Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Bone Season (The Bone Season, #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Bone Season (The Bone Season #1)

by Samantha Shannon (Goodreads Author)

3.75 · Rating details · 42,658 Ratings · 6,774 Reviews

The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people's minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.

It is raining the day her life chan ...more

Get A Copy

Or buy for

Hardcover, US, 466 pages

Published August 20th 2013 by Bloomsbury USA

More Details... edit details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Bone Season, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

2,752 books — 21,898 voters

Best Books Published in 2013

3,247 books — 7,160 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

filter | sort: default (?) | Rating Details

Dec 31, 2016 Sasha Alsberg rated it really liked it

At first, I found the world a little confusing but as I got more into the book it's became clearer. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was phenomenal! Great at accents!
3.65 stars!

flag 444 likes · Like · see review

Mar 02, 2013 Emily May rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, arc, 2013

I really, really wanted to like this book. It sounds stupid but I actually feel slightly guilty at how disappointed I was with it and I think the main reason is because the author is a British student of the same age as me and, as soon as I learned that, I really wanted her to succeed. I really wanted Shannon to be the next J.K.Rowling, as some are calling her. I really wanted her debut to take me out of this world and leave me desperate to get my hands on the next installment. However, I just didn't think The Bone Season was anything special or original. In my opinion, it shows definite potential for Shannon's future as a writer but the story is a regurgitated version of one that has been told countless times.

The Bone Season is a story I feel like I've read before in various other fantasy-lite novels - the one that first came to mind being Shadow and Bone. The author takes this familiar story and, basically, complicates it. She stirs it in a pot with a bunch of new names for old things ("voyants" for those with clairvoyance, amongst other new terms), slang that left my head spinning even though myself and the author are British (I ended up having to consult my Welsh friend), and world-building that sounds unique and complex because of the fancy terms floating around... but really isn't. What this is, for me, is an example of taking light, easily digestible fantasy fiction that is filled with uncomplicated excitement and romance, and turning it into something long-winded and overly descriptive just so you can attempt to call it original.

There are apparently seven books in this series and I'm betting only three or four will really be needed. This first book felt soooo long because it was so fleshed out with lengthy descriptions and seemingly pointless information. Plus, there is so much tell and so little show. Particularly in the beginning it felt almost as if the protagonist (Paige) was reading me a textbook on the world, people's abilities and Floxy (flavoured oxygen). Huge chunks of this novel are dedicated to info-dumping and the execution of these sections feels really awkward, like a movie cutting off in the middle to bring up a page of text that gives you some background information. It wasn't smoothly incorporated into the story.

The plot follows Paige who is a dreamwalker in the year 2059. Paige, and other types of clairvoyants, commit a crime just by existing. When Paige accidentally uses her abilities and kills someone, she is sent to a voyant prison which is controlled by creatures called Rephaim who want to use the voyants abilities for their own gain. She is assigned to a keeper called simply "Warden", a mysterious and dangerous dude who stares at her from the day she arrives (guess what happens, go on, guess). I feel myself once again comparing this to Shadow and Bone and the way Alina's powers are discovered by the Grisha and she is forced into their world and taught to harness her powers. The glowering looks and sexiness of the Darkling are also present here but his name is Warden instead. The Bone Season isn't terrible but I find it very surprising that words like "original" are being thrown around when it feels like this story and these characters are recycled versions straight out of many other paranormal novels.

This book, in my opinion, is simply a glorified, overcomplicated retelling of any other light, fluffy fantasy. But the descriptions, info-dumping and general wordiness do not make this a deeper and more meaningful read, but rather they made the book dull and tiresome for me. As much as I wanted to like it, it was incredibly easy to find distractions and every time it was a struggle to come back to it. The romance goes down a predictable route, as does most of the book. I feel bad for saying it, but this just wasn't for me at all and I doubt I will read the rest of the series.

Notes on the slang
Paraffin is Kerosene (paraffin lamp, paraffin stove, etc.)
Cokum - Google will probably be useless to you on this one. It means cunning/shrewd. ...more

flag 337 likes · Like · see review

Aug 20, 2013 Khanh (the meanie) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: why-do-i-hate-myself, ya, dystopian, alternate-universe, aliens, uk, high-school, sci-fi, boring-main-character, never, glbt, try-hard

In short: the publisher's overblown hype set this book up for judgment and failure, but the book itself provided the rope.

I hate hype. The thing about hype is that it---unfairly, at times---sets the bar up so high that there is really nowhere to go but down. This is true especially in the case of such a young author. You throw in the name Bloomsbury, and the "seven book series" bit, and the J.K. Rowling comparison surely comes. It certainly sets standards extremely high, unrealistically high, th ...more

flag 310 likes · Like · see review

May 06, 2012 Steph Sinclair rated it liked it

Recommends it for: People looking for a more complex novel with intricate world building

Recommended to Steph by: myself 'cause I'm awesome

Shelves: original-and-creative, i-really-enjoyed-it, made-me-think, i-didn-t-see-that-coming, fantasy, smart-heroine, superb-world-building, adult, strong-heroine, quit-fucking-with-my-mind, 2013-release, bloomsbury, cool-author, gave-away, 2013-reads, addictive-read

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

The Bone Season is easily the most hyped book of 2013, surpassing even the conclusion of the Divergent series, Allegiant. As the first in a seven book series, it's already been optioned for a movie and did appear on the New York Times Bestsellers list its debut week. But when I heard the magical words "the next J.K. Rowling" my interest, along with many, was instantly piqued due to my severe lack of will-power. But like any book surrounded by a massive amount of hype, the ...more

flag 171 likes · Like · see review

Mar 09, 2017 Mikee Andrea (ReadWithMikee) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

❝Knowledge is dangerous. Once you know something, you can't get rid of it. You have to carry it. Always.❞

Wellllll. This one is a bit tough to rate and review. It was a great book BUT it definitely had its "huh???" moments. Let me start off by saying that this world is DENSE. Holy crap. I cannot put a finger on this worldbuilding. It's like I get it, but I don't. You read it and you're like WHAT IS GOING ON, but it just flows anyways even with a big question mark floating above your head. It's really a lot to take in. One look at the reference page in the beginning of the book and you can already see how much of a pain it would be to piece together the worldbuilding and how things worked.

