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magraymusic's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Slavery, Murder, Grief, Classism, Trafficking, War, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Gore, and Death
theoddduckling's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A brutal, fast paced follow up to The Bone Season. Samantha Shannon expands the world of Scion, taking readers deeper into the dark underbelly of the London Citadel and its clairvoyant population.
Now that Paige Mahoney is back in London, she must decide whether to return to her old life as mollisher for the charismatic Jaxon Hall. But how can she when she knows the truth about Scion?
But the influent of the Rephiam goes deeper than anyone could have imagined, and Paige begins to wonder if she didn’t escape one form of slavery only to find herself in another.
Now that Paige Mahoney is back in London, she must decide whether to return to her old life as mollisher for the charismatic Jaxon Hall. But how can she when she knows the truth about Scion?
But the influent of the Rephiam goes deeper than anyone could have imagined, and Paige begins to wonder if she didn’t escape one form of slavery only to find herself in another.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Blood, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Colonisation, Death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
unfiltered_fiction's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
In this sequel to The Bone Season, Samantha Shannon shows a tangible improvement in the quality of her writing. Page's story opens up to the world of Scion London, giving the reader a vivid and compelling backdrop for the narrative. Shannon's worldbuilding is stronger in this novel than her first, and her characters remain excellent, although they don't develop a huge amount between the end of The Bone Season and the end of this book, with some even regressing a little.
Elements of the writing remain knotted - a couple of dialogue passages I had to read several times to be sure that I understood what the characters were implying to one another, which detracted from the pace of the writing. The plot is also a little lopsided, building up to a cliffhanger which is very easily predictable and therefore not very effective at all. It feels a little haphazard, as though Paige simply lurches from event to event rather than there being a strong arc with very little strategy for a long time. The story doesn't truly get going until the final section of the book, which is a little long to wait, especially when this is already a sequel.
However, there is an evident maturation of Shannon's world and her way of representing it. The politics of the syndicate are fascinating; fight scenes are written very, very well; it was fabulous to get to know the Dials better. Subplots were very compelling, and laid the foundations for some really exciting things later in the series. Despite its flaws, I really love this series. I think it's a fascinating world, an excellent concept, and a story that is truly epic - albeit with some faltering in the telling.
Elements of the writing remain knotted - a couple of dialogue passages I had to read several times to be sure that I understood what the characters were implying to one another, which detracted from the pace of the writing. The plot is also a little lopsided, building up to a cliffhanger which is very easily predictable and therefore not very effective at all. It feels a little haphazard, as though Paige simply lurches from event to event rather than there being a strong arc with very little strategy for a long time. The story doesn't truly get going until the final section of the book, which is a little long to wait, especially when this is already a sequel.
However, there is an evident maturation of Shannon's world and her way of representing it. The politics of the syndicate are fascinating; fight scenes are written very, very well; it was fabulous to get to know the Dials better. Subplots were very compelling, and laid the foundations for some really exciting things later in the series. Despite its flaws, I really love this series. I think it's a fascinating world, an excellent concept, and a story that is truly epic - albeit with some faltering in the telling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Trafficking, Suicide, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, and Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty and Confinement
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