Book Review: The Bone Season

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.
But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now 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. 

I could talk for hours about this book.  I loved it so much.  It's the best book I've read since  Clockwork Princess and is pretty close to being the "perfect" book.  It's definitely one you want to read.  Even with all the hype it's been getting, you should PICK THIS ONE UP.  It deserves the hype- trust me.

Since I could talk forever about it I'm going to make this an abridged review.  I won't give any spoilers, hopefully, so this may be a little hard.

The pace is really the only thing I have to complain about.  The amount of time that goes by isn't the amount of time it feels like goes by.  For me the events in the book sped past, but for the character's it was months.  I wasn't reading this book all that quickly, either, since I've been busy.  However, this isn't really detrimental to the story, it just ticks me off a little.  Continuity errors and whatnot.

There are so many character's.  So many.  And they're all wonderful.  For the sake of things, I'm only going to speak of two: Paige and Warden.

I loved Paige.  She's one of my favorite main characters, ever.  She's strong, but weak, and she doesn't make it a habit to be whiny or depend on anyone else.  She's not so strong that she thinks she can take on the world.  She knows who she is and where she belongs.  She's a very realistic character and you get to know her well without knowing every single detail and secret she keeps.  You just learn the important ones.

Warden is very similar.  You don't get into his head so much, but when they do interact, you find yourself loving him and hating him simultaneously.  He owns Paige, but he's kinder then the other Keepers.  You see the conundrum?

The romance in this book is very small.  It doesn't take up many sprawling pages, but simmers in between the lines at just the perfect amount.  When it finally does break into the story you are pulled in by the reality of it.  It wasn't a split second romance, but one that has happened over time, has grown and matured like it would in real life.

The world is so.... Amazing.  It's detail is perfect, reminding me of high-fantasy novels  in how deep it gets.  A whole new world has been constructed atop our own and it's both a beautiful, wondrous place and a terrifying, dystopian one.  The mythology built into the series is like nothing I've ever read or seen.  Clairvoyance has never seemed more appealing.  Really, the true test for a "real" and good world is whether or not the reader wants to live there.  I want to live there.

The writing is amazing.  The words fly off the page and you can't help but devour them.  Every time you start a new line, a new page, a new chapter it's like taking a refreshing sip of cool water.  A lot of people have complained about info-dumping.  I didn't really see it that way.  It was more of throwing you into the middle of the story and expecting you to catch up.  There is a glossary at the back to help you.  I actually really liked that aspect.  It helped make everything seem more real, to me.

Of course, I'm giving this book *****5 out of 5 stars*****.  I loved it and I CANNOT wait for the next one.