Published: August 20, 2013
Pages: 480
Source: For Review from Bloomsbury/NetGalley
Rating: 3.5 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.
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.
In short: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon has a highly ambitious and imaginative concept, but the execution of the world building was not up to par.
And the result was that I was both impressed and disappointed by The Bone Season. The highly ambitious and complex world building in The Bone Season was somehow both its strength and its weakness. Samantha Shannon - at the tender age of nineteen, still a student at Oxford, when she wrote this book - has crafted one of the most original and visionary fantasy worlds I have ever come across. It was so unlike anything I have read that it was hard at first to even wrap my head around the concept. But it's hard not to appreciate such breadth and richness of imagination.
It was the execution of the creation of such a unique world that I found issue. Notice how I have not even attempted a brief summary of the world in The Bone Season. There is just SO MUCH there and it's all very complicated, and I couldn't possibly adequately explain even the basis of it. The world building was not nearly as clear as I would have liked. It felt like a chore at times, keeping track of all the lingo and rules. There is a glossary in the back, which might have been helpful, except I wasn't aware of its existence until the end and it would have been a pain to flip to in ebook format anyway.
Perhaps I would have liked The Bone Season better if I had more patience. As it was, I didn't feel like trying to take in massive loads of complicated information and making sense out of this highly complex world. I actually really like complicated concepts and world building, but only if they seem effortless; this seemed laboured. If I were the type to DNF books, I probably would've ditched this one early on when the info dumps were numerous and the many details convoluted. But as it is, I am utterly unable to ditch books part way through, so I stuck it out. Thankfully, the story did get a bit easier to follow in time, and therefore way more enjoyable.
Don't get me wrong, The Bone Season was a good book that I liked and admired for its ambition and imagination. It is also a very fast-paced and exciting book once you get past the initial intro to the world. Characters were another highlight here; many were complex and enigmatic. There is the beginnings of a romance here and I have a feeling it's one that a lot of people will really love for its tension and intensity. So there was a lot of good in The Bone Season. I'm just not completely positive I am ready to commit to a seven-book series when I am still a bit fuzzy on the details of the world.
Other Reviews:
The Page Turner
Realm of Fiction
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I'm not quite as brave as you; I do get scared of books that have been insanely hyped about, but eventually, I succumb to it and I do check it out. I gave this one a try, and I seriously couldn't get into it. Like you, I think that the execution and details of the world were to info-dumpy, and I couldn't deal with it. I didn't get far enough into it (at all) to experience the complex characters or fast-paced plot, unfortunately. I DNFed it, but I maaaay go back to it one day. One day. Very thoughtfully written review, Aylee!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, Aylee, you're not alone with the book hype! Hype is like a flame; I'm the moth. ;) But aw, I'm a little sad that you didn't like this as much (I, personally, LOVED it), but I can see where you're coming from. I agree that the foundation for the world building was marvelously done, but the development and details... not as much. I loved Paige, though. She's not only brave - she's witty, and her short sentences helps to build her character. (As you can see, I studied her quite a bit, haha.)
ReplyDeleteLovely review though! Maybe if you give the sequel a go, it might just convince you to read the whole series. ;)
This book was SO hyped at BEA this year. I'm more intimidated by the fact that it's going to be a seven book series. That already sounds like a stressful commitment lol
ReplyDeleteThe glossary in the back of the book is a pet peeve of mine. How are we supposed to know that??!
Karen @ For What It's Worth
"I am a total lemming" hahaha! I am too! This sounds like a good book, but data dumps are never fun when you're trying to weed out the story....
ReplyDeleteKate @ Ex Libris
I got this one at BEA only because everyone seemed to be talking about it and it was being compared to other great series...I couldn't resist making up my own opinion about the thing. I had heard mixed things though so I feel like I was sort of prepared for it, and now reading your review I definitely have a better idea what I'm in for. I really dislike info-dumps though and like you, I like complex plot lines and world building but ONLY if it flows effortlessly! Thanks for the insightful, lovely review!
ReplyDeleteThe seven book series thing is what scares me away from this book. I don't think I can do that- particularly with a series that I'm not convinced is worth it. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on this one and I think I'll skip it. There is nothing here that leads me to believe that I would want to read it. I don't like information dumps and complicated worlds that don't have a lot of explanation.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review,
I appreciate that you wrote such a thoughtful, balanced review for this super hyped book! I feel like I've seen sooooo many glowing reviews and it's nice to see that tempered somewhat here. I can be a patient reader if need be, and I do love ambitious worldbuilding, so I still have pretty high hopes that this will work for me, especially now that I know that going in. Lovely review Aylee! :-)
ReplyDeleteMmm... yeah it sounds like it needed more editing this book, so it would flow better and it didn't feel like they were shoving info at you. It's never a good sign that you feel that you should be more patient with the boo, I think.
