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loquaciousleon'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
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Violence, Confinement, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Blood, Death, Deportation, Addiction, and Classism
nerdybookqueen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
The only reason I didn't DNF this is I had nothing else to read.
I remember mostly enjoying Priory, so I thought I would try the author's other series. I regret doing so.
There is something...very icky about a white woman writing a narrative of other white people becoming slaves/having segregation, combined with, as I saw one other reviewer point out, the fact their "masters" were POC. Gross. One of the rare times I wish I could say "no" to there being a diverse cast.
Combine that with the whole "striped of a name and replaced with a number that is branded into her, where she and others like her have to work to survive until they die or are killed?" That sounds an awful lot like a historical event that maybe shouldn't be copied as a plot point by a Christian (or at least raised Christian) author. (She mentions this in response to an anon on her tumblr)
Added to this mess is the fact that her two love interest options are a human man who was an adult when she was like 6, or the man who OWNS her, invades her mind and manipulates the shit out of her, so we have some stunning love interest options here. But clearly it's okay because he calls her by her name and feeds her. The bar is in hell. And maybe it was just because I was so skeeved out but the options, but the romance was also just suddenly there?
Beyond that, the plot was really not that exciting, the writing was a bit too dense, with a lot of info dumping and a lot of jumping back and forth in time without clear distinction which drives me nuts. I had trouble tracking what was going on, there were several times I had to reread parts and figure out what was happening.
I will not be reading the rest of the series, and I may need to reread and reassess Priory as well.
Graphic: Child death, Racism, Death, Murder, Confinement, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Violence, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Gaslighting, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, and Police brutality
katievallin'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
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Violence, War, Physical abuse, Slavery, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Blood, Bullying, Drug use, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Medical content, and Trafficking
Minor: Vomit, Torture, Addiction, and Death of parent
lovelanie'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Vomit
hatterell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Reading The Pale Dreamer (prequel novella) first made me excited for this book - particularly the gang dynamic and found family vibe. I liked the mission related to Anne and the Metyards - it was a good taste of the larger world.
The Bone Season strayed from these expectations. Very early in the novel, protagonist Paige is removed from the setting of London and thrust into a system that she had no idea existed. I think that this happened too soon and made it difficult to grasp Paige's feelings and intentions. I wasn't familiar enough with the London version of her life to sympathise when she missed it, but I also felt like the information we were given about Sheol set it up to be a temporary location (which it wasn't) and therefore made it hard to navigate.
As I'd heard, the first 150-200 pages were pure confusion, and it was a lot of work to keep up and appreciate the skill of Samantha Shannon's writing. Paige's flashbacks were my favourite part of the book, and gave me a fraction of the time that I had been craving with the Seven Seals.
The Sheol was interesting, but kept reminding me of an ACOTAR/Maas-esque world, which threw me off and disconnected me from the book at times. I don't think it helps that Warden is such a key part of the story, and I didn't care much for him.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but struggled as it felt like I was thrown in partway through a story, or as though I'd picked up the second book in a series without having read the first. That being said, I really appreciated the world Samantha Shannon was starting to build, I loved the characters of London, and I love how her writing is sprinkled with clues and beautiful words that I've never heard of before. Although I did find this book harder than expected, once I passed the 200 page mark, I flew through it. It was terribly difficult to put down.
Graphic: Torture, Death, Violence, and Slavery
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Sexual assault
lectorasufrida's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Addiction and Rape
francestea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Physical abuse
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Murder, and Physical abuse