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Review: The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon

November 25, 2024April 7, 2025 Robin1 Comment

This is book five in a seven-book series. As such, former books and events contained in this installment will be discussed. Read with caution (I’m serious).

When Paige Mahoney wakes she finds herself captured and outside Scion-controlled territory for the first time since childhood. Six months have passed since the Paris bombings, but Paige has no memory after the night of the masquerade. Dosed heavily with the White Aster plant by her captors to suppress her memory, Paige’s amnesia threatens to drag her under with no chance of returning to her former self. Yet Paige escapes, journeying to Venice to find allies who thought her long dead, and the world transformed in her absence. The memory of Arcturus’ betrayal still cuts fresh, but in coming face to face with the Ranthen and her clairvoyant allies Paige begins to question the truth behind their last conversation. News reaches the Domino Programme of a new Scion plot, Operation Ventriloquist that will tip the scales of control over Europe in Scion’s favor unless they unravel the means behind this new plan. Though Paige was brought out of her stupor with the White Aster it still has roots deep within her dreamscape and there is only one individual who could help her, if he’s even still alive. Traveling to Italy, the team has one chance to bring themselves out of the shadows and play the first hand in the fight over the remainder of the free world. And it all starts with rescuing Arcturus Mesarthim.

What began in Oxford and the clairvoyant underworld of London to the catacombs racing beneath Paris transforms across the winding streets of Italy in this fifth installment to the Bone Season. With The Dark Mirror, Samantha Shannon presents the fifth chapter of her groundbreaking series and it is assuredly her strongest work by far. This fifth book is this series fully realized, in its themes, characters, and deftly constructed plot finally blossoming with astonishing precision. After the agonizing events that concluded The Mask Falling, this sequel is as much a soul-deep reconciliation between Dreamwalker and revolutionary Paige Mahoney and the warden Arcturus Mesarthim, as it is an expansion in the fight to bring the Republic of Scion to its knees. Paige and her allies take the next step outside Scion to unmask a new threat in Italy that will transform the free world. Teeming with angst and decisive action, The Dark Mirror is everything I could have hoped for interwound in one astounding volume. With so many emotional reconciliations, confessed feelings, near misses, and epic confrontations it’s no wonder I spent most of this book being stressed as hell waiting for the other shoe to drop and the rest basking in its brilliance. Samantha Shannon leaves no holds barred in her fifth Bone Season novel which redefines the world order and the next stage for our revolutionaries.

Reading The Dark Mirror was the most stressful reading experience I’ve ever gone through and I can say that with a finality that should by no means assure you that this is not one of my all-time favorite books and I would not venture back into it willingly (as I already have done several times). The Dark Mirror is made all the more stressful by the concluding moments of book four, with Paige racing across Paris as airstrikes commence desperate to free Arcturus whom she realizes did not betray her – to her capture at the hands of Cordier whose intent we don’t fully understand. The Dark Mirror is full of unfamiliar experiences for Paige who suffers further loss of agency with her capture and exposure to the White Aster, a drug that could destroy her dreamscape from the inside out. Her memory loss is coupled with the startling revelation that she has lost six months of her life to the drug, causing her to question everything about herself and the decisions that led to Arcturus’ capture. As she comes back to herself with limited memory Paige rejoins the fight against Scion and must reconcile all that has occurred in the half a year since she was taken.

The Dark Mirror takes a further leap from Paris to the free world in Italy – a world outside Scion that represents immense possibility, for the Sargas expanding their dominion and for the world still free from its control. Book five presents the first time most characters have left Scion in decades and is fraught with the weight of that freedom. The way they react to this newfound freedom and the costs of knowing it for themselves were some of the most intriguing aspects of this novel. Nick and Paige in particular struggle with the free world and it in contrast to the things that have been done to them simply because of who they are and where they were born. As she wrestles with the reality of this free world, Paige continues to experience the lingering ramifications of her torture at Westminster. The continued impacts of Paige’s torture sink in deep, in Venice with its surrounding water, to Capri where her relationship with water is truly put to the test. Being near a constant trigger is challenging for her but beyond that Paige’s loyalty is tremendous when in rescuing Arcturus she puts herself in the path of something that has the power to drag her back to those horrific experiences. Her connection to water and the mastery of her fear is truly awe-inspiring and it reminds me of why she is such a powerful protagonist – her startling tenacity and guiding loyalty that remains unshaken.

