The Mime Order (The Bone Season, #2)

by Samantha Shannon

BY THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE

'A trailblazer for young talent … The way Shannon’s characters shift, backstab and fall are as fascinating as the twists and turns of the plot' Independent

A fugitive who will not be silenced

It is a dark time for clairvoyants. Scion is in league with the Rephaim, an extraordinarily powerful, otherworldly race that intends to make humans its slaves.

In an unprecedented feat of bravery, Paige Mahoney has succeeded in leading a mass break-out from the brutal camp, Sheol I, where she and other clairvoyants were systematically imprisoned.

Paige is desperate to reach the safety of the London underworld, but the ruthless leader of the Rephaim, Nashira Sargas, is not likely to let her escape so easily…

This new edition contains an exciting preview of the sequel, The Song Rising

• ISBN10: 1408882515
• ISBN13: 9781408882511
• Publish Date: 9 February 2017 (first published 27 January 2015)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 1 July 2024
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 544
• Language: English

Reviews

I can tell that this series is a very well-thought-out and very complicated one. The structure of the world had me spinning in the first book The Bone Season, so much so that I had to read this next book The Mime Order in a physical format as I read the first book in ebook format, and it was too confusing to keep track. As it's been years since I read the first book, I had to find a recap post of the events to remind me of the details - thank god for the blog Recaptions.

The Mime Order starts immediately where The Bone Season left off. Paige is on the train heading back to London with the other escaped voyants, but they have a problem, they need to get off of the train before it gets to the centre of London, or they're all dead. The plot of book two is Paige trying to find a way to get the word out about the Rephaim controlling Scion and what is exactly at stake. Jaxon doesn't think it's a good idea because there is no proof so no one would believe her. Paige spends most of the time trying to stay alive as she is the most wanted person by Scion and everyone in London is looking for her.

I admire just how deep this story goes, just how large this world is, just how many details that need to be taken into account. This story is not a small one, it is not shallow, and it is a good read. I wanted to love this more than I did, but I found it a bit of a struggle to read to the end. I was forcing myself to read a minimum of 50 pages a day because I was a bit afraid that I would give up and not finish it. The last 100 pages were really easy to read in one sitting though.

To me, The Mime Order felt like a filler book to the main story of voyants trying to defeat the Rephaim. Not much happened to progress the main story in my opinion, and while a lot did happen, it really wasn't until right at the end where the plot took off. The pacing for the main plot felt very slow because of this.

I didn't care too much for a lot of the characters, this most likely made it harder for me to enjoy because I wasn't that invested in anyone. I also still struggled to wrap my head around the different kinds of voyants, and the ranking of the mime lords and the court etc. Sometimes it felt like I really didn't understand what was going on because it was deeply ingrained in the world's societal structure, and I was still trying to understand it. Or we could circle back around to not being that invested in the characters to care why certain people were important.

Ultimately, I think The Mime Order was a good read and the world building is pretty staggeringly amazing. But I just didn't love it and I know that when I pick up book three, I will be mentally preparing myself for the pace and intensity of the story. You can tell just how detailed this world is because each book takes years to be published, I imagine trying to keep track of all the details is very complicated. So I definitely admire the author for this.

I will push on to book three at some stage!

[Stephanie]

UGH. NO. GODDAMNIT.

[Leigha]

Paige Mahoney is looking to settle a score in the second installment to The Bone Season.

I don’t have much to say about The Mime Order. While the story is better written than the first book, I just don’t care. I don’t care about the characters or setting or world. My apathy for this novel reminds my of Synder’s Study series. All the elements are present – developed characters, interesting developments, and an evolving world – but I’m rather ho-hum about it all. If you enjoyed the first book in the series, most likely you will enjoy this book. Me? I think this series will go on my unfinished shelf.

tl;dr Better written second installment, but I just don’t care about the characters or setting to continue reading the series.

[Joséphine]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Initial thoughts: I enjoyed The Mime Order a great deal more than The Bone Season. Couldn't get over my reservations with regards to Paige and Warden, but besides that, things were better. I preferred the setting of SciLo to Sheol, where a lot more things were happening. Although, the first third of the book was so uninteresting, I hardly even remember what all that was about. After that, the plot finally got moving, and the characters came to life, along with their various motives.

The book could've been condensed and been much tighter if it had been cut down to 350 to 400 pages. There was a lot of information that went over my head. It didn't really add much to the storytelling. Rather, it seemed to have been thrown in to show that the world building had been thought through down to the second. Good thing The Song Rising isn't as long, so I have hope that it'll be an even better book.

