The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.
It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.
The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and 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.
Clairvoyant Paige Mahoney is taken prisoner in the first book to an epic adult fantasy series.
My feelings are a bit mixed when it comes to this book. On one hand, the story and characters are incredibly interesting. Paige is a likable, intelligent heroine. Her ability to adapt with her surroundings and learn new skills is admirable. The rest of the characters are less defined than Paige, but none of them feel unnecessary. The tension between Paige and Warden is palpable. While the story starts slowly, it picks up the pace toward the middle of the novel for an action packed conclusion.
On the other hand, I had a hard time with the setting and the world building. My biggest issue is with the language, particularly the slang terms the author uses liberally throughout the novel. It took me to the middle of the novel to feel I had a grasp on the language only for a new term to occur. The problematic language only accentuated the poorly constructed world building.
tl;dr A problematic adult fantasy with interesting characters yet a poorly constructed setting.