The themes of identity and fate come to a head in this fifth chapter, as Paige sets out to rescue Arcturus from Nashira but finds it’s not so simple. Past motifs like the devil and death inverted cards are finally unveiled with devastating effect and unforeseen ramifications. Never would I have guessed the reality of Arcturus’s rescue and it was excruciating to read the chapters dealing with the discovery and the aftermath. This fifth chapter centers heavily on emotional tension and misperception as Arcturus comes back to himself after his latency and Paige continues to provide support – with a degree of distance. In the aftermath of Capri and Arcturus’ return both Paige and Arcturus struggle with guilt and where they stand with one another. Arcturus wants to hide his experiences of being mentally and physically tortured by the Sargas and the dreamwalker Cade Fitzhours, who used his memories with Paige to psychologically and physically torment him. On the other hand, Paige holds herself personally responsible for his capture and believes that he must as well since he is more emotionally reserved. Despite where they believe they stand Samantha flips their dynamic, with Paige looking after Arcturus and relying on her knowledge of him to bring him peaceful moments. The scene where they perform the Gloaming together is probably the standout of this sequence and a wonderful callback to their beginnings at Oxford.

The emotional reconciliation between Paige and Arcturus is a long time coming, but it is agonizing to read, yet made all the more hopeful on the other side. Paige and Arcturus have always shared their truth no matter how painful and excising their truths after six months apart isn’t easy for either of them. Several scenes carved out a hole in my chest, particularly when Arcturus confides in Paige that their time in Paris in that dark room became his shelter during his torture in Carcassonne. I don’t know what hurts more the fact that Arcturus’ dreamscape was in complete shambles and then his spirit shifted it to the Guildhall, the place he first kissed Paige and where he felt the safest, or that when he was being tortured he only had to think of their night in the dark to take himself out of his physical body. I’m still impressed at the depth of intimacy these two share and how that is represented across this fifth installment. At times it almost doesn’t seem real but then Samantha Shannon reminds us of everything they have done for one another throughout the journey they have been on. Their trust and intimacy have held fast against some of the darkest things anyone should ever have to face and that is fully honored by the sexual intimacy they develop in their reconciliation. The whole duet chapter is a testament to the trust and innate love they share. The connection between the dark rooms and physical darkness being outweighed by the firelight at Orvieto is one such instance. Paige and Arcturus have spent so much time within the darkness, in Oxford, and in dark rooms meeting the feelings that burn through them that it’s crucial for this stage — the consummation of their physical relationship and emotional reconciliation— to reflect a stepping into the light.

Across Venice, Capri, Orvieto, and Rome, Samantha Shannon tightens the knot and brings old allies and new enemies into the fight over the freedom of Italy. Nick and Maria are back in full force and are more than ready to assist Paige in this next stage and it is an utterly heartfelt reunion for the Mime Order crew. I loved all the moments with them standing up for Paige and advocating for her against the organizations that intersect the fight outside of Scion. Maria undeniably stands out in this one and is probably my new favorite side character (her channeling Frodo Baggins was terribly funny). She just wants to light things on fire and hang out with her hot girlfriend and I have nothing but respect for that. The Dark Mirror is a real turning point for Paige, as she opens up to those in her life about her experiences and allows them to support her in her recovery. I appreciated how much of that connected to her coping mechanisms in the past and turning aside from them as she embarks on a new chapter. The Dark Mirror is a reminder for our core characters of just how much they can accomplish together as they reunite and make one of the greatest stands against Scion.