Worldbuilding aside, the concepts in this book are also super confusing and hard to grasp. I have NO idea what a dreamscape is. I don't even really understand what Paige is or does. Along with everybody else's abilities. I know NOTHING. I understand NOTHING. But I'm like, okay. Whatever. I'll go with it. I'm just hoping that things would make more sense or explained better in the the second book. Although I was ??? about the concepts and worldbuilding, I was still able to enjoy the storyline and how things unfolded.

The pacing, overall, is pretty slow. Even at the end when shit starts to go down, I wasn't fully invested in what was going on or blown away sitting at the edge of my seat. The story moves slow but it's actually surprisingly interesting. Usually the slow pacing plus confusing worldbuilding would kill the whole thing for me and I'll end up DNFing but the storyline really saved this book. There were a lot of times when I was like HOLY CRAP THIS IS SO GOOD.

I don't really have much to say about the book mostly because I'm still reeling and wondering what the heck I just read, and what EVEN was this worldbuilding. But overall, this was a pretty good start to what potentially could be one of my all-time favorite series. I could tell that Samantha Shannon has a lot more up her sleeve for her readers. And considering how this is a seven book series, I'm really curious as to how this story can span that many books. I mean, I'll almost be 30 by the time this series will be over lol!

The Bone Season is a bit slow here and there, and the worldbuilding can be a pain to follow but I think many people will really enjoy this series. Although sometimes the story moves slowly, there was no dull or boring moment. I highly recommend sticking through the tedious, info dumpy first book because I can already see this series greatly improving with the later books! I've heard good things about The Mime Order, and many have said that it's a MAJOR step up from The Bone Season so I'm really looking forward to that! ...more

flag 146 likes · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2014 Carmen rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: No One

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, traditionally-published, she-says

ALL SPOILERS ARE HIDDEN

This book is disgusting. My skin was crawling with revulsion while I read it.

The first part - the first three chapters - were already upsetting me. It's an alternate reality England. 200 years ago, some humans started becoming clairvoyant. It's unclear whether this was triggered by something or if it was something that always existed, hidden from the sight of amaurotics (her word for non-clairvoyants). Paige is a clairvoyant, and clairvoyants are hunted, tortured and kille ...more

flag 134 likes · Like · see review

Jul 16, 2017 Melissa ♥ Dog Lover ♥ Martin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Um . . . .

I can't even begin to explain the stuff in this book. You will have to read it or read some other review. But, I freaking loved it! How? I don't know, I'm weird that way. Note: There is a glossary in the back to help with the book. I should probably have studied it but it's all good!

Paige gets taken by these people things and is turned into a slave. She gets the better person thing as her master. His name is Arcturus but he's called Warden. I liked him. Yeah, he was a slave owner but ...more

flag 127 likes · Like · see review

Aug 18, 2016 Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ (of badger and SNAKE) rated it did not like it

Shelves: yes-i-m-disappointed, fantasy, 2016-reads, adult-fiction

TW : Slavery

If I had to describe my relationship with The Bone Season in one gif :

The narrative is choppy and bounces constantly between different subjects without transition. The author is young and it shows : the information about the world is shared rather clumsily through infodump and awkward flashbacks when it suits the author to do so. I didn't complain in the beginning, because I was interested in knowing more about the world. When it went on during the whole book, though? TOO MUCH. I c ...more

flag 106 likes · Like · see review

Aug 05, 2017 Catriona (LittleBookOwl) rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned

Perhaps closer to a 3.75?
Really like the concept, such a fascinating world and characters. There were some times where a lot of information is given at once, but definitely enjoyed it.

flag 100 likes · Like · see review

Jul 28, 2017 destiny ☠ howling libraries rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned, fantasy, all-the-best-ships, book-is-life, life-and-lit-reads

“This was what my spirit longed to do, to wander in strange lands. It couldn't stand being trapped in one body all the time. It had wanderlust.”

This was the Life & Lit book of the month for July, and while I honestly didn't know what to expect and wasn't feeling particularly enthusiastic about starting this series, I was shocked by how much I loved this book! This was more of a 4.5 star read for me, but I didn't feel good about rounding down for this one.

✘ PLOT
In the future, the government h ...more

flag 90 likes · Like · see review

Jan 06, 2017 Melanie rated it liked it

Shelves: dystopian, fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, young-adult, read-in-2017

This book was so addicting, yet so unnecessarily long for me! Which is even more absurd to say, because so much of this world building was difficult to comprehend; you'd think that the extra length would be helpful, but it wasn't. Like, this chart saved my life:

You see this chart before chapter one, but you don't realize how much you actually need this chart until all these different clairvoyant names start getting thrown at you, and it is the only reference you have to help you not feel complet ...more

flag 80 likes · Like · see review

Apr 18, 2017 Cait • A Page with a View rated it liked it

Shelves: dystopian

I see why a lot of people LOVE this book (because the idea is fascinating), but it really wasn't my thing.

