The Bone Season

By: Samantha Shannon

Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins

Bloomsbury presents The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon, read by Alana Kerr Collins.

The New York Times bestselling first novel in the sensational Bone Season series, a heart-pounding epic fantasy by the author of The Priory of the Orange Tree.

“Intelligent, inventive, dark, and engrossing.” NPR

Welcome to Scion. No safer place.

The year is 2059. For two centuries, the Republic of Scion has led an oppressive campaign against unnaturalness in Europe.

In London, Paige Mahoney holds a high rank in the criminal underworld. The right hand of the ruthless White Binder, Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare and formidable kind of clairvoyant. Under Scion law, she commits treason simply by breathing.

When Paige is arrested for murder, she meets the mysterious founders of Scion, who have designs on her uncommon abilities. If she is to survive and escape, Paige must use every skill at her disposal – and put her trust in someone who ought to be her enemy.

With its intricate worldbuilding, slow burn romance, and “complex, ever evolving, scrappy yet touching” (NPR) heroine, the Bone Season series shows Samantha Shannon at the height of her considerable powers.©2023 Samantha Shannon-Jones (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Critic reviews

This series is the best . . . Paige Mahoney has my whole heart . . . Nobody writes like Samantha Shannon!

Compelling . . . a heroine every bit as gutsy as Katniss Everdeen. J.K. Rowling’s now-grown readers are the natural audience for this complex fantasy . . . There’s great imagination at work here.

Exciting . . . The future Shannon presents is frightening and well-imagined, and her complex hierarchy is fascinating.

Intelligent, inventive, dark, and engrossing . . . Shannon has remarkable talent for world-building . . . . but her most sublime otherworldly creation is the complex, ever evolving, scrappy yet touching Paige Mahoney.

[The Bone Season] invokes both the political tyranny of George Orwell and the bucolic mythmaking of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Engaging and exciting. It’s energetic, imaginative, and engrossing . . . Buy it, read it, and enjoy.

A dystopian thriller that delivers . . . . [The Bone Season] gallops along . . . daring its readers to keep up even as it sinks in its hooks with crackerjack action [and] deftly-accentuated conflict . . . Shannon has a faultless instinct for the prerogatives of storytelling, for the engine that makes an adventure novel go . . . It’s the sort of novel you inhale in two or three days.

Epic, surprising, and impeccably imagined, The Bone Season seamlessly melds a near-future dystopian world, with high fantasy stakes, and a truly unique brand of magic. Perfect for those who enjoy intricate plots and eclectic casts of nuanced characters. Ten years on from its original release, Shannon’s debut remains one of the most accomplished and original SFF novels I’ve ever read.

[A] dazzlingly brainy, witty, and bewitching tale of outrageous courage, heroic compassion, transcendent love, and the quest for freedom . . . the first in a thoughtful fantasy series by a brilliant young writer.

This book is for those who like their dystopian science fiction multilayered, philosophical and complex.

Shannon offers up a richly imagined debut . . .The internal mythology is complex and intriguing, the emotional struggle is captivating, and the pace rarely falters as Paige unravels the mysteries and dangers of her new home.

Part Lisbeth Salander, part Oliver Twist . . . the strong and resourceful Paige is a memorable heroine . . . One buzz book that just might merit its hype.

Fantastic narrator !

Good story but like most fantasy’s it just gets better the further you get into the series. Also this poor girl is put through it lol

Wonderfully done.

I loved the original, and this anniversary edition was just splendidly revamped. Definitely worth a listen.

One and done

I have never been so enthused about a glossary in the accompanying PDF than I am with this. I know I will begin to understand the lexicon eventually but I would have been struggling without this. At seven hours into this book and I was more confused than I had been initially.

The pace was inconsistant and it took a long time to become invested. I did enjoy the worldbuilding as bleak as it was. Paige was a multi-layered main character and I enjoyed her immensely. None of the other characters were as fleshed out which left the book a bit unbalanced. The magic system itself was intriguing though there were so many variations of magic wielders that I had to keep referring to the glossary and losing the momentum of the story. Additionally, there were too many minor characters names that I imagine will be showing up in future books that I will not be reading. It was good but I am one and done.

Absolutely enthralling

This was a completely enthralling story I was drawn in from start to finish! Also perfect for spooky season.

Solid Science Fantasy

I enjoyed the Bone Season. It included a bit more human history and politics than I'm accustomed to, but Shannon made it work.
All in all, it was a solid story and a good read! The audio book performance was spot on!