As Paige and her clairvoyant allies unveil the truth to Project Ventriloquist, they unmask three new players on the board – Grapevine, Tin Man, and the Council of Kassandra unfurl a world on the brink of war. It all goes down in Rome, in an epic sequence across streets beset by Buzzers allowed entrance through the cold spots awakened by latent Rephaim hidden underneath the city. This final act layers all the known lore about the Rephaim and twists it into a horrific act by Scion to take control of Italy in the next stage of its European invasion. The final fight at the Colosseum with the Ranthen fighting the Sargas Rephs and Paige coming face to face with Cade while the rest of their allies explore beneath for the final body as Buzzers swarm the ruins was utterly masterful. The Dark Mirror highlights Paige’s desperation as a kind of strength, particularly in her fight against the dreamwalker Cade Fitzours who has spent his life coming into his power. Samantha Shannon makes it clear that Paige didn’t have that luxury, she was quite literally thrown in to her power. She has always made unconventional moves, in her time at the side of the White Binder and her reign as Underqueen and she uses that to her advantage. As she fights a dreamwalker with seemingly unlimited powers, her cleverness is again on her side as she uses her own memories to suffocate him in her Dreamscape.

The Dark Mirror is a resounding ode to dreamers and resisters and is undeniably the best in the Bone Season series. This flawless installment manages to entwine every strength from its former novels, with the mystery, trauma, and heartbreak coalescing across a pivotal fight in Italy. It is also Samantha Shannon at her most diabolical. I already cried my eyes out to chapters twelve and thirteen, and the journey out of chapter twelve was so intense and genuinely made me feel like I was being hunted for sport. The echoes of certain scenes of books past, and long-awaited developments make this such a treat for fans of the series old and new. The Dark Mirror is a wonderful tribute to the journey this series has taken and is further proof that it is just the best of fantasy right now. The Dark Mirror is certainly a long-awaited sequel but it’s heartrending and masterfully plotted and deserves to be read over and over again.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Bloomsbury for providing me with an advance review copy.

Trigger warnings: forced drug use, death, blood, violence, murder, panic attacks, grief, suicide, emotional abuse, kidnapping

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Review: The Mask Falling by Samantha Shannon

August 28, 2024January 13, 2025 RobinLeave a comment

This is book four in a seven-book series. As such, former books and events contained within will be discussed. Proceed with caution.

London is no longer safe. Paige Mahoney, dreamwalker and fugitive, survived her torture at the Westminster Archon, but now fleeing her city is the only way to survive. Secreted away at the turn of the year by new allies, Paige and Arcturus find themselves in Paris, holed up in a safe house awaiting orders from the mysterious Domino Programme. Though she survived the brutality of the torture at the hands of Scion, Paige’s next trial will be to overcome the physical and mental wounds left behind. Left alone in the Paris safehouse with Arcturus, Paige slowly finds her way back to herself and begins to mend, but the resistance cannot wait long, not even in Paris. Paris is a city wholly unlike the one she left behind, complete with a clairvoyant syndicate slightly removed from the martial law of London yet innately entangled in the struggles of the Grey Market and Sheol II, the next clairvoyant Bone Season. With orders from Domino to infiltrate the French government using her dreamwalking abilities, Paige returns to the action and uncovers secrets even her Ranthen allies hoped would stay buried. In a short amount of time, the shadow of the anchor has stretched further over the free world and Paris now stands on a precipice. United, Paige and Arcturus could sway the outcome, but revolutionaries so rarely get to see the fall.

The Mask Falling marks a divergence from the former three books of the Bone Season as the shadow of Scion spreads over the free world and revolutionary and clairvoyant Paige Mahoney fights to come back to herself in Paris after a period of horrific torture. Framed within a quiet Parisian interlude, Paige and Arcturus take stock of their situation and break free from the roles that have guided their paths thus far to decide who they want to be to themselves and to one another. Lulled into a false sense of security, Samantha Shannon waits to dissolve this peaceful home and pull these two back into the gravity of a different clairvoyant underworld, one that plays off the nightmares of Paige’s experiences and the worst of Scion. In her fourth installment of the Bone Season, Samantha Shannon pulls free the bulk of her delicately designed plot to embark into her next act –one that bites as much as its predecessors but leaves significantly deeper scars.

