The Bone Season (The Bone Season, #1) in The Reading Challenge Group

Mar 16, 2017 Ivy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: checked-out-from-library

5 stars

Good book. Liked the characters.

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Apr 25, 2016 Genna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: literary-merit

I really enjoyed this book, and I plan on reading the next one. I highly recommend it to anyone who is into the supernatural. I thought it was interesting that the author took a more scientific look at clairvoyance by taking the time to categorize and document all the different kinds, but still not remove the mystery. I think she did a good job building the characters, and there aren't any big plot holes. She did a good job keeping some mystery in the book to leave it open for the next book, whi ...more

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Sep 13, 2015 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

I never paid any attention to the hype surrounding The Bone Season when it was first released. I had no idea what it was about but I decided to pick it up when I went into my local library recently, looking for something new to read. But before I began the story I read a few reviews and found out that Samantha Shannon is described as the next JK Rowling. Ok, so this book is published by Bloomsbury. Ok, so it's part of a seven-book series. But that's where the comparisons should end because, to b I never paid any attention to the hype surrounding The Bone Season when it was first released. I had no idea what it was about but I decided to pick it up when I went into my local library recently, looking for something new to read. But before I began the story I read a few reviews and found out that Samantha Shannon is described as the next JK Rowling. Ok, so this book is published by Bloomsbury. Ok, so it's part of a seven-book series. But that's where the comparisons should end because, to be honest, this book couldn't hold a candle to Harry Potter.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy The Bone Season. And it's an incredible achievement for a writer the same age as me, 24, to get a book of this scope published. One thing you can't fault Samantha Shannon on is her vivid imagination. The world building in this story was complex, rich and fascinating.

The Bone Season is set in the year 2059 in an alternate London, which is run by a government called the Scion. And according to Scion, being clairvoyant (a person with the supernatural ability to interact with the spirit realm) is treason and punishable by death. Paige, the main character, is a dreamwalker who works in the criminal underworld of Scion London. One day she is captured, taken prisoner and transported to Oxford, a 'lost city' which is under the control of a supernatural race called the Rephaim.

I don't want to say anymore because of spoilers, and everything I just said above was on the blurb of the book anyway, so I'm not giving anything away but I thought the premise of the book sounded intriguing.

The book's plot was a little over-complicated. At times I enjoyed its complexity but at others I was feeling confused. The book even comes with a glossary and for the first hundred pages or so I had to keep referring back to it to know what the author was talking about. It slowed down my reading and the pace for most of the book was slow anyway, so I did have to push through a lot of the book. The book seemed to improve as it went on. The last hundred pages were action-packed and excellent.

I thought that Paige was a well-rounded character and I liked the fact that she already knew about and understood her powers before the story began. She is a kick-ass female character; the things that were done to her during the novel would have made me give up long ago but she kept on fighting.

The secondary characters were alright. They weren't as well developed. I would have liked to have seen more of the Seven Seals, Paige's gang in the crime syndicate but I'm guessing that will happen in the second book. As the plot progressed I began to like the idea of Paige and Nick as a couple more and more. Even though he's ten years older than her, he's very protective her and yet still treats her like an equal. (view spoiler)

I could see the author's pairing for Paige coming from a mile off but that didn't mean that it felt natural. Paige and the guy in question (I'm not going to spoil it) had no chemistry at all in the novel and for most of it she literally hated him. And when something finally did happen between them I was like, 'yeah, whatever.'

I'm giving this book three stars because although it was enjoyable, it did have some problems. If I see the second book available in my local library I might read it but I might wait until more of the books in the series are released to see if it's worth continuing with it.
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Dec 28, 2013 Kim Chatto rated it really liked it

Really intriguing read, although I think mastering the differences between the clairvoyants was probably what hindered me from giving the book 5 stars. There is a glossary of terms in the back which provides more understanding but for me as the reader, it would have helped to have more of that throughout the book. The characters are engaging, fierce, and the reader is immediately drawn into the story. I feel like this will definitely be made into a movie just because there are so many elements t ...more

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Apr 06, 2014 Loralee rated it it was ok

The hype in anticipation for this book was extraordinary. I was sadly disappointed in this read.
I really wanted to like the book and kept reading till the end with hope.

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