The basic idea is that the Rephaim came from the Netherworld and turned what used to be Oxford into a training ground/prison for clairvoyant humans. The Rephaim control our world and don't destroy it in exchange for those humans fighting the flesh-eating Emim that share the Netherworld. Clairvoyant humans are collected and brought in every decade in what's known as a Bone Season, where they ...more

flag 76 likes · Like · see review

May 15, 2013 Brandi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Curse you Samantha Shannon!!! You go and create this amazingly original book, and then make me wait for the rest?! I'm not going to make it. If you need me to *ahem* check the future books for...something...I'm more than willing. Jus'sayin. Now on to the book review!!

All clairvoyance was prohibited, of course, but the kind that made money was a downright sin. They had a special term for it: mime-crime.

This story is incredibly original (for me), and really intense! Though I really loved it, t ...more

flag 76 likes · Like · see review

Dec 01, 2015 Christina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Original Read: January 1st - January 8th, 2016
Re-read: March 1st - March 19th, 2017

My original rating and thoughts still stand. This book starts out slow and confusing, even after my 2nd time reading this, it's still a bit confusing. But I love the world that Shannon has built in this series and I'm so excited to get to The Song Rising to see what else she has in store for this series.

On to book 2....

************************
Original Review:

4.5 Stars

**This will probably be long and confusing a ...more

flag 66 likes · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2015 Mary rated it it was amazing

First read in March 2015
Fantastic is an understatement.

The Bone Season absolutely blew me away. Such a fantastically written book, with a gripping plot, amazing characters and original setting and ideas. I flew through it, despite the rocky beginning - there’s quite a lot of information presented, which can make it difficult for the reader to connect, but once you get pass that, you will not want to put this book down. It’s imaginative, it presents a fresh setting and it’s a riveting read.

The ye First read in March 2015
Fantastic is an understatement.

The Bone Season absolutely blew me away. Such a fantastically written book, with a gripping plot, amazing characters and original setting and ideas. I flew through it, despite the rocky beginning - there’s quite a lot of information presented, which can make it difficult for the reader to connect, but once you get pass that, you will not want to put this book down. It’s imaginative, it presents a fresh setting and it’s a riveting read.

The year is 2059 and Paige Mahoney is living in London (an alternate reality London) and is part of a crime syndicate, composed of clairvoyants (which can be easiest defined as people who can see/influence spirits/ghosts and affect other people on a spiritual level) . After certain events unfold, Paige is captured and she ends up Oxford, under the rule of a race from another world. Thus begins Paige’s desperate attempt to gain her freedom and return home.

I loved, looooved the idea that sits at the basis of this book - the idea of people who can see spirits and influence them and other people who possess similar abilities. These people actually fight with each other using their powers and it was fascinating to read about it, because it’s not something you see in every book. I loved the world that Samantha has created, the laws that govern it, the slang, the culture, literally everything - it has become one of my all time favourite book worlds.

There’s also a huge character diversity, and while it may be difficult to follow so many characters at times, it’s refreshing to see such variety in terms of characters. I love Paige - she’s smart, determined, likable and she’s taken a place in my all time favourite female characters list. Jax has an allure that compels you, despite the fact that he’s kind of an asshole. Warden has mystery and I loved to see his relationship with Paige slowly develop. I was interested in all of them and that is a testament of Samantha’s writing ability - to make you care about the characters and their relationships.

I found it difficult to pinpoint a certain genre for this book, but that is in no way a bad thing. On the contrary, it means that people who prefer different genres can all find something to love here. It’s a mix of dystopian/paranormal/fantasy that works extremely well. Give it a try, you won’t regret it. It has become one of my favourite books of the year so far and I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel - The Mime Order.

Favourite quotes:

“Knowledge is dangerous. Once you know something, you can’t get rid of it. You have to carry it. Always.”

“Don’t judge too quickly, little dreamer.”

★★★★★

To everyone who got this far, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day! Also, feel free to share your thoughts, comment or tell me anything :) ...more

flag 64 likes · Like · see review

May 28, 2015 Bookdragon Sean rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fi, y-a, love-and-romance, 2-star-reads

There’s a lot wrong with this book

I heard lots of praise about this book prior to reading it. It is supposed to be some kind of novel that is representative of female fantasy novelists, and the rising popularity of them. Apparently this novel is leading the charge for women writers claiming the fantasy genre. Well if that was true, which it isn’t, then this charge is a lost cause because this novel is incredibly average. Not to mention the fact that the actual forerunner of female fantasy writi There’s a lot wrong with this book

I heard lots of praise about this book prior to reading it. It is supposed to be some kind of novel that is representative of female fantasy novelists, and the rising popularity of them. Apparently this novel is leading the charge for women writers claiming the fantasy genre. Well if that was true, which it isn’t, then this charge is a lost cause because this novel is incredibly average. Not to mention the fact that the actual forerunner of female fantasy writing has been writing books for over twenty years. By this I mean Robin Hobb. No doubt she is eternally indebted to Samantha Shannon for leading the charger for her. Whoever suggested such a thing was a complete moron.

