10/10/2016
The third entry in the epic Bone Season paranormal near-future series picks up where 2015’s The Mime Order left off, with dreamwalker Paige Mahoney taking her place as the underqueen of London’s clairvoyant community. With the totalitarian forces of Scion increasing their choke hold on their territories and seeking to expand their reach, Paige has to rally her people, taking the fight to Scion before it’s too late. But first they have to destroy the Senshield, the enigmatic technology capable of exposing the voyants wherever they are. Paige’s journey takes her across an increasingly dangerous Britain, where she’s forced to rely on unlikely allies, and into the heart of Scion’s strongholds, where she confronts an enemy that’s able to predict her every move. Shannon’s exploration of a futuristic, perilous Europe remains engaging and evocative, especially with the depiction of the so-called Unnatural Assembly and its tradition of catchy, almost folkloric nicknames. The narrative is fueled by a constant sense of tension, as well as both internal and external conflict, but some of the mythology related to the otherworldly Rephaim remains hard to grasp, somewhat diminishing the story’s overall strength. Agent: David Godwin, David Godwin Associates. (Mar.)
"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
“Shannon now has proven staying power. Her fans will be calling for more.” - NPR.org on THE MIME ORDER
“Will solidify the series’ rightful place among the best of fantasy, sci-fi and dystopian fiction . . . [and] leave readers clamoring for book three.” - ShelfAwareness on THE MIME ORDER
“Shannon has continued to build on this imagined world with intricacy, and Paige’s voice comes through to deliver a suspenseful story.” - Washington Post on THE MIME ORDER
“An amazingly rich and unruly underworld . . . Paige makes great strides as a memorable character.” - USA Today on THE MIME ORDER
“A dystopian thriller that delivers.” - Salon on THE BONE SEASON
“A great imagination at work.” - People on THE BONE SEASON
11/15/2016
In this third installment (after The Bone Season and The Mime Order) of Shannon's projected seven-book series, Paige Mahoney's reign as Underqueen faces new threats from Scion's ever-emerging cast of leaders. Fans will be rewarded with more character backstory, and new double agents on both sides of the insurgency. When those within the Mime Order are branded enemies of the state and discover that their spiritual powers are being harnessed for warfare through a device called Senshield, the novel hits its stride, effectively mirroring current debates on immigration, violence, and equality. It is within the descriptions of this clairvoyant world that Shannon's writing shines, and as the revolution progresses, the loss of key Mime Order members will be acutely felt by readers of the previous books. VERDICT This is a solid addition to the series, with two exceptions: the capture of the Underqueen includes gruesome waterboarding torture scenes that some will prefer to skip, and the perpetual question of will-they-or-won't-they between Paige and Warden (the series' male protagonist) remains unresolved.[See Prepub Alert, 10/3/16.]—Tina Panik, Avon Free P.L., CT
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.
