Fantasy
![Samantha Shannon - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B00CIXEAZS.jpg)
The Bone Season: A Novel
From the author of The Priory of the Orange Tree, the New York Times bestselling first novel in the Bone Season series, an epic fantasy about a young woman fighting to use her powers and stay alive in an England entirely different from our own.
In 2059, Scion has taken over most of the world's cities, promising safety for all the citizens it deems worthy and wiping out clairvoyants wherever it can find them.
Paige Mahoney, though, is a clairvoyant--and a criminal just for existing. Paige is determined to fight Scion's power, and as part of the Seven Seals, Paige has found a use for her powers: she scouts for information by breaking into others' minds as they dream.
But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly-as soldiers in their army.
Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.
The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine-a young woman learning to harness her powers in a world where everything has been taken from her. It also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.
In 2059, Scion has taken over most of the world's cities, promising safety for all the citizens it deems worthy and wiping out clairvoyants wherever it can find them.
Paige Mahoney, though, is a clairvoyant--and a criminal just for existing. Paige is determined to fight Scion's power, and as part of the Seven Seals, Paige has found a use for her powers: she scouts for information by breaking into others' minds as they dream.
But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly-as soldiers in their army.
Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.
The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine-a young woman learning to harness her powers in a world where everything has been taken from her. It also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.
Editorial Reviews
"Compelling . . . a heroine every bit as gutsy as Katniss Everdeen. J.K. Rowling's now-grown readers are the natural audience for this complex fantasy . . . There's great imagination at work here." ―People
"[The Bone Season] invokes both the political tyranny of George Orwell and the bucolic mythmaking of J.R.R. Tolkien." ―USA Today
"The Bone Season has got a lot going for it, particularly its clipped pace and exciting story line. The future Shannon presents is frightening and well-imagined, and her complex hierarchy is fascinating." ―Washington Post
"Intelligent, inventive, dark, and engrossing . . . Shannon has remarkable talent for world-building . . . . but her most sublime otherworldly creation is the complex, ever evolving, scrappy yet touching Paige Mahoney." ―NPR.org
"A dystopian thriller that delivers . . . . [The Bone Season] gallops along . . . daring its readers to keep up even as it sinks in its hooks with crackerjack action [and] deftly-accentuated conflict . . . Shannon has a faultless instinct for the prerogatives of storytelling, for the engine that makes an adventure novel go . . . It's the sort of novel you inhale in two or three days." ―Salon
"Engaging and exciting. It's energetic, imaginative, and engrossing . . . Buy it, read it, and enjoy." ―TOR.com
"[A] dazzlingly brainy, witty, and bewitching tale of outrageous courage, heroic compassion, transcendent love, and the quest for freedom . . . the first in a thoughtful fantasy series by a brilliant young writer." ―Starred review, Booklist
"This book is for those who like their dystopian science fiction multilayered, philosophical and complex." ―Kirkus Reviews
"Shannon offers up a richly imagined debut . . .The internal mythology is complex and intriguing, the emotional struggle is captivating, and the pace rarely falters as Paige unravels the mysteries and dangers of her new home." ―Publishers Weekly
"Part Lisbeth Salander, part Oliver Twist . . . the strong and resourceful Paige is a memorable heroine . . . One buzz book that just might merit its hype." ―
"[The Bone Season] invokes both the political tyranny of George Orwell and the bucolic mythmaking of J.R.R. Tolkien." ―USA Today
"The Bone Season has got a lot going for it, particularly its clipped pace and exciting story line. The future Shannon presents is frightening and well-imagined, and her complex hierarchy is fascinating." ―Washington Post
"Intelligent, inventive, dark, and engrossing . . . Shannon has remarkable talent for world-building . . . . but her most sublime otherworldly creation is the complex, ever evolving, scrappy yet touching Paige Mahoney." ―NPR.org
"A dystopian thriller that delivers . . . . [The Bone Season] gallops along . . . daring its readers to keep up even as it sinks in its hooks with crackerjack action [and] deftly-accentuated conflict . . . Shannon has a faultless instinct for the prerogatives of storytelling, for the engine that makes an adventure novel go . . . It's the sort of novel you inhale in two or three days." ―Salon
"Engaging and exciting. It's energetic, imaginative, and engrossing . . . Buy it, read it, and enjoy." ―TOR.com
"[A] dazzlingly brainy, witty, and bewitching tale of outrageous courage, heroic compassion, transcendent love, and the quest for freedom . . . the first in a thoughtful fantasy series by a brilliant young writer." ―Starred review, Booklist
"This book is for those who like their dystopian science fiction multilayered, philosophical and complex." ―Kirkus Reviews
"Shannon offers up a richly imagined debut . . .The internal mythology is complex and intriguing, the emotional struggle is captivating, and the pace rarely falters as Paige unravels the mysteries and dangers of her new home." ―Publishers Weekly
"Part Lisbeth Salander, part Oliver Twist . . . the strong and resourceful Paige is a memorable heroine . . . One buzz book that just might merit its hype." ―
Readers Top Reviews
TRTheotonytheread
