"This is an ebullient, gloriously complicated fantasy . . . Shannon unravels her tangled tale in galloping prose . . . Very satisfying." - Daily Telegraph
"Like treasures unearthed by mudlarks, Samantha Shannon’s alternative world is studded with fabulous language: mime queens and mime lords have their mollishers; gutterlings jostle with amaurotics in the meatspace; the country groans under the rule of the Scion Republic. With a sharp eye on the politics of identity, Shannon transports us into a world where the oppressed are pitted against one another in the struggle for survival." - Daily Mail
“[A] must-read for fans of criminal escapades . . . With the recent release of revised editions, now is the perfect time to start The Bone Season before the next three books are released.” —ScreenRant
"Never less than captivating. A tantalizing, otherworldly adventure with imagination that burns like fire." - Kirkus Reviews
"Shannon's exploration of a futuristic, perilous Europe remains engaging and evocative . . . The narrative is fueled by a constant sense of tension, as well as both internal and external conflict." - Publishers Weekly
"Evocative, smart, and exciting . . . Shannon vividly and purposefully realizes each meticulously detailed setting, from London's underground to outposts in Scotland, while infusing her imaginative, passionate, and gripping saga with profound insights into humankind's long, bloody history of tyranny and the radiant ones who zealously fight for freedom and justice." - Booklist
"Fans will be rewarded with more character backstory, and new double agents on both sides of the insurgency . . . [The Song Rising] mirror[s] current debates on immigration, violence, and equality. It is within the descriptions of this clairvoyant world that Shannon’s writing shines." - Library Journal
"[Shannon] captures the city [of Edinburgh] with a particular kind of precision, especially the relationship between power and strength, and those who benefit from neither . . . This series of books [is] easily the most politically engaged of any of the contemporary dystopian fantasies." - Scotland on Sunday
"The third book sees feisty heroine Paige Mahoney take on the dangerous role of Underqueen, ruling over London's criminal population." - The Daily Express
"[Samantha Shannon's] brilliance is that she is not afraid of change, both for her characters and her setting . . . The 25-year-old remains a name to watch." - The Independent
2016-12-15
The third installment of this fantasy series (The Bone Season, 2013; The Mime Order, 2015) expands the reaches of the fight against Scion far beyond London.Paige Mahoney, though only 19, serves as the Underqueen of the Mime Order. She's the leader of the Unnatural community in London, a city serving under the ever more militaristic Scion, whose government is based on ridding the streets of "enemy" clairvoyants. But Paige knows the truth about Scion's roots—that an Unnatural and immortal race called the Rephaim, who come from the Netherworld, forced Scion into existence to gain control over the growing human clairvoyant community. Scion's hatred of clairvoyants now runs so deep that Paige is forced to consider moving her entire syndicate into hiding while she aims to stop Scion's next attack: there are rumors that Senshield, a scanner able to detect certain levels of clairvoyance, is going portable. Which means no Unnatural citizen is safe—their safe houses, their back-alley routes, are all at risk of detection. Paige's main enemy this time around is Hildred Vance, mastermind of Scion's military branch, ScionIDE. Vance creates terror by anticipating her opponent's next moves, so with each step that Paige and her team take to dismantle Senshield, Vance is hovering nearby to toy with Paige's will. Luckily, Paige is never separated for long from her Rephaite ally, Warden, as his presence is grounding. But their growing relationship, strengthened by their connection to the spirit world, takes a back seat to the constant, fast-paced action. The mesmerizing qualities of this series—insight into the different orders of clairvoyance as well as the intricately imagined details of Paige's "dreamwalking" gift, with which she is able to enter others' minds—fade to the background as this seven-part series climbs to its highest point of tension. Shannon's world begins to feel more generically dystopian, but as Paige fights to locate and understand the spiritual energy powering Senshield, it is never less than captivating. A tantalizing, otherworldy adventure with imagination that burns like fire.
