Reviews

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

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catpingu's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I think...this follows the YA formula and was, as expected, better than the boring and dull first book. World expansion, another side of the main character, and a different pressure; from escaping powerful apex predators in the open, to avoiding violent organizations at all times. A nice change of pace from the frustration that was book 1.

Paige successfully escapes the voyant and Rephaim penal colony back into London, where she must disappear into the underground as one of the Scion, and the Rephaim's, most wanted fugitives. She wants to save more voyants and reveal the Scion's dirty secret to everyone, but unexpectedly she learns that the corruption and manipulation runs far, far deeper than she ever knew.

It's a massive oversimplification and tired method of drawing attention to say this book hugely resembles [book:Queen of Shadows|76707900], but really, it does. It's the return of the crime lord's favorite right-hand gal and instituting fear and apprehension amongst the other gangs that vibes strongly. If we had more Celaena Sardothian as Arobynn Hamel's right-hand assassin, well, this would probably be it. So, if you wanted this kind of content, here you go! Wrapped up quite nicely and neatly in a package.

Extending the universe more, well, we all love uncovering dirty dirty secrets and corruption. There's a large amount of satisfaction to be had here. But it sure does take a while to get there, like, 50% of the time is spent on re-learning how Paige is supposed to fit back into London when she knows what's really out there, and seeding the doubts and foreshadowing of later events of the book. There's heavy potential for the story to get better, and I can only hope it lives up to it.

Also, yeah...still mildly predictable, but less so than the first book.

sarahboudereads's review

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4.0

Read this in two days - that's how much I was gripped by the story. I loved learning about the intricate world building of SciLo and the Unnatural Assembly. The characters got more interesting, made more sense together. I even found myself rooting for a relationship I hated at first.
You can really tell that the Samantha Shannon grew as an author when she wrote this, compared to the Bone Season.

Can't wait to read the Song Rising!

mweaver's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

barda's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I didn't really like this one as much as the other entries in the series when I first read the original text, but she really elevated her writing and pulled everything together in a much more cohesive way in this new edited version.

Really I just love this series in general - the worldbuilding is wonderful, the characters are fantastic, and this book in particular has a really twisty murder mystery that is a ton of fun to read.

My only main complaint about this book is that Paige and Arcturus are separated for a great chunk of it (my shipper heart just wants them to be together 24/7).

Content Warnings

mysnarkyself's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

dothelindyhop's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

rnedeau's review against another edition

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4.0

Samantha Shannon can build a world like none other. Just as with roots of chaos, the bone season world is crafted in such a way that you can picture everyone and everything. She stands to be one of my favorite authors.

The Mime order (authors preferred text) was a compulsory read from start to finish. There is no labor to reading this series. You are left with time to bond and understand the characters. You never leave a section confused. This series nails qualifications for something that is slated for 7+ books. Incredibly well paced and leaving you ready to enter in to book 3 without a pause.