Buchgestaltung Die englische Aufmachung gefällt mir sehr, sehr gut! Die Farben blau und rot sind mal etwas, das man nicht so häufig sieht und auch unter dem Schutzumschlag macht das Buch einiges her. Schick das Ganze. Das HC Format ist allerdings ein richtiger Klopper. Es ist RIESIG und ziemlich schwer, so ein Buch stand bisher auch noch nicht in meinem Regal...seltsam :P Meinung Ich habe wirklich nicht vor über das Buch herzuziehen oder dergleichen. Ihr könnt euch gar nicht vorstellen, wie heiß ich darauf war meine Augen an die Seiten zu heften und wie sehr ich mir gewünscht habe Samantha Shannon wäre wirklich die neue JK Rowling. Leider mauserte sich The Bone Season nach einem genialen Start für mich immer mehr zur einer Lesetortour. All die positiven Kritiken kann ich nach Beenden nicht mehr nachvollziehen, versprach das Konzept doch wirklich eine Idee, die jeden Fantasy-Liebhaber schnell in ihren Bann hätte ziehen müssen. Mein erster Eindruck war wirklich super! Ich mochte den Anfang des Buches sehr gerne und Paige war für mich sofort das Ideal einer tollen Protagonistin. Der Schreibstil ließ auch nicht zu wünschen übrig und relativ schnell geriet ich in den Bann der Geschichte. Paige ist kein Charakter, den man leicht zuordnen kann, besonders da sie eine Menge kriminelle Energie vorzuweisen hat. Sie tut im Grunde alles für ihr Überleben und will sich dabei nicht den Regeln der Scion Gesellschaft beugen, die versuchen Menschen mit besonderen Fähigkeiten (im Buch „Clairvoyant) zu unterdrücken und Propaganda gegen sie zu betreiben. Ein Szenario das schnell an X-Men erinnert, sich auch durchaus von den beliebten Filmen unterscheidet. In Paiges Welt gibt es sieben Arten dieser Begabungen und ihre ist eine ganz besondere. Sie ist eine „Dream-Walkerin“ und kann sich mit ihrem Geist aus ihrem Körper bewegen, so andere Clairvoyants aufspüren, sogar verletzten und manipulieren. Aus diesem Grund arbeitet sie für eine Art Untergrundbande, die eigene Ziele verfolgt. Das Setting welches die Autorin hier versucht hat auszubauen wirkt im ersten Moment richtig atemberaubend. Sehr viele dystopische und fantastische Elemente vereint der Weltenentwurf zu einem Konzept, das es in dieser Form so noch nicht gab. Besonders die Art und Weise, wie futuristisch hier alles beschrieben wurde hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Leider tat sich damit bereits nach kurzer Zeit mein erstes Problem auf – das im Verlauf der Geschichte zur reinsten Qual wurde: Das Info-Dumping! Es ist verständlich das eine so komplex aufgebaute Geschichte viele Hintergrundinformationen benötigt, damit man sich als Leser ein gutes Bilde von allem machen kann, aber hier war es einfach zu viel, zu viel, ZU VIEL! Verdammt aber auch...es war fürchterlich anstrengend der Erzählung zu folgen, zumal die Autorin Paige diese immer wieder in einem stillen Monolog erklären lässt. Es...
BrunaＬＥＥTRTheoton
I LOVE THIS! I can't even. Shannon has developed an amazing world and what is probably the most unique book I have ever read. It is not quite fantasy, not quite paranormal and not quite dystopia, but a wonderful mix of these with some alternate history thrown in the mix.
ShabadooBrunaＬＥＥT
I feel like I should have loved The Bone Season. So much of it appeals to me and yet there was something underwhelming about it. I don’t think it was the hype; I’ve heard too much about ‘The next So-and-So/Title’ to take such lauding seriously. I’ll start by talking about what I did like and maybe that will coax out what detracted from everything that was done well in the book. The best thing about the book is the world building. Clairvoyance is threaded into the world from an alternate history and has been given about 200 years to grow into the world we see in 2059. There are several types of clairvoyance with their own abilities and though the book doesn’t go into each of them there is an immersive quality that keeps some things from being spelled out in an info-dumping way (though it sometimes has to happen). The systems behind clairvoyance were the backbone of the story from the dominating organization of Scion, come into power to protect society from the voyants, to the drugs and curious items that would come along with an underworld populated by people with such gifts. The enchanting uses the voyants put their gifts to as they work in syndicates that operate under Scion’s nose and learning about the various gifts and imagining what it would be like to have them was my favorite aspect of the book. The plot and structure were strong and there were some really fantastic moments. Everything meant something and it was well put together with a lot of action and something that should have been a mystery (there are some things that have become obvious devices over the years and years) that was still a strong point to the story. There is always that trouble with foreshadowing—too much and the realization comes too soon, too little and the revelation seems to come out of nowhere. I think The Bone Season was close to a good balance although there were several times that I knew what Paige should do a few pages before she decided to do it and given that we had all the same information (the book being in first person and all) that made me frustrated at her for taking so long. Thus I must come out with my real problem with the book: Paige Mahoney, a protagonist that I couldn’t get behind despite all her great qualities. She is tough and compassionate and righteous and has a powerful and rare gift to master and all different kinds of obstacles to overcome—all of these things spell out a fantastic heroine. Yet I couldn’t seem to really like her or care about her. Supposedly among the Seven Seals, the voyant syndicate she is involved with, she is the boss’s protégé, his ‘mollisher’, but I never got the feeling that she fit into that role. Her gift is yet undeveloped and she had just missed out on a deal when we meet her and she doesn’t seem to command any of that sort of respect from the other Seals. She is combat ready from her freerunner...
