Book Review – The Bone Season

by Samantha Shannon (Bloomsbury) ISBN: 9781408836439

Samantha Shannon is a good writer with a good story. How I wish a brave editor had taken her youthful (she wrote this when she was 21) obsessions in hand and cut this book by a third.

Shannon has created another history for the world from 1859 onwards. Paige Mahoney is a 19-year-old clairvoyant who lives in Scion (England) in 2059. Clairvoyants are called unnaturals and break the law simply because they exist. She works for an underground cell at Seven Dials run by Jaxon Hall.

When she accidentally kills someone with her powers, she is taken by the authorities to a secret stronghold where the Rephaim rule. She has become a slave and is given to the Warden. The Rephaim ruler, Nashira, takes a special interest in Paige who is a rarity – a dreamwalker. Why have the rulers of Scion brokered a truce with these strange creatures? How will Paige escape and get back to her gang?

I loved the idea of the book. I think the worlds were interesting. The problem was that Paige had the same (very long) conversations, fights and arguments repeatedly. This is poor writing – unless the author wanted to show us how stupid Paige is. I don’t think so. The fight sequences were so drawn out they became boring.

As I said, the book needed to be cut by 150 pages. I would have given it four stars if it had been. This is the first of seven books.

Amanda Patterson
2/5