Fleeing into an inverted world of clairvoyants, Paige and Arcturus are entirely on their own in Paris. Drawn down deep into the dank and decrepit catacombs of the Parisian syndicate, Paige physically confronts her wounds – the waterboard where she was tortured and the emotional scars left over from her entire experience at the Archon. Much of the external environment has sharpened to match these experiences. Water falling down upon window panes, showerheads, headboards, and even the solace of Arcturus are overwhelming and send her right back to the basement where she endured her torture. With the Parisian syndicate, Samantha Shannon broadens her playing field. The catacombs filled with human remains and scattered souls waiting to claim helpless voyants were startlingly claustrophobic to wade through as the scope of this world literally delves ever deeper. Paris introduces a world outside Paige’s element and by extension the reader, a shift in the epicenter of Scion and its plots against the remainder of the free world. The Mask Falling engages fully with the idea of Scion as a puppet government upholding the desires of the Sargas, and questions who is comfortable cutting or transitioning those strings to another power. Is freedom even possible if you are trading one cage for another? All of these are things Paige contends with in Paris alongside her future within the Scion resistance outside of London.

The Mask Falling is a book that haunts you in its finality. Both an interlude that wraps you in its comfort and a shipwreck caught up in a tempest, casting you wet and ragged back upon the shore. I am still held in equal parts disbelief and awe at its ending. Representing the next stage in the resistance against Scion, The Mask Falling is a deeper evolution of Paige and Arcturus as individuals. Though she lost a large part of herself in her torture at the Archon, Paige isn’t given long to compartmentalize before returning as a clairvoyant power and face of the Scion resistance. But in Paris, Paige can keep her armor on around others without having to return to the rigid roles she walked within London. Paige remarks to Arcturus that they are finally on equal footing – as fugitives they can be whatever they want to one another without fear, or even shame getting in the way. Much of this book centers around rebirth and the masks that we cast off or place upon ourselves to survive. Yet, Arcturus desires Paige without any facade or artifice but must confront his shortcomings if he is to meet her unmasked. As a Oneiromancer, Arcturus is someone led by memory and it has become its own kind of prison. Though he has held back the weight of mortality for centuries, his attachment to Paige and her mortality to him by extent has left him led by fear. Paris is a place where they both realize that fear has no place within their relationship and that they can be more to one another without feeling like it will detract from all that they are trying to accomplish. Arcturus is her partner in all things, and the safe house in Paris highlights that despite the initial lack of romantic confrontation. Arcturus taking care of Paige during her convalescence, them watching movies together in the living room, and the sunsets on the roof were these little bright patches pushing back against the darkness. I honestly wished they could have stayed there forever despite all that was needed of them.

The support Arcturus lends Paige as she struggles to reassemble herself after torture is extraordinarily gentle. It was gutting to hear him compare his own experiences being tortured alongside the other Ranthen, to hers at the Archon. “But you were alone, Paige” is a simple statement that strikes back at the profound loneliness at the center of what she went through. Unburdening herself is freedom from walking that path alone, and Arcturus is someone she trusts to walk it with. The idea Arcturus purports of identity as something ever fluid, that every day we die because we are constantly in a state of transformation relating to Paige’s recovery of her identity after torture was really lovely. Paige and Arcturus evolve their emotional intimacy and trust substantially during their time together in Paris. Samantha Shannon calls forth this mutual view of the other as home, as both Paige and Arcturus had to flee their homelands because of violence and have found a solid landing place with each other. The revelation that Arcturus’ dreamscape is a reflection of the Guildhall – representative of the safety and trust he found with Paige, but also where she burnt down their prison and freed them both is further proof of that. The overture sequence in Paige’s bedroom after Versailles is them embracing all that they are. In the dark room with Arcturus, Paige learns that her body is not just a weapon to be wielded for pain or for power, but something that can bring her pleasure that belongs entirely to her. Paige and Arcturus find courage in choosing one another despite fear and build a new room together to stave off the pain of their memories.