Ignore the absurd label

It is an absolutely ridiculous label, so I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear about it that way I can review this sincerely, even if I didn’t like it very much. It is exciting in parts, but not very fulfilling overall. The novel begins with lots of awkward world building. The novelist throws a torrent of information about the world, the powers of the characters and the history of it at you in a horrible manner. She literally slams you with information before you’ve even began to picture the world it is set in. It bored me half to death an almost made me stop reading after a couple of chapters. However, I plodded on because the protagonist killed a couple of guards; this changed her life incredibly, which meant that the novel became marginally interesting.

The protagonist of the novel is called Paige Mahoney, a terrible name I know, she is thrown into a prison after killing the guards, but it is not an ordinary prison. It is a cell for those that have special powers; they are called the clairvoyant or voyants for short. The powers range from summoning poltergeists to being able to enter the Aether. I would explain to you what the Aether is, but I’m not entirely sure. There was some boring dictionary like explanation at the start of the book that I immediately forgot because it was so uninteresting. Later she realises that everything she thought she knew about the world is a lie, and it is in actual fact ruled by a race of humans called the Rheph.

Only one interesting character

This is where the novel redeems itself slightly. The voyants are taken under the wings of the Rheph to train them up in protecting the world against some mysterious entity that comes from the Aether that wishes to eat everybody (no joke). A Rheph called the Warden chooses Paige. He is a complex character that is clearly divided in his loyalties. He is in a difficult situation, which forces him to obey someone he hates. This gives him a dark brooding effect, which is quite compelling. He has an interesting history, and if he had some point of view chapters then the novel would have been a lot better. I do hope in later novel that he has some point of view chapters because the only point of view character at the moment is incredibly bland.

Paige is a very weak woman. Prior to being thrown into jail she was working for a crime syndicate that was blatantly exploiting her for her gifts. She is completely unaware to this obvious fact. Furthermore, when she is put in another situation that is similar to the first she almost develops a Stockholm syndrome effect. This was incredibly obvious that the novelist was going to go down this route, and I think it was an absolute terrible authorial decision to make.Moreover, a novelist who is supposed to be representative of female fantasy writers has written a terrible representation of women. She should have made her stronger. By doing this she has created a protagonist who seems to have only one redeemable quality, and that’s the power she is being used for. Indeed, she is flat, predictable and weak.

I will read the next book in the series for one reason: to find out what will happen to the Warden. However, the prospect of there being eight books in this series does not thrill me. If the next book is the same I will never read anything by this author again. Hopefully it will give me a reason to carry on reading the series because at the moment this book leaves me with few. ...more

flag 61 likes · Like · see review

Dec 12, 2015 Nanna rated it it was amazing

GUYS!

WHAT A BOOK! ah, I still can't believe that something this awesome had escaped my knowledge!

this book is amazing and I am so jealous of the world that Shannon has created! truly, truly a masterpiece.

if you're a fan of awesome fantasies & glorious world building then this is the book for you!

seriously, read this book!

it's a bit hard to start but after 50 pages, you get it. and I would recommend listening to the audiobook because there were so many words that I would have mispronounce ...more

flag 59 likes · Like · see review

May 20, 2013 Renu rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, series-in-progress, adult

The Bone Season is a highly original and engaging read.

The Bone Season has been classed as an ‘Adult’ book by the publisher, but it definitely has crossover appeal. It features characters that are 18+, touches on adult themes, and contains curse words (not much.) As someone who is over the age of 18 I would love to see more books like this, as it offers the best of both worlds – not YA, but not quite adult either. When I first heard the term 'New Adult' this is what I thought it would be. I was The Bone Season is a highly original and engaging read.

The Bone Season has been classed as an ‘Adult’ book by the publisher, but it definitely has crossover appeal. It features characters that are 18+, touches on adult themes, and contains curse words (not much.) As someone who is over the age of 18 I would love to see more books like this, as it offers the best of both worlds – not YA, but not quite adult either. When I first heard the term 'New Adult' this is what I thought it would be. I was hoping that it would cover a wide range of genres, not just contemporary as it does now.

There have been articles floating around the internet saying that Shannon is the next J.K. Rowling, and this of course is a lot of pressure to put on an author. To me, The Bone Season is stylistically very different to Harry Potter. I think that it's best to go into it without the comparison in mind, because in my opinion it’s amazing in its own right. The only similarity I found between the two is the book deal: 7 fantasy books to be published by Bloomsbury.

Before I start gushing about what I loved about The Bone Season, I must admit that I had some issues with the opening of the book. There is quite a bit of info-dumping, so many new terms were thrown in without explanation that at times it felt a bit awkward. However, once my initial confusion had somewhat lessened I could not put the book down. In all honestly the info-dumping didn't take away from my reading experience, I was still able to enjoy and appreciate the world Shannon had created, because info-dumping aside the world building was very thorough.

The amount of imagination and detail that has gone into the world building is stunning. This is a book that I think will require patience from the reader, because it takes a while to grasp some of the ideas, and just when you think you've grasped them something new is thrown in. However, when everything does eventually fall into place the complexity of it all will just blow you away.

The story is set in London, 2059. In this world there are two types of people: Clairvoyants and Amaurotics. Clairvoyants have been out-casted by society. They are treated like criminals, and this ironically enough has forced them to join the criminal underworld of Scion London. Paige Mahoney is a part of a syndicate known as the Seven Seals. She works for Jaxon Hall, a notorious mime-lord who uses her to scout for information by breaking into others’ minds. Being an unusual type of voyant, a dreamwalker, means that she commits treason just by breathing. So far, though, she has stayed hidden under the radar. That is until one fatal day she is forced to use her abilities to get out of a life threatening situation and is discovered by the Scion. Chased down and thrown into Sheol 1, a prison of sorts run by a race known as the Rephaim, Paige is determined to escape.

