Reviews

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

etherealiz's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Everything Samantha Shannon writes, I fell in love with, no question asked. The Mime Order didn't captivate me in the way the Bone Season did, but it is a great sequel to an almost-perfect rewritten novel. What's so exciting about the Bone Season's universe as a whole is that Shannon is full of ideas, and new ways to reinvent the "dystopian" genre, this book is as much a fantasy, as it is sci-fi or dystopian. I adore the magic system, the way it flows, Shannon's a master at creating world and at weaving them together. Special mention for Arcturus and Paige's relationship which I adore with all my heart, they are a pleasure to read about, especially because there is angst without toxicity (unless other certain fae-obssessed writers, anyway). On my way to pick up the third installment!

zoer77's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.5

emmasdrg's review against another edition

3.0

3,5
if Hunger Games and Red Rising had a baby

aalicedayy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

funky_lesbian's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

sgeyer10's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

readravereview's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

Oooo this was such a stunning sequel! I can’t speak on how it compares to the original as I didn’t read it but I sure did love this revision. 

The character development in this one for Paige was great. She’s back in London and with the gang while there’s been a pretty gruesome murder - so this plot is essentially a murder mystery which I loved. Getting to see how Paige has grown since the beginning of book 1 was so good to see play out. I can definitely see her becoming one of my favourite characters in a few books time. This book does something that I love - having plot points that really affect character’s emotions. You can really see how Paige’s time in Oxford and how her other experiences play into how she acts at present.

I also loved the exploration of the rest of the gang that we only saw glimpses of in book 1 - especially Nick and Eliza because I love them both. And I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Paige and Jaxson play out with how it’s changed since book one and how Paige is less willing to put up with his BS (which I just loved seeing). 

Moreover, the plot and world were so exciting. Being back in London, we get to learn about the whole underground network of clairvoyants (the syndicate) as well as other gangs and their crews. This world just feels so lived in and rich which is something I love about all the Samantha Shannon books I’ve read. Worldbuilding is one of my favourite aspects of fantasy books so it’s hard not to like a book when it’s got such good exploration of the world. The murder mystery was genuinely great and I loved how all the threads came to an end at the end of the book. And most importantly, I can’t wait to get to the next book!

leannesteph's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful fast-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

5.0

chlocharlie's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? No

4.25

owlsreads's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

First read: 7-10 June 2016
Reread: 10-12 June 2024

What has changed from 2016 to 2024?

I actually found the first half of the book to be so so interesting and engaging and the second half to drag on a little too long. Still very much enjoyed the developing world-building! The romance was okay; I didn't really miss Warden as a character much since so much of the focus was on Paige and her (excellent) journey.

Original review:
 3.5 stars.
 
*
 

 Words, my walker... words are everything. Words give wings even to those who have been stamped upon, broken beyond all hope of repair...

 
The Mime Order picked up right where The Bone Season left off, and it was a much smoother read than the first book. The world Shannon created was unique and absolutely fascinating, but this time around she didn’t get too caught up in the world-building and the complexity of this new universe. I think it helped a lot that I read the first book only a short while ago, so I didn’t have to play catch up to try and understand what was going on/remember all the complicated lingo. I could really focus on the characters and the story instead of trying to figure out how this world worked.

The first half of the book was kind of slow, and I found a little hard to get through it. After the halfway mark, though, the pace really sped up, and I found myself not wanting to put the book down. It was like all of the players were finally on the board, and it was exciting to see where they all fell as the story progressed.

We did get to learn more about the mime-lords and mime-queens, and how the gangs were organized. It was really interesting to see how Paige fit into all of it, especially after she came back from Sheol I, as well as learn more about the characters we got so little of in the previous installment.

The character development was also great. A lot of the side-characters that were introduced in The Bone Season were more focused on and had a little bit of their backstories revealed, some of which tied rather nicely with other parts of the plot. Paige also continued to grow as a character and work on her powers, and I liked seeing how what she went through in the first book changed her as a person and affected her actions.

The romance aspect was still a problem for me. I’m glad there wasn’t much focus on it, and instead the author really packed the last half of the book with action. There were so many plot twists and so many fight scenes, I felt like I’d run a marathon after finishing The Mime Order.

I’m really curious to see what the next installment will brings us, considering how things ended. There is much left to explore, and I’m sure Shannon will do a wonderful job of it. 