The Pale Dreamer: A Bone Season novella (The Bone Season)

The Pale Dreamer by Samantha Shannon is a prequel novella to The Bone Season series. It gives us a taste of Paige Mahoney’s first job with mime-lord, Jaxon Hall. The story takes place when Paige is sixteen, three years before The Bone Season.

In this story, Paige is given the opportunity to use her ability as a dreamwalker to prove to the mime-lord and her cohorts that she is worthy of working with them. The job was to track down a poltergeist as a team. It turns out, Paige did a lot more than what she thought she could do and what the others thought she was capable of. This gets Jaxon’s attention and he makes her an offer she can’t refuse.

I read The Bone Season series up to book three (The Song Rising). Book four is not out yet but should be later this year. The Pale Dreamer was a free download from the publisher on Instagram. I had plans to read this novella but kept forgetting and new books kept being added to my TBR list pushing this one even further back. I’m glad that I came across the ad. It was worth it to know how Paige joined Jaxon’s team of clairvoyants and how she became his most important member.

We first met Paige Mahoney in The Bone Season - it was interesting. It was different. It was new. It was like Harry Potter for adults. We've experienced Paige's evolution through several novels now, each better than the last.

But now we get not another story that extends the series-we get the prequel that shows us how Paige got to the Seven Dials...how she became the molisher of Jason Hall, mime-King of the Seven Dials. It's a novella and all too short, but still a good story that fills in needed background. It's good enough to hold me over til the next novel.

Actual Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Recommend: Definitely Review: This was a quick, fun read that shows the beginning of Page's story, before she was truly The Pale Dreamer and met Warden. This is her first assignment, where we learn more for her past and humble beginnings. The story is only 4 chapters long, so the story isn't huge and doesn't divulge a lot, but for it's size it was definitely amazing. I do wish it would have been longer, but I am definitely in the mood to re-read the books after this. If you love the Bone Season books I highly recommend reading this one.

I only say that the plot of the book is predictable because it is a prequel and if you have read the other books then you know what is going to happen. In the book you learn how Paige became the mollisher of Seven Seals and the main event in the book is how they are trying to capture a poltergeist. This is a very quick read and if you are a fan of the series it is a good story to read.

Overall Impression: What a thrilling introduction to the world of the infamous Seven Seals. Not only do we get to see more of what life was like for Paige while working under Jax, we also get to go on a high-stakes chase through London after a pair of poltergeists. One thing I LOVE about The Bone Season series is how Shannon incorporates the stories of actual famous spirits who are rumored to haunt London, and this novella is no exception. You can read about the actual story of Sarah Metyard and Anne Naylor here.

Wine Pairing: I'm recommending a Pinot Grigio for this read, both due to its pale color and its potential to become rich and full-bodied depending upon its ripeness, quite like the character of Paige Mahoney herself.

Book Rating: FOUR STARS. There are a lot of novellas coming out anymore that accompany larger book series. This is one of the more enjoyable ones I've read. Not only do we get a sneak peak into Paige's life before The Bone Season, but Shannon has also woven a very well-developed storyline for such a short work.

Cover Rating: FOUR STARS. I love the Scion logo on basically anything, but the way its displayed on this cover is truly lovely.

Swoonworthiness: TWO STARS. Love Nick as I do, it is clear even in this short novella that there is just no chemistry between those characters. That is, of course, perfectly alright though, because Warden. Queue the swooning.

Adventure Level: THREE STARS. Despite its length, Paige and Nick's race through London to help Jax bind the poltergeists of Sarah Metyard and Anne Naylor is thrilling, not only due to the way fact meets fiction, but also due to some run-ins along the way with the rival clairvoyant gangs of Scion's underbelly.

Why You Should Read This Book: If you're a fan of The Bone Season, you can't skip this novella. You'll get a glimpse into the relationship between Paige and Nick and what her life was like before everything that goes down in The Bone Season.

This story brilliantly highlights the way Shannon incorporates the actual history of London into this best-selling series. After you read this, I highly recommend re-reading the other books in the series so far. You'll find yourself googling all the locations and spirits that she mentions, and you're reading experience will be all the richer for it.

Perhaps most importantly though, you'll get to see Paige really begin to come into her abilities and start transforming into the smart, tough-as-nails girl that we've all come to root for.

Favorite Quotes:

"The Pale Dreamer did not show fear. She was confident in her decisions. Her face was a mask."

"...this was how we rebelled against their tyranny. Quietly, in the shadows - but by existing, by thriving, by daring to profit from our gifts, we defied Scion."

"High above London, the stars bore witness to my oath. In that moment, I almost couldn't see the darkness that surrounded them."

Wine Recommendations are, of course, for those of legal drinking age only.

The Pale Dreamer by Samantha Shannon is a prequel novella set before the events of her The Bone Season series. While it’s a short, quick read – somewhere around 45/60 mins – it packs in a lot of world building and plot development.

Paige, a 16 year old clairvoyant, was rescued from the streets by Nick, who works for Jaxon Hall, the leader of a supernatural gang called the Seven Seals. This novella centers on one case they work together, chasing down two poltergeist that are causing destruction in future London, and establishes who she becomes in the main series.

I confess, I’ve yet to get around to reading any of The Bone Season series. So that means my entire knowledge of the characters and world come directly from this novella, which I count as a good thing because I can safely vouch that The Pale Dreamer stands perfectly well as a stand-alone novella.

Easily the best thing about Pale Dreamer is it’s sense of setting and atmosphere. I was completely immersed in the world and, while a few things could have been a bit more fleshed out, everything had a strong internal logic. The future London of this novella just feels right and real, which is especially impressive considering the page count of this novella. I’d assume any world building I felt was missing is probably already established in the main Bone Season series itself so I’ll definitely be checking in on those books to see what everything is about.

The characters too seemed mostly well fleshed out, again just lacking some of the depth that I’m sure fans of the main series already know. Paige is the main draw character wise, which makes sense as she’s the MC. The side characters felt a little two dimensional but I’d assume it’s, again because these are established characters from a series that’s been around for a while. From what I can tell of the plot of The Bone Season, this novella is set three years earlier and the main series focuses on Paige still so, again, it’s another good hook to pull you in to wanting to read the full series.

All in all, I really enjoyed my brief time with The Pale Dreamer and it has definitely succeeded in making me want to check out more of this series. Everything is well set and well enough established in this novella that it totally works as a standalone, but there’s still plenty of room for a lot of building and depth to be added giving the main series it’s real drive.

As with all of Samantha Shannon's material, this is extremely well-written. It's a good introduction to a complex series and helps the reader get familiar with the basic concepts of Paige's world. I only wish this had existed before the first book in the original series. If you're new to the series then I highly recommend reading this before The Bone Season.

It was alright. Short and sweet but it was also just a lot of info at once. Its a prequel that tells you a bunch of stuff to hear you up for the story. I don't know if I'll read the series or not. It didn't catch me too hard and there are a lot of other things I want to read. Having syndicates as well as an oppresive government is a lot, and I don't really understand the reasoning for some of the world building. I'll have to think on this one.