.K. Rowling."

While the this series may also be a 7-parter (!!!), the similarities between this book and the Harry Potter series stop there. Where the Harry Potter books immersed you into a world of wonder and magic, The Bone Season throws readers into a dark, big-brotherish world where possessing magical abilities is a punishable offense.

I enjoyed The Bone Season for being unique and dark and thrilling.

But, there are two things I'd warn new readers about, which are:

1. Things are explained quickly and in rapid succession right away. - There is a very high learning curve in The Bone Season. There is English street slang to learn as well as tons of terms related to voyants (clairvoyants) and their underground world as well as the system that keeps magical abilities under wraps (Scion). PLUS, within the voyant world, there are tons of different types of voyants and different names for spirits.

Pro tip: E-book users - Use the glossary at the end of the book. I didn't know it was there until I'd finished (doh!). It will help you keep the barrage of new information somewhat straight in your head.

2. Things get pretty brutal. - I've read more descriptive and violent acts in other books, but I think the sheer volume of things that happen in the book surprised me. It fits with the world - it's a no-tolerance place for voyants, so people like Paige have to keep their noses down and senses on high alert.

Don't be shocked by the amount of brutality in The Bone Season.

After initially getting used to the above-mentioned quirks, I sunk into the book very quickly. Paige is a scrappy 20 something who works for Jaxon Hall, one of the most feared Mime Lords in London. Mime Lord is a fancy name for voyant gang leader or mobster. She helps him find other voyants because of her unique ability to escape her consciousness for brief moments of time and enter another's conscious, or dreamscape.

The intricacy of voyants and their abilities was something I loved. It was complicated but rich. Plus, it allows for so many variations and lots of surprises. This element of The Bone Season really took it from fantasy-esque to hardcore high fantasy. It was refreshing for me because not many YA fantasy books are that developed and epic (Falling Kingdoms and The Girl of Fire and Thorns come to mind).

I found myself liking Paige but being afraid of her at the same time. She's resilient to a fault and very, very stubborn. But, she's loyal and true, like most strong heros.

Even though the romance is a bit predictable, it's hot. Very hot. Lots of tension and build-up. Certainly no instalove around these parts.

OVERALL:

If you can set the hype aside and focus on the fascinating premise of the hardcore fantasy world, I think you'll really enjoy this book. Although, be warned, it's an investment of time (7 books), and the beginning may have your head spinning with an onslaught of info. I found The Bone Season to be a strong debut and truly love the complex world of voyants and the non-magical loving Scion.

This is 4-star read lit! Paige, a scrappy dream walker of unique power, is thrust into the perilous world of Sheol I, where her kind is imprisoned and exploited. Taken to the lost city of Oxford, inhabited by otherworldly oppressors, she must navigate a labyrinth of danger and deception. As Paige uncovers the dark truths of her captors and the depths of her abilities, she lights the fuse of a revolution that promises to shatter the chains of tyranny. She is gritty and resistant, a beacon of hope in a world that seeks to extinguish her kind. Paige's unwavering spirit, her refusal to give up against insurmountable odds, makes her journey not just compelling, but deeply inspiring.

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.

Paige Mahoney is an outlaw. She's a rare type of clairvoyant, born under a regime whose number one priority is singling out her kind and removing them from society - dead or alive. The Scion government not only hunts voyants, but teaches that their existence is unnatural and to be feared. Paige left school at the age of sixteen to avoid detection, taking her talent to London's underworld, the one place in the citadel where a voyant can find some measure of safety. Protégé to one of the crime syndicate's bigwigs, Paige is part of an elite gang of talented clairvoyants who use their gifts to cash in.

Only when she's finally caught does page discover Scion's true purpose. She is smuggled away from Scion's justice by a third party, whose offering of an alternative fate is fraught with sinister undertones. The Rephaim, an entirely clairvoyant race of interlopers has breached the dimensional barrier, bringing with them an even bigger threat - monsters who feed on human flesh. Their solution is simple: re-appropriate human voyant prisoners into a force for combating the monsters. It is for this purpose that Paige is brought into the training camp of Sheol I, where she will be trained and indoctrinated to the Rephaim leader's specifications.

While the Voyants who entered Sheol I with her come to accept their new lives, Paige cannot. At least in London, she had some measure of freedom. It is her quest to return to her crew and the London Syndicate that makes up most of the story.

I had The Bone Season marked as to-read months before it came out and it was certainly worth the wait. It's the first in a new series which definitely capitalizes on the current fad for dystopian YA/NA fantasy and like so many of its contemporaries it's currently being optioned for film.

At the beginning of the story you have to battle through a bit of an info dump. I was left scratching my head at some of the terms Shannon introduces but I caught up eventually. Nevertheless, after getting past that issue I was flawed by the detail of the world building. I found the concept of the Scion London Citadel engaging, and was actually a bit disappointed that more of the story wasn't set there. Luckily there are six more books projected for the series, so no doubt there'll be plenty of city living.

Paige is one tough cookie. Holding your emotions in as she does probably isn't healthy - but Shannon's alternative world is cutthroat, and Paige has been emulating steel long enough to truly dull the horrors of her existence. Since she was little, she's been conditioned to survive and to value her freedom above almost all else. This is integral to the major theme of the book - oppression.

This story isn't a romance, but there's a spark of a relationship for the main character for those who look for that element in a book. Shannon writes the story so that readers might see the goodness of the Rephaim called Warden long before Paige herself begins to think of him as an ally. There's definitely a connection between the two, though the idea of a romance irked me. He just seems far more mature than she.

The Bone Season ends by giving readers a fairly good idea of the series' direction. There's plenty left unresolved, and I for one am chomping at the bit to get at the next installment. I see the series emulating the structure of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series. Shannon has set up a clear villain, there is the initial discovery of this previously unknown environment, the making of our heroine into a nemesis for the villain and an action packed final sequence which only solidifies the enmity of Paige and her nemesis. I don't doubt that she will encounter the Voldemort-style villain various times in books to come, before one does the other in.

The Bone Season wasn't a perfect book, but there is a good reason it has been getting so many rave reviews! I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and look forward to future installments. Give this book a try - at the very least to find out what all the hype is about.

This story was intriguing. I liked the world that was created and I definitely kept turning the pages. Unfortunately, the book could use a thorough editing, which is sad since it's been out for seven years and still has many technical problems, of which I list below:

There were numerous instances where the dialog of two separate people was in the same paragraph, as well as dialog that was missing any association to whoever was speaking that made it difficult to tell who was saying what.

There was at least one instance where I believe the wrong person's name was referred to which caused confusion. I also scratched my head a couple of times about dialog lines that didn't quite make sense.

There were numerous flat out infodumps and a hefty dose of terminology specific to this world that was hard to keep track of. I also got confused on some action bits as to who was where. I think a better editor could have smoothed over much of this. Sometimes I didn't always know who was who since there were a lot of names flashing around in the final conflict.

There was also too much meandering into past recollections that detracted from the current plot and disrupted the pacing. Sometimes this was pertinent to what the character was thinking, but toward the end it started feeling like unnecessary filler. Also, near the end she brought up the complete recollection of her first poltergeist encounter a second time with nearly identical observations. That one should have been cut.

Finally, the book tacked on a prequel without calling it out as such. So, I was thinking it was yet another flashback and would return to the present and wrap up the ending. Nope. I was angry that the prequel had a better wrapped up ending than the main story.

Despite all the flaws, I did enjoy the story and am interested in reading the next book. Except, I'm not sure I want to pay full price if the next one has as many problems as this one. I got this one at a steep discount, so I can forgive its flaws. I'll be examining the reviews for the next one very closely before I decide.