Paige was a likable protagonist, strong and intelligent she adapted quickly to new situations. Warden was an equally intriguing character; it was interesting getting to know him as the story progressed. I didn't know if there was going to be a romance, and was surprised towards the end when the inkling of one began to form. Shannon does a brilliant job of straying away from the usual clichés as the relationship between Warden and Paige is one that develops at a slow and natural pace. There was a build up of trust, respect, and friendship before the romance and I appreciated that. Another thing that the author excels at is creating tension, the chemistry, although subtle, had me glued to my Kindle.

The Bone Season is the kind of book that will stay with you long after you've finished reading it. Quite simply it is a riveting story, with complex characters and a richly crafted world.

This review also appears on my blog, The Page Turner. ...more

flag 58 likes · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2014 Kiki rated it did not like it

Shelves: zombies, lost-the-will-to-live, never-call-me-again, lolwut, adult

This book was an absolute nightmare. One of the worst books - no, one of the worst things I've ever read. Even marking it as 'read' is a push, since I hardcore skimmed the last hundred pages.

It was appalling: so boring I felt like a weary, dry, ugly husk as I laboured over every indecipherable page. It was slow, painful, filled with depthless characters. But it falls into exactly the same trap as Truthwitch, which is to deliver the most bewildering world building with little to no explanation. ...more

flag 54 likes · Like · see review

Aug 23, 2013 Jack Truong rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, pure-crap

To say that this author is the next JK Rowling is like saying I'm the incarnation of Tolkien on steroid.

Brace yourself, this review is gonna be ugly. I wish the system had allowed me to rate a book lower than 1, because I don't simply 'not like it'. When I finished reading, I wonder if the people at Bloomsburry were on Floxy when they decided to publish this book. It is BORING. There is nothing new or ground-breaking here. It's just the same old ideas stuffed in a lackluster plot and contrived s To say that this author is the next JK Rowling is like saying I'm the incarnation of Tolkien on steroid.

Brace yourself, this review is gonna be ugly. I wish the system had allowed me to rate a book lower than 1, because I don't simply 'not like it'. When I finished reading, I wonder if the people at Bloomsburry were on Floxy when they decided to publish this book. It is BORING. There is nothing new or ground-breaking here. It's just the same old ideas stuffed in a lackluster plot and contrived slang (which makes no sense by the way, I'll elaborate below)

-1 Star: info-dumping. Oh, dreaded info-dumping. Until now I still have no ideas how voyants power works or how different voyants works. I have to go through pages after pages after pages of nonsensical explanation and in the end nothing makes remote sense to me. Perhaps I'm to dumb to understand? I don't know. Brandon Sanderson's magic system is more interesting and much easier to understand.

-1 Star: stupid slang, unnecessary words. Excuse me, I'm NOT reading a textbook. I don't want to flip back and forth to the Glossary to understand what a certain word means while the author can totally use normal phrasing instead. Why call Earth 'meatspace'? why call guns irons'? why call money 'push'? Why the hell everything must be so freaking complicated?

-1 Star: flashback galore. Never since The Hunger Games that I want to throw a book into the wall that much. Note to aspiring authors: flashback serve NOTHING to push a plot forward. Unless you drop in some vital information that change the whole story Without it. In this book, flashback is intrusive and unnecessary.

-0.5 Star: poor prose. I've counted A LOT of italics and quite a few variation of "I have no choice, but...". Overall, I don't require anyone to write like Rachel Hartman. Not every author can be clever in writing. Fine, but again, back to the second point, everything is unnecessarily complicated by the sheer amount of slang which contribute nothing to the plot. In Harry Potter, I can totally immerse into JK Rowling's world because it is easy to understand. I understand British writing because I learn that in school. Stuffs like 'bloke', 'bloody hell' don't bother me. It bothers me when the author makes up words for no reason.

-1.5 Star: the next JK Rowling? Really? If they call this author the next Stephanie Meyers, I would be less offended. The plot is simplistic. I remember the first time I read Harry Potter and when I reached the end, I was blown away. I couldn't figure out the huge twist in the scene. I was amazed by how JK Rowling subtly dropped little hints here and there, then tie everything together. If you want to see the same thing in this book, you're sorely mistaken. The bad people are bad, the good people I can see miles away.

-1 Star: cliche galore: hmmm, a young girl with special power, a hot mysterious guy a few hundred years old and sucking blood, a love triangle with another hot guy. Where did I see that before?

-1 Star: calling this sci-fi is shaming the whole genre. There is ZERO science in here. We have a little glimpse of the future and that's it. This is exactly the same problem I have with YA sci-fi in the recent years. The authors invest no time in creating a world of tomorrow. Because it requires them to do ACTUAL research.

Overall: yes, it is a negative score but I can't rate it lower than 1 star, which is very very generous to this book. I do give new authors a chance but not to anyone who waste my time with a 500 pages book claiming to be the next JK Rowling. This book ISN'T. When you raise my expectation, you better fulfill it. If you just say this book is another YA paranormal, maybe I'll give a 3 for effort because it's not the worst.

Sorry, no, I'll never spend more time on this author because I see no hope in her style and the mind-boggling amount of info-dump. It's Christopher Paolini all over again. Praise young authors to heaven and they will think they can write like Tolkien.

