The Bone Season (The Bone Season #1)

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

My Rating: ★★★★

Paige Mahoney is a clairvoyant living in Scion London. In 2059, clairvoyants are widely feared and considered unnatural by much of society. If found, find themselves sentenced to prison, or looking for other clairvoyants to arrest. Paige is among the many that haven't been found. Working in the criminal underworld, she is paid to find information by using her ability break into other people's minds. Paige enjoys her life and her work until she is discovered. She is drugged and transported into a secret city that is controlled by a mysterious group called the Rephaim. The Rephaim collect, use, and feed on clairvoyants under the guise that they are helping Earth. Paige must tread lightly and figure out who she can trust as she seeks to escape this new prison, or die trying.

The story follows Paige, a dream walker that is highly sought out by the leader of the Rephaim. After accidentally killing someone with her abilities, she is located, drugged, and transported to a city under the Rephaim's control. The plot of The Bone Season is a slow burn, but the story is so compelling that it does not feel like it gradually moves forward. There is a lot of technical information about this world and what it means to be a clairvoyant as Shannon slowly builds this world. I am fascinated by how the plot takes place in an alternate universe of sorts where people started developing psychic abilities as little 200 years ago. There are so many layers to this world that continue to unfold as the pages fly by.

I love that Paige is not a natural badass, nor is she weak. She's not perfect, and she certainly has her flaws. We can feel her confusion as she's removed from her old life and dropped into a new and confusing one that is more dangerous than the one that she was torn from. Her confusion, stubbornness, and determination in this new setting make her seem very realistic. She is someone that people can relate to as a person from the very beginning. I also love many of the characters that she meets and befriends, who are each realistic and relatable in different ways. Even the Warden is a fascinating character. I still don't quite know what his true motives are, but I am interested in seeing where his story goes in the future. Many of the characters are frightening, including some of Paige's fellow clairvoyants. I found myself glued to the pages because I was captivated by the characters and the story itself. I can't wait to see how it continues!