Book Review: The Bone Season (The Bone Season #1) by Samantha Shannon

The Bone Season (The Bone Season #1) by Samantha Shannon
Release Date: 20th August 2013

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Format: Paperback 
Pages: 452
Rating: 4.5/5.0

This book was read as part of the 2013 ODY and 2013 BSR

Summary from Goodreads:

"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."

Review:

For the past couple of days, I've struggled to write this review, because I'm not entirely sure what my feelings for The Bone Season are. On the one hand, the storyline is brilliant, the detail of this new world is amazing, and I loved our main characters. But on the other hand, there's just something that feels a bit off, and I think it comes down to the fact that I didn't feel immersed in this world - I felt like an outsider looking it.

But isn't that what we do with every book? Well, yes, but this is different. With most stories, I feel like I'm there with the protagonists. I'm invested in the storyline, I care about our protagonists futures. A book may be set in a completely new and foreign world to me, but I believe it and I'm there with the characters - I'm completely immersed in the story. But with this, I didn't get that. It wasn't until well into the second half of the novel or so that I finally began to feel invested in these people and this new world. Up until that point though, I felt like an outsider looking in, and overall, it made me struggle to get into the book.

That being said, this is an amazing read. The storyline is so new and interesting, the new world established is so messed up, and the Rephaim are a real treat to read about. There's just enough mystery to keep you intrigued, enough action to keep you on edge, and plenty of romance. I don't know what it was that wasn't allowing me to get invested in the beginning, because I was well invested in the end, and will undoubtedly be continuing on with this series. I would definitely check this one out for a new twist on the supernatural and dystopian genres.