ReplyDeleteThoughtful as always, Aylee :D
This kind of book is so hard. You don't want to criticize it, because you respect what it's trying to do, but it's so "good" that it's not enjoyable. There's a really fine line. That's been my problem with Tolkien. So much going on that I can't just enjoy the story.
ReplyDeleteI am not one to have a lot of patience with a book either, so I think I would have issues
ReplyDeleteThanks for your honest thoughts! I didn't realize this was so hyped about to be honest. I mean, great for the author...that's awesome to accomplish so young. As for the book though, I don't think I'd enjoy it. Just reading the summary confused me and I feel like I'd get frustrated trying to figure it all out too. haha
ReplyDeleteWorld building can make or break a book and it sounds like it really didn't do this book any favors. Poor execution. Too bad! I also have little patience, so I might even end up DNFing this if I ever decided to give it a chance.
ReplyDeleteAlise @ Readers in Wonderland
I've never even hear of this book until I read your review. Its sounds complex. I doubt I'd be able to figure it out, especially if you didn't. I'm curious, is this still YA? It sounds a bit adultish. Have you read Stormdancer? (I haven't, but I thought they sounded slightly a like in the complex world building area and hype).
ReplyDeleteIt's considered Adult with "YA crossover appeal." I guess it may also be considered New Adult because the protagonist is nineteen.
DeleteAnd I haven't read Stormdancer. I wanted to a lot when it was first released. But then the reviews were mixed...
When there is so much you can't even paraphrase a snapshot of the world it must be big indeed. I had snatched this up at BEA but I'm in no rush to read it...even more so now that its so middle of the road.
ReplyDeleteBoth impressed and disappointed? Ah! That makes the book so much more rappelling and interesting. Complicated plots make it so difficult to write a brief summary in your own words. I must say, Aylee, that with your review, I'm quite curious! Lovely review!
ReplyDeleteSarika @ The Readdicts
I meant *appealing and not rappelling. Silly typos! :P
DeleteI have seen a lot of buzz from bloggers but I had no idea about the seven book-six figure deal and how young the author was! Wow, that would make me curious too. I don't too well with complicated so I'm not sure if it would be for me though. Maybe I'll check it out sometime. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of your points, Aylee! I gave this 4 stars, but I do appreciate that the execution (particularly where the world-building is concerned) isn't instantly at the level that might be expected for such a hyped up title. Though, for me, everything did fall into place and make sense after a short while, but I'm not sure I would have followed along as easily without the maps/charts and the glossary. Also, I had no idea the author was so young! I assumed she was older... Anyway, lovely review as always! Although it didn't blow you away, I'm glad you enjoyed it overall. :)
ReplyDeleteI got this ARC, and have kind of been putting off reading it...I was so hoping to read better reviews for it after all the hype. But I've read some mixed things. Maybe it's a book/world that will make more sense in the series as whole? I'm still going to give it a try; it's just not at the top of my pile right now.
ReplyDeleteAylee, my darling! I'm sorry I haven't made it to your blog in a bit though I promise it wasn't my intent!
ReplyDeleteSo I hadn't realized how incredibly crazily buzzed this book was until you mentioned all the deals and stuff its garnered which is just WHOA, but I am eager to try this one. Even despite the warnings of info dumping that have been left to try and get you to understand the world... I don't know that I have the patience for it either. One can only hope I'll find this one a bit more impressive and won't be disappointed! :D
This is one of those books I'm looking forward to reading just because of all the positive hype. It's too bad the execution of the world isn't effortless but at least you found the world very imaginative. Hopefully, the worldbuilding will become even clearer in the sequel.
ReplyDeleteINFO DUMPS. I'm reading this right now, and the beginning had so much dumping, I was about to ditch it right away. It's picking up though, but I totally agree on how the whole thing is getting confusing. There are just too many terms and lingo, and gah. I'm hoping I'll enjoy it - you're the first I know to dislike it!
ReplyDeleteI'm reading this one right now, and I'm very confused by the world Shannon is trying to build. It seems fascinating, but I can't keep it all straight. I agree about the characters though - I like them so far!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your wonderful review :)
Wow, I had no idea that the author is only 19. I'll admit, that makes me a little skeptical, especially in light of the fact that she's debuting as an author with a seven-part series. But hey I try to be open-minded about what I read. It is a crazy summary for sure, and I can totally see the need for it to be info dump heavy. I'll probably end up reading this for curiosity's sake, though!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very helpful review. I think now I'm going to wait for some of the other books to publish and see if the world becomes more coherent before I pick it up. I'm a big fan of complex world-building, but there's a huge difference between "complex" and "convoluted" and it sounds like this world is more the latter. You have me interested with the characters, romance, and action though, so I'll add it to my TBR (I hate the cover and I've refused to add it to my TBR because of the cover and the hype).
ReplyDelete