Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Genre: YA Dystopia/Fantasy
Series: The Bone Season #1
Publication Date: 20th August 2013
Pages: 480
Book Source: Bloomsbury & NetGalley

Synopsis: The Season Is Here.
The year is 2059. Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, as part of a secret cell. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and under the law of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing. 
When the authorities catch up with her, Paige is transported to Oxford, now a prison city that has been kept secret, ruled by an otherworldly race. These people, the Rephaim, want to control the clairvoyants for their own purposes. Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper named Warden. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to get close to him, to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.
My Thoughts:
The first of a seven book series, The Bone Season was a completely absorbing read in a complex and fantastical dystopian world. Set in Scion ruled London in 2059 society is divided into Clairvoyant and Amaurotics. Clairvoyance is prohibited, criminal voyants imprisoned in Sheol I, a penal city controlled by the Rephaim race.   

There's a lot to digest and quite a bit of info-dumping but don't panic, it's not incapacitating, you're saved from overwhelming confusion and head implosion by a riveting and well paced delivery. Rather than trying to explain it and create more confusion let me just say there's bucket loads of intrigue and a complexity that has you almost frothing at the mouth for more, it's original and all the minutiae makes perfect sense ... in the end.

19 year old Paige Mahoney is a dreamwalker, one of the rarest kinds of voyants, part of an 'underground' syndicate called the Seven Seals until she's captured and imprisoned in Sheol I. Her Rephaim keeper is Warden, an enigmatic character that had me intrigued from the start. Paige and Warden's interaction is a highlight and as the story unfolds, I found my loyalties shifting and re-aligning. 

The Bone Season is dark, intense and complex, it definitely has cross over appeal for YA and Adult readers alike. There's much to love, I'm certainly invested now and after such a compelling start there's so much to look forward to in future installments. 






Connect with Samantha Shannon




10 comments:

  1. This sounds really good ... will have to check it out!!!

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  2. We share the same opinion about this one Sheree :)

    Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out

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    1. Hope Ms Shannon can keep it up, I'm loving it :)

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  3. I keep hearing good things about this book, it's not my usual type of read but think I may have to give it a go.

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    1. Definitely worth stepping outside your comfort zone Samantha ... let me know if you give it a try.

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  4. This sounds amazing! And since I'm in the mood for some dystopian, I've added it to my TBR. Thanks for the great review :)

    Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

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    1. I love Dystopian and this is up there with my faves. Let me know what you think if you get to it :)

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