The Mask Falling is just Arcturus and Paige scheming, healing, and yearning with decidedly mixed results. I love just how much of this book is centered around these two taking in a new side to Scion together and communicating and problem-solving against their new allegiance to the Domino Programme and the Parisian syndicate. Paige confronts her personal limitations after torture and puts herself in some horrible situations but Arcturus is there to remind her that she doesn’t have to push herself to perform and she is more than just her power. Her unconventional decisions hit quite a high point here. The assassination attempt at Versailles ending with Paige burning the entire palace down was pure chaos and honestly, I expected nothing less from her. She’s experienced the horrors of Oxford and won’t let anyone else be subject to another Bone Season and she’ll burn down a centuries-old building to ensure it.

The Mask Falling is so many things at once, a quiet moment to heal before danger darkens the door, and love and trust giving way to betrayal. Part of what makes this fourth chapter so devastating is how quickly Samantha Shannon instills a sliver of doubt and then pulls back the curtain just as fast, but it is quite literally too late. Paige running through the streets of Paris as airstrikes commence desperate to rescue Arcturus, only for a bomb to level the building and Cordier to kidnap her as she frantically screams out her lament was entirely surreal. The Mask Falling introduces key new players – members of the Parisian syndicate, rephs, and the dreamwalker Cade Fitzours stake their claim on the chess board, and will undoubtedly appear in the fight over the future of the Scion Republic. In Paris, Paige Mahoney became something more than Underqueen and Dreamwalker but much like the removal of masks, the shift from those armored facades leaves all doubts laid bare. Merciless in every sense, The Mask Falling is a pivotal forge forward in the fight against an unconstrained empire and the courage it takes to stand unmasked in the face of further violence.

Trigger warnings: blood, violence, death, murder, grief, panic attacks

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Review: The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

August 6, 2024March 24, 2025 RobinLeave a comment

Paige Mahoney has escaped from Oxford. Alongside her clairvoyant allies at the Bicentenary, she finds herself back in London confronting who she was before with everything she had to become to survive. Having angered her employer Jaxon by refusing to abandon her allies at Oxford, Paige must decide if she wants to return to his side as the Pale Dreamer. Her desire for justice cannot be accomplished alone and though her Rephaim allies could provide aid, it is her place within the London Syndicate that could give her a fighting chance to enact change. Paige courts danger with her growing ire towards Jaxon and plans that could reveal the truth behind Scion to the public. When the Underlord of London is violently slain, the fight for power within the London Syndicate will play out in a brutal arena to crown the next leader. Jaxon Hall plans to place himself as the next Underlord by emerging victorious in the upcoming Rose Ring, with Paige at his side as Mollisher Supreme. Yet with everything she has endured and the knowledge that the Bone Seasons may not have been a complete secret within the syndicate, Paige knows that challenging Jaxon and winning the Rose Crown may be the only thing that saves them from the threat of Scion. At Oxford, all she could do was survive, but in returning to London Paige will become something else in order to win.

The Mime Order is the gritty and violent succession to Samantha Shannon’s, Bone Season and recenters the world back on London and its underworld of clairvoyants now facing a voyant killer and a leadership struggle within the syndicate. Paige Mahoney, Dreamwalker, and Mollisher to the White Binder learned to survive in Oxford, but back in London resists being pinned within the confines of her former roles. To continue the revolution that began in Oxford, Paige must first uncover a conspiracy within the syndicate and decide how she wants to transform in the face of her previous experiences. With the board strictly set, Samantha Shannon brings in new threats to the fight against the Scion Republic and the truth behind the Bone Seasons. With strong foundations from its very first moments, The Mime Order expands upon the scope of this world, aided by Samantha Shannon’s meticulous plotting and high attention to detail. The Mime Order is another exquisite foray into the world of clairvoyants resisting Scion, and Paige Mahoney, the one person who could stand to unite them into a force to be reckoned with.