Long story short: I probably won't touch any book in this series and from this author. 5 Days of hell is enough. ...more

flag 48 likes · Like · see review

Jan 09, 2015 Robin (Bridge Four) rated it it was ok

2.5 Stars

Buddy Read January 16, 2015 with Annette, Athena (Shardbearer), Michelle, Shandra, Kristen, Kerry, Jamie, Julie , and Andrew at Buddies Books and Baubles

I can definitely see why so many people have enjoyed this story. I enjoyed it too, not a huge 5 star kind of enjoy but enough that even though I’m giving it a 2.5 stars I am going to read the next book.

Now any other series starting with a 2 star I might not continue with but there is a ton of potential and this is her first book I expec 2.5 Stars

Buddy Read January 16, 2015 with Annette, Athena (Shardbearer), Michelle, Shandra, Kristen, Kerry, Jamie, Julie , and Andrew at Buddies Books and Baubles

I can definitely see why so many people have enjoyed this story. I enjoyed it too, not a huge 5 star kind of enjoy but enough that even though I’m giving it a 2.5 stars I am going to read the next book.

Now any other series starting with a 2 star I might not continue with but there is a ton of potential and this is her first book I expect her to really improve along the way. For YA the story moves really slowly with a ton of info-dumping. There was a lot of information on the world, classifications of all the clairvoyants, factions and history. It got a little distracting and cut into the forward momentum of the story. I also didn’t connect with the heroine for a long time. There is being a strong woman and then there is being a childish idiot and not picking the correct moments to rebel. Paige didn't seem to learn any lessens until pretty far into the book, I really didn't start to like her until the last fourth of the book.

BUT…..

The world once you get through it is interesting. Just to break it down there are people who have some type of clairvoyant power (controlling spirits, foretelling the future, telegraphing images to others….etc). Paige can leave her body and invade the dreams of others. She worked for a crime boss for and used her talent to mostly collect information for him. That is until during an altercation her power took on a defensive tactic and she killed a man. After that Paige is shipped off to a penal colony ran by a different species/alien/spirit something where clairvoyants are used as slaves and to fight against another species/alien/sprit something.

The story didn’t start to really pick up for me until Paige started some training and then I started to like it a lot more. Warden is the most interesting and complex character in the story. He is the fiancé to the ruler who took Paige into his home for training. He was an enigma as it seemed that he didn’t exactly behave like the other Raphaim and sometimes showed up with battle wounds of a sort.

This does have a few YA clichés and tropes but overall I can get a sense of the grand vision the author was trying to get across. I’m hoping that with some editing help and streamlining her next story doesn’t take as much time to get going.
...more

flag 48 likes · Like · see review

Jun 13, 2014 Giselle (Book Nerd Canada) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013, from-gift, signed, own, genre-romance-slow-burn, 5-star, genre-dystopia, genre-fantasy, genre-romance, genre-paranormal, age-adult, beautiful-covers

Paige is an unnatural who works for one of the mimelords in the future where London is plagued with people who can hear, speak and converse with spirits. She is different from the rest and having that ability makes her valuable enough to be kidnapped. Her captors take her to a place where she didn't know existed and there she will find a world that she never knew existed.

I don't even know how I was going to write this review, but alas it was easier than I thought it would be. I found it refreshi ...more

flag 48 likes · Like · see review

Jan 25, 2014 Maxwell rated it really liked it

Shelves: i-own-it, dystopian, 2014

First read: June 1-3, 2014
Re-read: August 21-22, 2016

"The Bone Season" is remarkable. It is unique. It is a work of an extremely talented young lady (she's only 22 years old! What?!). And it is the start to a series that I am so glad to have found early on. At the same time, I now have to torturously wait for the following installments.

Paige Maloney is a dreamwalker, a type of clairvoyant that can invade the aether without any help from numen, and she is discovering her talent allows her to atta First read: June 1-3, 2014
Re-read: August 21-22, 2016

"The Bone Season" is remarkable. It is unique. It is a work of an extremely talented young lady (she's only 22 years old! What?!). And it is the start to a series that I am so glad to have found early on. At the same time, I now have to torturously wait for the following installments.

Paige Maloney is a dreamwalker, a type of clairvoyant that can invade the aether without any help from numen, and she is discovering her talent allows her to attack other's dreamscapes. Yeah, it's a whole lot to take in and understand. It is the first book of the series after all. The first 100 pages or so are quite confusing, because the world is new to you as the reader. But trust me, once you start to understand, you quickly are sucked into the world and won't stop reading until the book is over.

Essentially, Paige finds herself pulled into a mysteriously world that has been allegedly eradicated, the old city of Oxford, in England. There she finds a mysterious supernatural society, the Rephaim, who are utilizing clairvoyants to fight off strange monsters called Emim. (Yeah, I know what you're thinking, what the heck? But just trust me on this).

From there Paige is sort of struggling between her loyalty to her old mime-lord, Jaxon, and her new master, The Warden. She meets some interesting folk in Sheol I (the detainment city), and from there has to face the blood-sovereign, Nashira Sargas. Welcome to a sci-fi/fantasy book where there are strange names and lots of things to learn.

DON'T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK. POSSIBLE SPOILERS/TOO MUCH INFORMATION BELOW:

Plot-wise: WOW. So intriguing. The world building is massive. Shannon really set herself up for an epic series. And I can't wait to see where it goes. So much potential for the future. The dilemmas are nothing new, but when they are set in this creative, new world, they become something more, and I really liked that.

