Hello everyone! This week's Friday Reads is a book that was pushed (nicely) on me by some of my fellow bloggers, those whose opinion I always check before picking a book, and that was also in my TBR list since last year! So thank you to Kristen from My Friends Are Fiction and Maja from The Nocturnal Library for telling me I really HAD to read this one!
This book is also part of my 2014 TBR Pile challenge, so far I'm doing fairly decently on two of my 4 challenges! I really need to get cracking on the other two!
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I arrived a bit late to the phenomenon that The Bone Season was on 2013, but after two of my trusted bloggers highly recommeneded it (it was part of their fave books of 2013 lists) I decided that I just had to get it!
And clearly, I had been missing out. The Bone Season is one fantastic first book in a very promising series. I can also understand how the pacing and the world building can seem slow for some people, but since I tend to gobble up all the information and world building than authors would throw at me, I never really minded all the explanations I got.
This world really is a different one, with a heavy focus on the paranormal because it is what defines it. There are people with gifts that are the clairvoyants and people without them, and the later are the ones in charge. Being a voyant is a danger and unless you belong with one of the syndicates of organized crime, you risk death or imprisonment. The syndicates aren't exactly a walk in the part either, but they keep the voyants safe from the government (the Scion).
Paige Mahoney is one of those voyants part of a syndicate, she's one of the Seven Dials and is called the Pale Dreamer. Her boss treats her like a comodity and a treasure both, but she feels like she belongs there. That changes the night she's captured for trying to escape detection via the Scion police and when she discovers that her gift, dreamwalking, can be used as a weapon too.
She's taken to Sheol I, previously known as Oxford, a prison city for voyants ruled by a race of non-human beings called the Rephaim. She ends up being under the care & training of Warden, the consort of the Rephaite ruler.
The details about past and present, with memories from Paige, the vivid descriptions of how London is in this new world and how Sheol I works, all makes up a fantastic world that you just can't wait to get more details about. About the Rephaim, about how the Scion came to power, about the different types of voyants... And everything with a writing that you can enjoy reading!
There's a lot of depth to the characters we encounter in this pages, not only the main ones, but also all the secondary ones. There is so much richness of detail to all the different relationships, from alliances, to mistrust, to unrequited love.
Paige is a fantastic heroine, determined and a survivor, with a headstrong tendency that gets her to never give up and never surrender even when facing unknown dangers and not-so-good odds. She is a fighter, but she also has a lot of compassion and that is what rounds her up so well.
Warden is a very enigmatic character at first, with quite unclear motives, and I felt that my attitude towards him took a very similar path to the one that Paige followed, even if I think I found myself hoping Paige trusted him earlier than she did.
Their relationship progresses in a very slow and quite realistic way. From mistrust and certain hatred, to a tentative truce and collaboration, to trust and acknowledgement of mutual attraction. I really liked how the interactions between these two started to change and progress and seeing them become allies.
This book wraps up one storyline, but leaves so many open doors and unanswered questions, and such a long fight ahead. That ending really did tug at some heartstrings, and I cannot wait to see what the next book will bring!
It was an excellent debut and first book, some of the unanswered questions that we got hinted at bothered me, cause it felt a bit like left too obviously hanging till the next book. Still, I cannot wait to read more about this world and these characters. A bit undecided between 4 and 4.5 stars, but I'd definitely recommend everyone to read this one!
View all my reviews
This book is also part of my 2014 TBR Pile challenge, so far I'm doing fairly decently on two of my 4 challenges! I really need to get cracking on the other two!
The Bone Season by Samantha ShannonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I arrived a bit late to the phenomenon that The Bone Season was on 2013, but after two of my trusted bloggers highly recommeneded it (it was part of their fave books of 2013 lists) I decided that I just had to get it!
And clearly, I had been missing out. The Bone Season is one fantastic first book in a very promising series. I can also understand how the pacing and the world building can seem slow for some people, but since I tend to gobble up all the information and world building than authors would throw at me, I never really minded all the explanations I got.
This world really is a different one, with a heavy focus on the paranormal because it is what defines it. There are people with gifts that are the clairvoyants and people without them, and the later are the ones in charge. Being a voyant is a danger and unless you belong with one of the syndicates of organized crime, you risk death or imprisonment. The syndicates aren't exactly a walk in the part either, but they keep the voyants safe from the government (the Scion).
