An intoxicating urban-fantasy series . . . Shannon's haunting dystopian universe is rich in detail, consistent, suffused with familiar afternotes. . . Like Paige Mahoney, Shannon now has proven staying power. Her fans will be calling for more.” —NPR.org
“A gripping sequel.” —US Weekly
“While Bone Season was filled with action and exposition . . . betrayal and political intrigue take over in the excellent Mime Order . . . With the Unnatural Assembly and its colorful gangsters, Shannon goes full Scorsese . . . Tussling with poltergeists, showing her heroic mettle and even playing homicide detective, Paige makes great strides as a memorable character, and so does her author. If anyone was wondering how Shannon would stretch this story into seven books, the gut punch of the last line in The Mime Order will instead have them on tenterhooks for the next five.” —USA Today
“Shannon creates vividly dilapidated, macabre, and mysterious worlds both urban and within the dreamscapes Paige valiantly enters. The motley, elaborately costumed characters are compelling; the nonstop, often eerie action is riveting. And the story reverberates with echoes of the slave trade, industrial servitude, and classic gangster drama, all intensified by keenly imagined otherworldly combat. A Clockwork Orange meets A Tale of Two Cities meets Harry Potter in this clever, caring, and spellbinding tale, which promises more to come. . . as Shannon's exceptional fantasy saga continues.” —Booklist, starred review
“Full of the action, turns, and surprising revelations that readers have come to expect from Shannon, this new installment ends on a wholly unexpected twist.” —Library Journal
“Shannon's world-building is original and intriguing, especially the complex, almost mythic voyant underground.” —Publishers Weekly
“Her legion of fans will once again be here for the propulsive plot.” —Kirkus Reviews
“With a unique plot, impeccable world-building and important character connections, The Mime Order outshines its predecessor and becomes an intelligent, adventurous read.” —Deseret News
“[The Mime Order] boasts all of the suspense, intrigue and mystery of the first volume as well as an addictive storyline that will leave readers clamoring for the next chapters in Paige's ever-intensifying life . . . This deft effort to build on the complex world she constructed in the first installment will solidify the series' rightful place among the best of fantasy, sci-fi and dystopian fiction.” —Shelf Awareness
2014-11-06
Paige Mahoney, the Pale Dreamer of The Bone Season (2013), returns in this second volume of a projected seven-volume fantasy/science-fiction epic. The novel begins with Paige's escape to London as she eludes pursuers of all stripes and becomes public enemy No. 1. On the plus side, she's with a gang of clairvoyants, and her cohort is headed by Jaxon Hall, one of the mime-lords of the title. (Mime-lords and mime-queens are leaders of clairvoyant gangs who form a subgroup within the various cohorts.) London becomes the main setting of the novel, and it assumes various guises, some comforting but most harrowing. Cohorts inhabit spaces that seem vaguely familiar (Covent Garden, Camden Town, Soho) yet remain mysterious and sinister. Readers of the first volume might also remember the emphasis on a specialized and arcane vocabulary applicable to the alternative universe the author creates. The glossary is again a welcome necessity. The prime mover of action here is Paige's relentless pursuit by Scion, a governmental organization that sees her as a threat to its status and power. Eventually Paige meets up again with Arcturus Mesarthim, her Warden and a Rephaite—a physically immortal being. He has some advice for her—to be wary and to "manipulate [her] mime-lord…as he has spent his life manipulating others"—good advice for a world that is arcane, complex, multilayered and at times almost incomprehensible. Shannon's prose style is serviceable, but her legion of fans will once again be here for the propulsive plot rather than lyricism.