Characters: I love Paige. She is strong and confident, but she has a history that haunts her, and you see into that in some very interesting and even terrifying flashbacks. She is really well-developed as a main character, and I think Shannon wrote her perfectly into the story. Warden is an enigma to me; I want to love him as a supporting character, and at times I do, but then other times I question where his loyalties lie. Eek!

Overall: Amazing. I know I am going to love this serious so much. Though it may not be for everyone, I thoroughly enjoyed this reading experience. I couldn't put it down; I thought about it when I wasn't reading it; basically, the perfect example of what I like in a book. It was something totally original (from what I've read), and I am thrilled to see a young writer making her way in the literary world. ...more

flag 47 likes · Like · see review

Apr 23, 2016 Warda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Edit: So, it's only been a few days - I think just two days actually - and I can't stop thinking about this book. The characters. The world. So good. So damn good!

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.

I went into this with no expectations at all and not knowing what it would be about, and I think that's definitely the best approach, and holy hell, I loved every minute of it! Books that I find difficult to put down or give me heart palpitations are always, of course, great and memorable reads for me.

Here's the ...more

flag 46 likes · Like · see review

Jan 04, 2015 helen the bookowl rated it really liked it

Going into this book was stepping out of my comfort zone. This book is sci-fi and fantasy combined into one, and I'm not good at either of those. However, I was intrigued by all the great reviews out there and I finally started reading.
I was planning on taking my time with this book, especially because I had heard that the beginning could be quite confusing. However, here I am now, 1 1/2 day later - I have finished the book and I am left with a hollow feeling inside.
This story took me by surpr ...more

flag 43 likes · Like · see review

Sep 11, 2016 Vivianne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, to-re-read, 4-stars

Finally a book with action! No love triangles, no drama or whining, no catfights, no complicated irritated love. Just a badass main character who knows what she wants and fights for her friends. This book is fast paced, beautifully written and has an amazing, creative world building. Unfortunately the beginning is really vague and complicated and due to that it takes a really long time to get comfortable with all the new terms and slang.

”Paige Mahoney is living a dual life hiding who she is from ...more

flag 43 likes · Like · see review

Jun 24, 2014 Jadranka rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, dystopia-post-apocalyptic, my-books, read-in-2015, popsugar-reading-challenge-2015

Godina je 2059. Pejdž Mahoni (19 godina) živi u scionskoj republici London (London je 1929.g.postao Prva scionska citadela) i deo je londonskog zločinačkog podzemlja pod imenom Scila. Ona je Vidovnjak, Šetačica snovima, Neprirodna. Scion je upravo i nastao kao odgovor na novootkrivenu pretnju Kraljevstvu, na „epidemiju vidovnjaštva“. Vidovnjaci se smatraju najgorim zločincima, otpadnicima, oni su pošast koja mora biti iskorenjena. Postoje i posebne jedinice čiji je zadatak da love Vidovnjake, a
Godina je 2059. Pejdž Mahoni (19 godina) živi u scionskoj republici London (London je 1929.g.postao Prva scionska citadela) i deo je londonskog zločinačkog podzemlja pod imenom Scila. Ona je Vidovnjak, Šetačica snovima, Neprirodna. Scion je upravo i nastao kao odgovor na novootkrivenu pretnju Kraljevstvu, na „epidemiju vidovnjaštva“. Vidovnjaci se smatraju najgorim zločincima, otpadnicima, oni su pošast koja mora biti iskorenjena. Postoje i posebne jedinice čiji je zadatak da love Vidovnjake, a njihova meta je i glavna junakinja Pejdž. Nakon jedne od akcija u srcu Londona, Pejdž završava na mestu za koje nije ni znala da postoji, mestu gde vreba možda još veća opasnost.

„Sezona kostiju“ je prva knjiga u serijalu The Bone Season, mlade autorke Samante Šenon. Sam serijal bi trebalo da ima čak sedam delova ?! Ne mislite li da je to malo...hm, preambiciozno za tako mladog autora? Nije mi jasno zbog čega se ide na toliko obiman serijal, kada bi jedna trilogija sasvim lepo „završila posao“. U stvari, jasno je meni zašto se to radi, ali kao čitalac ne mogu da ostanem ravnodušna na pravu epidemiju skribomana, koji ne znaju kada je dosta. Nemam problem da priznam da uživam u YA žanru, posebno distopijskim i fantasy romanima, ali isto tako mislim da ne treba sve što dolazi iz tog žanra „dizati u nebesa“, i preterivati u hvalospevima istih.
Šenonova je uspela da stvori zanimljiv i donekle originalan distopijski svet sa elementima fantastike, sa klasičnim osvrtom na političku tiraniju, i sa klišeiziranom slikom neprilagođenih mladih ljudi. Njena spisateljska misija se može ukratko opisati rečima „mnogo htela, mnogo započela“. Vidi se da je reč o mladoj, neiskusnoj autorki, pre svega na osnovu poprilično konfuznog početka. Osim toga, knjiga obiluje gomilom detalja koju su nabacani bez neke preke potrebe, već pre svega kao želja da se čitaocu stavi do znanja da je autorka veoma maštovita osoba. Barem ja takav utisak stičem.

