I read this review on NPR that gave The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon some high praise - "There's a distinct Margaret Atwood-style wash to Shannon's dystopian universe" they said. "The new J. K. Rowling," they said. Let's not get carried away. The author is 21 and has gotten a 7-book deal and a film in the works, but I don't think we're looking at the next Harry Potter. It takes place in an alternative/futuristic London where some people, like the main character, Paige, have magical powers, but they are outlawed. Paige is arrested and taken to a secret land where some other alien-types keep the magical people as slaves and suck up all their energy and whatnot. Paige's "master" is some brooding old dude that glares at her all the time like Heathcliff and... can you guess what is going to happen????
Shannon invents a fairly large vocabulary as well as world (there's a glossary I was rather annoyed to find at the end - but, I never skip ahead...) so if you like that sort of thing you may find The Bone Season right up your alley. It's really quite complex, I wonder what her notes looked like.
Ultimately I found it wearisome - there were no surprises in the romance area and once the introductions were made to all the ins and outs of this universe, I just didn't find the story that compelling.
Who knows, maybe this series is going to blow up - maybe as the books and the author age, it will grow into itself. Anyone else have a different experience than me with this book?
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