[tellemonstar]

Review to come.

[Kelly]

Hope is the lifeblood of revolution. Without it, we are nothing but ash, waiting for the wind to take us.

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2015/09/the-mime-order-by-samantha-shannon.html
After having escaped the confines of Sheol, Paige has reclaimed her freedom and is back in Scion, determined to protect the Voyants of London from the oppressive rule. The Bone Season briefly introduced readers into the world of Scion London, the hierarchy between the levels of clairvoyants and the relationships between the sectors. The storyline begins soon after The Bone Season, where Paige has escaped Sheol leading a small group of Voyants to freedom, leaving Warden behind. She's determine to expose Scion for what it is, a cruel and oppressive reign that has sold the Voyants into a life of slavery and death. Paige is fierce. She's still on edge from her time at Scion and debating whether to return to Jaxon and the Seven Seals, but as her face is plastered throughout the city her decision is made and Jaxon may be her only chance at survival. As a rival Mime Lord and his group are brutally murdered, Jaxon sees the opportunity to take the city for himself and expects Paige to be by his side, now that she is in his debt.

But Exposing Scion and the Repahim is Paige's main priority and despite Jaxon's intent to silence her, Paige forges on and plays the Mime Lord at his own game. It was glorious. Yet again the most endearing quality of the series is the vivid world around them. I loved exploring London from it's opulent lifestyle to it's seedy and dangerous slums, in which most of the Voyants dwell. Readers gain the insight into rival Voyant gangs and learn to appreciate Jaxon's lure and protection, siding with Paige's decision not to go it alone. As the storyline builds, tensions arise between Paige and Jaxon with the latter attempting to keep her on a tight leash which only makes Paige more determined to expose their world.

The Mime Order flowed effortlessly. Samantha Shannon is a natural storyteller, immersing readers into her vividly imagined world from the very first page. Despite conflicting reviews, I found the storyline easy to follow with both installments but it certainly keeps readers on their toes. It's intelligent young adult bordering on new adult due the age of the characters and Paige being nineteen. Likened to Sarah J. Maas but without the dramatic shift between character relationships, I absolutely adore this series and simply can't recommend it highly enough. It's not a typical fantasy, but an epic fusion of fantasy, dystopian and science fiction with a touch of romance to keep the storyline fresh and adding intensity. The final few chapters are nothing short of breathtaking, they left me lost for words and with a mixture of pride and self high fives all round. But expect a twist that may or may not shock or delight.

This is by far one of the best series I've discovered thus far. Vivid, beautifully imagined and unique in a flooded expanse of fantasy books that all seem to engulf non fantasy readers. It's nothing short of phenomenal and book three just can't come soon enough. Buy it. Loan it. Beg for a copy. You won't be disappointed.

[Rinn]

I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. I also won a gorgeous hardback copy from Debby - thank you so much!

Having read The Bone Season at the beginning of 2014, and found it not quite as amazing as many of my fellow Goodreaders and bloggers, I was still impressed by the whole concept and story and gave it a solid four star rating. Yet when it came to reading this, I found I had forgotten the majority of the events of the first book – but luckily the Recaptains were there to help me out, and my memory was jogged as I read on. I remembered that the premise was intriguing, even if some of the characters were a bit lacking, and I loved the idea of this monstrous camp juxtaposed against the ruins of beautiful Oxford.

That, however, is where I believe The Mime Order fell short for me. Without that setting, without the whole camp, the feeling of Paige being in constant peril, without the Rephaim always around, it just wasn’t the same. London just wasn’t as exciting or interesting as Oxford, and the entire book felt so slow. There were whole sections where nothing really happened, and I was waiting for some action. In addition, it really didn’t feel like Paige had prepared for the Scrimmage enough, and why was she not more scared about what could happen? Because of her lack of fear, there was no tension or sense of peril over what would happen and it somehow felt like a big anti-climax without all the build up.

I also much preferred the wider cast of characters from the first book. I don’t feel that Paige is particularly exciting or inspiring as a main character, in fact Jaxon feels more well-built than her, with some real personality. And for some reason I’ve always had real trouble picturing how the Rephaim appear!

But yes, overall I DID like this book. It’s a ‘didn’t quite meet my expectations but I still liked it’ kind of three-star book. I’m just really hoping that the rest of the series, especially considering that Shannon has signed on for a seven book deal, are as good as the first, rather than this one – which to me, definitely suffers from ‘second book syndrome’.