Kada je reč o domaćem izdanju, tačnije o prevodu na srpski jezik, moram da skrenem pažnju na jedan detalj koji je mene sve vreme žuljao. Naime, na poleđini korice piše „Pejdž je dodeljena refaitu Vardenu koji će biti zadužen za njenu obuku.“ Dotični refait (besmrtni stanovnik Nedođije – ali ne one Nedođije u kojoj živi Petar Pan  ) SE NE ZOVE VARDEN! VEĆ ARKTUR. Ovo „Varden“ je samo njegova očigledno transkribovana titula – Nadglednik, i u knjizi se nigde ne pominje kao Varden, več uvek i svuda kao Nadglednik. Ne znam kako je to promaklo ljudima koji su radili domaće izdanje. Neko će reći da sam zakeralo, ali ja knjizi pristupam kao celini. Ja je zagledam sa svih strana, obraćam pažnju i na korice, i na prevod, i na kvalitet papira. Generalno kada je reč o prevodu, mislim da je to moglo mnogo bolje da se uradi. Mi se svi obradujemo kada se neki svetski hit nađe na policama domaćih izdavača, ali ne treba se zadovoljiti time. Svaki autor, u krajnjoj liniji, zaslužuje najbolji mogući tretman kada je reč o prevodu. Kod nas je to nažalost sve ređa pojava. Posebno pipav posao je fantasy žanr, i koliko god da je prevodilac dobar ipak se dosta toga izgubi u prevodu. I ova knjiga, kao i niz njoj sličnih, obiluje specifičnim pojmovima, kovanicama, za koje treba naći pravo rešenje u domaćem jeziku.

U svakom slučaju, opšti zaključak je da serijal ima potencijal, ali da je neiskustvo autorke velika prepreka ka tome da se taj potencijal i iskoristi. Nadam se da će nastavci biti daleko kvalitetniji.

Ocena:3,25

...more

flag 38 likes · Like · see review

Aug 21, 2013 j rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, buzzzzzz

I could review this and tell you all the reasons I didn't like it, but that would probably require me to read more of it (I only got about a quarter of the way through) and... I'd rather not. Suffice it to say, creating a complicated alternate London and explaining its social order to me in detail for 200 pages doesn't really work if you forget to develop an interesting main character. Or... any of the characters. Twilight has better characterization than this. (I knew right away exactly what ki ...more

flag 38 likes · Like · see review

Sep 18, 2016 Alice (marriedtobooks) rated it really liked it

This was the local YA Book Club pick of the month for August!

The Bone Season is set in one of my favourite cities Oxford but not as I remember it. Paige is a dreamwalker that is such a badass character with no moaning about at all, she knew what her targets were and was prepared to take risks. The novel was full of thrills, moments that really changed my first perspective completely and no overall dominating romance plot which was refreshing to see. This would have been a 5 star read but sadly, ...more

flag 38 likes · Like · see review

Apr 06, 2013 Keertana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-galley-and-first-reads, kick-ass-heroines, swoooon, debut-author-2013, 2013-favorites

Rating: 4.5 Stars

When it comes to The Bone Season, I hardly know where to begin. For one, this book has received an innumerable amount of mixed reviews, many of which I find misleading, and for another, this debut is so impressive in its scope that I feel unprepared to truly discuss it. Nevertheless, if one thing is certain concerning Samantha Shannon's novel, it is this: I loved it.

The Bone Season is set deep in the heart of the criminal underworld of London. In 2059, Scion, the current ruling ...more

flag 39 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
#FanaticalBird Bo...: The Bone Season Buddy Read	2	8	Apr 08, 2017 08:33PM
The Bone Season S...: PROS: The Characters	18	45	Jan 31, 2017 10:44PM
The Bone Season S...: PROS: Open forum	11	21	Jan 27, 2017 08:19PM
The Bone Season S...: PROS: The World of Sheol and Scion	5	24	Jan 24, 2017 06:07AM
The Bone Season S...: NEWBIES: Here We Go!	1	8	Jan 23, 2017 06:27AM
The Bone Season S...: NEWBIES: First Thoughts	4	26	Jan 18, 2017 03:01PM
The Bone Season S...: PROS: First Thoughts	10	41	Jan 17, 2017 06:46AM

Readers Also Enjoyed

Videos About This Book

6 comments

Genres

Fantasy

2,266 users

Young Adult

774 users

Science Fiction > Dystopia

612 users

Fiction

498 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

451 users

See top shelves…

About Samantha Shannon

Samantha Shannon was born and raised in West London. She started writing in abundance when she was twelve, started her first novel when she was fifteen, and studied English Language and Literature at St Anne's College, Oxford, from 2010 – 2013, graduating with a 2:1.

In 2013, she published The Bone Season, the internationally bestselling first installment in a seven-book series of fantasy novels. ...more

More about Samantha Shannon...

Other Books in the Series

The Bone Season (7 books)

Books by Samantha Shannon

The Pale Dreamer (The Bone Season, #0.5)

More…

Share This Book

+ Share on your website

Trivia About Saison d'os

4 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Bone Season

“Knowledge is dangerous. Once you know something, you can't get rid of it. You have to carry it. Always.” — 317 likes

“There was no normal. There never had been. "Normal" and "natural" were the biggest lies we'd ever created.” — 143 likes

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Bone Season
avg rating	preview: The Bone Season Goodreads rating: 3.75 (42658 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17199504-the-bone-season?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421412990l/17199504.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17199504-the-bone-season?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon[/url]

See a Problem?

Preview — The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

The Bone Season (The Bone Season #1)

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Popular Answered Questions

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Videos About This Book

Genres

About Samantha Shannon

Other Books in the Series

Books by Samantha Shannon

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About Saison d'os

Quotes from The Bone Season