Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on August 14, 2013 | 13 Comments


Review: The Bone Season by Samantha ShannonThe Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
Series: The Bone Season #1
Published by Bloomsbury USA Children's (8.20.2013)
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: ARC, 480 pages
Source: Gifted
Buy on Amazon


4 Stars

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.

My thoughts

I honestly don’t even know how to write this review. It was one of those books that was just so….something, I can’t even begin to put it into words. Here goes…

First of all, the detail that Samantha Shannon put into the world building was incredible. Seriously, kudos to her! I can’t imagine the time that she had to have spent on it. The world in The Bone Season was very in depth and well thought out, with its own language and a uniqueness unlike anything I’ve ever read before. But – did you see that but coming? – but sometimes it got a bit confusing and hard to grasp. I have to admit that I really struggled in the beginning. And honestly, I had no clue what the heck I was even reading until I realized there was a glossary in the back. Read the glossary first. It helps. A lot. I did much better after studying the glossary, but there were still a few words that weren’t in there that I didn’t understand. But at least I wasn’t stumbling around blindly in the dark anymore!

The clairvoyance was the most interesting part of this book. I haven’t read many clairvoyant stories, so this one was quite different for me. Paige’s ability was fascinating…how cool would that be to have that kind of power with your mind? It was very cool to see the different types of voyants and how their powers worked.

Getting back to the originality of this one: I’ve read a lot of books, but this one stands out from all the rest. If you’re looking for something refreshing and original, I definitely recommend you pick this one up.

Then why only 4 stars, you ask? For some reason, I had trouble connecting. I can’t put my finger on why, because like I said it was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I had some trouble relating to the characters, and even though they were fairly fleshed out and had their own personalities, I still felt a bit detached. Paige was a good lead; stubborn and headstrong, just the way I like my heroines. She just lacked that special something (I know, I’m being horribly vague…this book scrambled my brain!) to make me love her.

I did, however, love Warden. I wanted more of him right from the start! Despite him basically being Paige’s captor, it was obvious he wasn’t bad. He was stoic, and a complete enigma, and I was helplessly intrigued. (I suppose I had a bit of Stockholm Syndrome!) I enjoyed learning about his past and getting a look into his head, even though I still don’t fully understand him or his motivations.

The ending left me craving more (Warden!!!), and I will definitely pick up more of Samantha’s work in the future!

Overall Assessment

Plot: 4/5
Writing style: 4.5/5
Originality: 5/5
Characters: 3.5/5
World-building: 4.5/5
Pace: 4/5
Cover: 2.5/5
Overall rating: 4/5

Jessi (Geo)

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13 responses to “Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

  1. Great review! I’ve heard really mixed things about The Bone Season so it’s cool to know that you loved it. I’m honestly a little hesitant though because of the fact that it’s apparently a bit confusing… I don’t usually like confusing books lol.

    I think I’ll give this one a try eventually (but probably not until December because my copy is currently 5,000 miles away). I hope I like it as much as you did!

  2. I’m so glad you liked this book! I’m very excited to get my hands on it. I’m sad you lacked connectivity though. Its always a little disappointing to have everything work so well except for a few aspects. I’m still glad to hear that this was a great read! Hopefully I’ll enjoy it!

    Lovely review Jessi!
    <33 Inky

  3. wow the title so did not catch my attention, nor did the cover, but the blurb is interesting! And who doesn’t love amazing world-building! Going to look more into this one!! Thanks!

  4. I feel like such a black sheep for hating this one, but the fact that none of the terms were explained and I didn’t even know there was a glossary until the end really threw me off. I also had a lot of trouble connecting as well, which was a contributing factor to why I didn’t like this one. But I’m really happy that you liked this, especially the premise and the language.

    Fantastic review, Jessi! <33

    • It’s okay, I would have hated it had I not found the glossary! The first few pages were harrowing until I realized it was back there lmao! It’s a shame, really, because if I’d been able to connect it probably could have been 5 stars for the originality =/

  5. I hate that, when you can’t put your finger on why a book was god but not amazing. It was just missing something! I totally understand that. This one sounds like it’s worth a read though!

  6. Glad you enjoyed this one so much, Jessi! It’s too bad you couldn’t connect with it, but that happens sometimes. I first heard so much hype about this one, but TBH I haven’t read any reviews. So I’ve been wondering what folks were thinking. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

  7. Oh my god, Warden was the greatest! I definitely agree, I liked him even at the very start of the book as well, and as the book went on he just became infinitely more awesome! Also, Arcturus is just such a great name :D
    Nice review Jessi!

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