“The Pale Dreamer” and “The Bone Season” Series – Book review

I just finished The Pale Dreamer by Samantha Shannon this morning while having a lazy Saturday cosy session in bed. It is a prequel novella in The Bone Season series, and was published between the second and third book.

To give you an understanding of this novella, I will tell you about The Bone Season. This is a great young adult fantasy, which is set in 2059 in the criminal underworld of Scion London. Paige Mahoney is based at Seven Dials, working for Jaxon Hall. She is a dream walker and can break into people’s minds because she is clairvoyant, and the government wants her dead because of it.

Goodreads blurb:
It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.
The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

My review on Goodreads: I was amazed how well this author has combined beautiful descriptions and stunning wording with a fantastically imaginative new world. She broke the usual expectations and rules in stories of love and war, and has created a story unlike others. I look forward to reading more about this intriguing world in her next books. 5/5 stars.

The Bone Season is a complex and gripping story and I loved it. I was excited to read the second book last year: The Mime Order. It is also a great novel, however I did feel that there was too much happening to follow at times and found it a little monotonous by the end. That said, it is a well-written book and action-packed, with the same amazing world-building and well-developed characters as in the first book. I gave it 3/5 stars. I am excited to get to the third book in the series, The Song Rising, which was released this year, as soon as possible. This series is set to be a seven book series, which is incredible.

So, back to the The Pale Dreamer! This novella is a glimpse into Paige’s life as a sixteen year old as she begins to work for Jaxon Hall.

Goodreads blurb:

In the perilous heart of Scion London, a dangerous and valuable poltergeist is on the loose – and it must be caught before chaos erupts on the streets of the capital. Here, the clairvoyant underworld plays by its own rules, and rival gangs will stop at nothing to win such a magnificent prize. Maybe this is the opportunity Paige needs to secure her position in the gang, the Seven Seals.

In my opinion, there didn’t seem to be anything new to what I already knew about the world or characters, and the story was quite predictable. If you enjoy the series, I would still
recommend reading this as you do get to dip back into the world between novels, but I do hope the next book in the series gets me back on track to enjoying this series as much as I started off doing so with book one!

I definitely think you should read this series, especially if you enjoy fantasy or dystopian books. You are drawn into a complicated and intriguing world, and Samantha Shannon has delivered the story with an inventive and unique style.