The Mime Order is easily one of the best sequels out there, drawing on what is known and yet to be revealed to design a gilded stage over which the fate of the London Syndicate will be decided. Returning to London after six months held as a prisoner at Oxford, Paige confronts former memories and the knowledge of who she got to be outside of the orbit of Jaxon Hall. Like a round peg in a square hole, Paige finds she cannot just cast off her experiences to become Jaxon’s prized puppet once more. Samantha Shannon hones in sharply on this relationship and Jaxon’s narcissistic tendencies that make it impossible for him to see any way forward outside those of his own desires. Paige by extent is a commodity, The Pale Dreamer a persona to be pinned down and presented as another representation of his power. Paige’s unwillingness to return to who she was before allows her to move forward with her plans which could shake the leadership within the syndicate. Propelled toward action by a brimming rage and a desire to correct the injustice of the bone seasons and the truth to Scion, Paige cleverly bides her time until the opportune moment, culminating in an immensely gratifying outcome within the Rose Ring.

Where the Bone Season was a literal descent into darkness, mirroring the shattered reality of Scion, The Mime Order is a journey back into the light. This physical return into a life lived around daylight is a warped reality for Paige who knows the truth to Scion and fights to reveal it to the Clairvoyant Syndicate. Samantha Shannon melds Oxford with London and it’s interesting to see the staggering differences in temperament between the Oxford clairvoyants and those who live and exist freely in London – even if that freedom is limited. Knowing the truth about Scion further ostracizes them and impacts their return to the paths they walked within London. A very niche trope that I love is one character who sees another so clearly that they can’t help but believe the best in them and be a source of reassurance when things get difficult. That’s basically Arcturus in London. He’s still committed to his stoicism but he places himself by Paige’s side and aids in her plan to oust Jaxon and become Underqueen. He’s still her strongest ally even as Samantha Shannon brings focus back on those outside of Oxford. The Golden Cord that binds them together is as mystifying as ever but is layered further with the Rephaim lore and the history of their decimated homeland. The romantic moments between Paige and Arcturus continue to center around truth and the sharing of their lived experiences, which are made all the deeper with these revelations. Those quiet moments in The Old Lyre and her bedroom were like a bolt of longing shot directly into my chest and I fear that I will never recover. These two are just so earnest with one another that you can’t help but hang on to their every interaction. Their newfound romantic relationship being something that can just be for them in the face of everything else they must share with the world is way more devastating the more you think about it. That for all the pieces they’ve carved out of themselves to walk the path of revolution, it is their connection that can remain sacred.

The Mime Order brings mystery and unrest sprawling into the criminal underworld, building to a violent takeover within the Rose Ring as clairvoyant fights against clairvoyant for a chance to win the Rose Crown. This has to be one of the best finales– vindicating and the exact level of ruthlessness befitting Paige Mahoney. Paige’s triumph in the Rose Ring as the end result of the Scrimmage was exhilarating to bear witness to. Her taking on the mantle of the Black Moth and reclaiming a symbol which to the Sargas is representative of weakness but to her is power centered within struggle was another brilliant twist. Samantha Shannon dreams up a sequel that takes this series from passive enjoyment to full-on obsession. Succinctly plotted and executed with finesse, The Mime Order will leave you desperate for more from this fully realized world.

Trigger warnings: blood, violence, gore, murder, imprisonment, drug use, human trafficking

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Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

July 25, 2024January 13, 2025 Robin1 Comment

It’s the year 2059 and in the Scion Republic, no clairvoyant is safe. Born with the ability to connect and harness the aether, clairvoyants have been hunted and killed at the behest of the Republic of Scion for centuries. Since coming to London after her home country of Ireland fell to Scion, Paige Mahoney has discovered her clairvoyant abilities and set herself at the right hand of one of London’s most revered criminal underlords. Paige is a Dreamwalker, a powerful type of clairvoyant that can send their spirit outside of their body, and she is the only one of her kind. After an unforeseen arrest on the Underground Paige is taken to the Tower of London where she awaits her expected execution. Instead, Paige comes face to face with the true leaders of the Scion Republic, and they have plans for her that she never could have dreamed. As part of a decadal cull of clairvoyants, Paige and her fellow prisoners in the tower are taken to Oxford where they are placed into the care of one of the Rephaim, the true beings behind Scion, to be trained against the hostile creatures of the Netherworld. Though Paige must accept that her entire world is a lie, built in service to beings of immense power, she will survive. Even if it means placing her trust in her mysterious Rephaim caretaker.