Paige Mahoney is one of those voyants part of a syndicate, she's one of the Seven Dials and is called the Pale Dreamer. Her boss treats her like a comodity and a treasure both, but she feels like she belongs there. That changes the night she's captured for trying to escape detection via the Scion police and when she discovers that her gift, dreamwalking, can be used as a weapon too.
She's taken to Sheol I, previously known as Oxford, a prison city for voyants ruled by a race of non-human beings called the Rephaim. She ends up being under the care & training of Warden, the consort of the Rephaite ruler.
The details about past and present, with memories from Paige, the vivid descriptions of how London is in this new world and how Sheol I works, all makes up a fantastic world that you just can't wait to get more details about. About the Rephaim, about how the Scion came to power, about the different types of voyants... And everything with a writing that you can enjoy reading!
There's a lot of depth to the characters we encounter in this pages, not only the main ones, but also all the secondary ones. There is so much richness of detail to all the different relationships, from alliances, to mistrust, to unrequited love.
Paige is a fantastic heroine, determined and a survivor, with a headstrong tendency that gets her to never give up and never surrender even when facing unknown dangers and not-so-good odds. She is a fighter, but she also has a lot of compassion and that is what rounds her up so well.
Warden is a very enigmatic character at first, with quite unclear motives, and I felt that my attitude towards him took a very similar path to the one that Paige followed, even if I think I found myself hoping Paige trusted him earlier than she did.
Their relationship progresses in a very slow and quite realistic way. From mistrust and certain hatred, to a tentative truce and collaboration, to trust and acknowledgement of mutual attraction. I really liked how the interactions between these two started to change and progress and seeing them become allies.
This book wraps up one storyline, but leaves so many open doors and unanswered questions, and such a long fight ahead. That ending really did tug at some heartstrings, and I cannot wait to see what the next book will bring!
It was an excellent debut and first book, some of the unanswered questions that we got hinted at bothered me, cause it felt a bit like left too obviously hanging till the next book. Still, I cannot wait to read more about this world and these characters. A bit undecided between 4 and 4.5 stars, but I'd definitely recommend everyone to read this one!
View all my reviews
I am so happy all my pressure paid off :-P I would have been sad if you had hated it...and felt bad for making you read it. I loved it so very much. It is paced as an adult book rather than ya so I can totally see how the pacing frustrated some readers. There is a bit of world info dumping but like you I loved it. I can't wait for the next book! Since we've been introduced to the world and characters I'm enthused to see where Shannon goes next. Great review Pili!!
ReplyDeleteYep, I really loved it! My only frustration was at all the hints and the real (and unknown) purpose of the Rephaim here, but that is also making me quite excited for the next book!
DeleteI'm hoping we'll get book 2 in the fall!
Thanks again for pushing this book on me!!
I've been wondering about this one for a while now and you're review has definitely convinced me! The main thing that was worrying me was that everyone was mentioning that the world building was slightly complicated and hard to grasp, but I'm glad to hear that it didn't bother you! I'm super excited to read about this world now!
ReplyDeleteI love characters like Paige. She sounds awesome! I'm also super excited to see the development in her relationship with Warden. I'm definitely excited for this one now!
Thanks for such a fantastic review, Pili! I'm off to reserve this one at my library now! :D
YAY! I'm quite happy to hear you'll be reading this one, but now I'm scared you might not like it and will hate me for recommending it!
DeleteBut yeah, the world building was fantastic and I loved it! I was complex but not hard to grasp!
I was one of the people who just couldn't get into this book. I do think pacing was a part of it, but definitely not all. It was one of those books that I just couldn't connect with, and so I couldn't absorb the information well. When I was done. I wasn't even sure what I'd read! I'm glad you had a much better experience. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear the book didn't work too well for you!
DeleteI really need to get this one, don't I? I'm glad you enjoyed it!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend you do read it! It's a super engaging and engrossing read!!
DeleteYay, I'm glad you finally read this, it was one of my favourite reads of 2013! I really liked Paige, and the whole thing with Warden was a bit weird lol. Can't wait for the next book.
ReplyDeleteJeann @ Happy Indulgence
Yeah, I'm still thinking that I should have read it earlier! I can't wait to read book two and find out what's really going on with the Rephaim!
Delete