Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Title: The Bone Season (The Bone Season #1)
Author: Samantha Shannon
Published: August 20th 2013
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Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.
But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers in their army.
Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.
The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine—a young woman learning to harness her powers in a world where everything has been taken from her. It 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.

It’s weird, because on Goodreads there are thousands of reviews for The Bone Season, but I haven’t seen that many around blogosphere. I do of course know about the next JKR praise this book and the young British author have been getting so that alone made me curious. I can tell you that I was impressed with many things, but as a whole this book left me very... unimpressed. Let’s break it down to pieces, shall we?

“Knowledge is dangerous. Once you know something, you can't get rid of it. You have to carry it. Always.”

The first chapter is very hard to get through—if it wasn’t for a buddy read (which Nick decided to not follow through. YOU TRAITOR *gasps* Jk, love.) I would have DNF-d it for the time being. The writing bothered me a lot at first—I don’t like when characters talk to me directly and Paige did that a lot in the beginning. I do appreciate how Paige questions everything—at the very start at least. Then again.. that was one of the things that reallllllly bothered me about her, because.. well.. info-dump (read more in the next paragraph).

I felt the compulsion to read it (hello, cool and intriguing world!) but I was bored out of my mind thanks to all the info-dumping. Nothing really happened throughout the first 50% of the book, the first three chapters excluded. Paige goes around asking questions and making friends/enemies, but it’s all for an excessive world-building. I don't think I knew what info-dump meant until I read this book O.o

I will read the sequel because we must have had the world built to great lengths by now, eh? Or do you think there will be just as much more? *runs away scared* I like thoroughly developed worlds, but sometimes less is more, especially since there are 6 more books in the series and we have the chance to develop the world more and more in future books.. I want to own these in physical form, but that’s not happening unless the sequel has more action and twists in it.

As for other characters, the side ones were pretty good (Nick, Liss, Julian etc., though I’m not a fan of Jaxon.) Warden? I liked him as well, but I didn’t form any emotional connections—does anyone else feel like the romance came out of the blue? He didn’t even show any signs of liking/wanting her and vice versa, but then suddenly a big, emotional connection happened and other [additional] things? I’m not complaining at all about adding romance to the plot, but it could have benefited from a more thorough build-up. No me gusta this particular romance.

At the end of the day, no cliff hanger, which is good, but the ending definitely sets up the next book. I’m weirdly looking forward to that. Here’s to hoping for more action and developing the romance, because otherwise, book two is where my journey with Paige stops. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the excessive world-building stopped in book one and we can put a bigger emphasis on the actual plot.

Overall rating: 2.4 out of 5.0
Stars: ★★

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