Finding my way back to the Bone Season, a series initially published ten years ago has been quite the journey. When I embarked on a reconnection with this series I truly had no idea that it would become one of my favorite series of all time and one that I immediately jumped back in to reread. The Bone Season juxtaposes two worlds on a knife edge, the everyday world of Amaurotics, or those without power, and the unseen world beneath Scion, where Voyants reach and glean knowledge from the aether. Scion London reflects this almost instinctively, with a criminal underworld of voyants that emerged in the aftermath of persecution to resist in the face of outright extinction. Samantha Shannon tests this fragile split with Paige Mahoney, a young woman arrested and taken far from home, we soon learn for the second time. Paige is a tenacious young woman through which we gain knowledge of this flawed world and the truth behind the oppressive Scion regime.

Paige Mahoney walks the sharp divide between worlds. A Dreamwalker held prisoner at Oxford, Paige is thrust into the world behind the one she thought she knew and faces everything entailed in retaining her agency and control over her power. Though there are many key relationships in Paige’s story, it is her emerging alliance with her Rephaim keeper, Arcturus that changes her entirely. There’s nothing I love more than a stoic man who is just trying to hold himself together and Arcturus Mesarthim is that man. He places emotional regulation above all else and draws heavily on the sarcasm, but it soon becomes clear his motivations aren’t the same as others of his kind. Arcturus is a calculative and powerful ally, yet he holds the potential to save or ruin her – a balance that unexpectedly they both hold over one another. The emphasis on agency across this novel interacts with Paige and Arcturus’ tenuous friendship as much as it does them as individuals. I appreciate the depth to which Shannon exposes Arcturus’ past and the revelation that he is as much of a prisoner as Paige is within Oxford. Samantha Shannon tests the notion of what home is, through Paige being taken away from her second family, to Arcturus, an individual who has been greatly impacted by circumstance. Paige’s connection to her home country of Ireland, and the Imbolc Massacre that pushed her into Scion as a child holds heavy weight in her new situation.

What we think to be flashbacks to Paige’s past spanning across the novel are dispersed as dreams delivered in between scenes from Oxford. Narratively this works to integrate readers into Paige’s character, but these shifts back to the past are in fact Arcturus’ powers as a Oneiromancer as he dreams her memories. He’s learning her story at the same time as the reader, grounding those memories in the present. This is treated aptly as a violation, and Shannon uses this as a real roadblock as the two try to work together and build trust. But at the same time who doesn’t love a person who has seen every flawed part of you and still believes in your inherent rage and your loyalty? The inability of Arcturus and Paige to tell the other the truth without having heard the truth from the other first was all too illustrative of who they are as people and deeply hilarious to read. The humor really emerges when these two are verbally sparring and refusing to cede anything to the other. The kind of trust they develop with one another as they unburden themselves out of necessity lends itself to the deeper romantic connection they uncover. Paige and Arcturus further challenge that classic immortal and mortal pairing with the openness and honesty within their relationship that is on even footing. He romanced the heck out of her by simply calling her by name or “little dreamer,” and I’m pretty sure he had no idea he was romancing her. In sum: I am wrecked for all other fictional men. (The scene in the trap room of the Guildhall you will always be famous). In The Bone Season, Samantha Shannon brings to fruition a world of clairvoyants set against a power determined to excise them and wrestles with the continued cost of resistance and the sparks required to burn it all down. The Bone Season is a masterpiece of fantasy, intricately wrought with strenuous alliances, clairvoyancy, and a profound urgency to fight for a better world.

Trigger warnings: violence, blood, death, murder, torture (mentioned), drug use, physical abuse, kidnapping

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