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barda's review against another edition
- 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 already liked the first book, but the revisions fix many of the mis-steps in the book to elevate it to something even better.
The Bone Season came out of nowhere to become one of my favourite book series, and the first book sets it on very strong foundations. The "magic" system is very interesting, being based around using spirits and the dead as opposed to being traditional magic. The setting of a dystopian England is a bit more out-of-focus in this book compared to the future books, but still has a great set-up of a hellish dictatorship. The Rephs are fascinating villians/allies, and the characters are very likeable.
One particular highlight of the book is, of course, Paige and Arcturus. It takes what is usually a very cliche (and problematic) female main character imprisoned but slowly falling for her captor and makes it better than it has any right to be. Arcturus subverts basically every trope of the male love interest in modern New Adult fantasy novels (apart from being ridiculously tall, but in this case his species is all very tall!). Paige is also a stand-out as the main character, she has realistic emotions while being brave and kind (and her insults are absolutely hilarious). I have not had a ship I shipped this hard in a long time.
It's still not a perfect book - I think it's let down a bit by the lack of development of some of the minor characters, and there's a bit too much of a timeskip in the middle of it where a lot of interesting things happen off-screen. However, these don't detract by how much of a joy this book was to read and by how much I adore Paige and Arcturus as characters.
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Kidnapping, Blood, Confinement, Murder, and Cursing
Minor: Racism and Drug use
abbieahh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Slavery, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
risaleel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Kidnapping, Classism, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Violence, Death, Slavery, and Gore
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, and Trafficking
Minor: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
nolalee's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Trafficking, Vomit, Drug use, and Medical content
pagesandplanets's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Police brutality, Violence, Murder, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Blood, Confinement, and Slavery
hollicane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Moderate: Slavery, Murder, Death, and Violence
electraheart05's review against another edition
- 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
4.5 rounded up to 5
I will write a review tomorrow.
01/08/2023
<Spoiler> involved!!
The first book of 2023 has been read. ‘The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. It’s a dystopian and urban fantasy novel the first in a seven-book series, currently, there are 4 out right now and the 10th anniversary of this book comes out sometime this summer. I loved this book, the magic system and the world-building were so well written. The one critique I will give it is at times it felt like a lot happened and was sometimes confusing. I recommend reading the prequel ‘The Pale Dreamer’ before diving into the main story. It gives context to who the main character is and a little bit of the magic and history of the world. I can't wait to read the next three books.
I love how we do get to see a little bit of enemies to friends to what is hinted at lovers. Warden is such a complex character especially since he is Rephaim, meaning he should be the main enemy but we see him gain the trust of Paige towards the last couple hundred pages of the book. Also, I enjoyed the whole “golden cord” that now connects Paige and Warden together. It reminds me of the red string of fate that is seen in Asian mythology. It’s also reveled that before Paige was even kidnapped that Warden had been watching her and rooting for her.
As a debut novel that was released in 2013 you do see quite a bit of the tropes that became quite popular around that time, especially in books such as ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘A Court of Thrones and Roses’. I do not see it as a negative in The Bone Season I think it really pushes and deepens the world. It is clear to me this was a debut novel it shows in the writing but I actually loved it.
Can’t wait to read the next 3 books!!
P.S.
David’s character is a mystery to me and I don’t know who he really is and if he will be important later on.
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Slavery, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Torture
martinatan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I didn’t have too much interest in the plot setup in the first place, was mostly interested in how the world building would turn out. Evidently, worldbuilding still depends on interesting and complex character motivations to feel realistic and satisfying, and this story does not have such characters. I’m disappointed that the protagonist’s relationships with male characters could be so predictable and hollow.
The wrap-up of this book was a rushed mess. I found myself so uninterested in the final showdown because it felt breezed over, and had no satisfying emotional climaxes concerning the protagonist’s relationships with any others. The progressions of some of these relationships made very little sense and mainly seeking to fulfill tropes and set the stage for -dramatic and unnecessarily sarcastic dialogue.
The romantic subplots were on the whole lacking in depth and developed poorly, I feel like
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual violence
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, and Death
thalia_r's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Slavery, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping
roisinmarie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Death
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, Torture, and Violence