Samantha Shannon's debut novel THE BONE SEASON begins an adult fantasy series with strong teen crossover appeal. In 2059, London is controlled by a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney is a clairvoyant. Her abilities are feared by most people. In fact, being a voyant is considered treason. Paige works with a group of voyants called the Seven Seals led by Jaxon Hall. She is a dreamwalker, which means that she uses her talents to scout the aether for information in unsuspecting people's minds. When she accidentally kills someone to avoid capture one evening, she goes on the run. Despite her efforts to evade capture, she is eventually caught, drugged, and taken to Oxford, which is controlled by a group of otherworldly beings called the Rephaim.

Her Rephaite keeper, known as Warden, is both her enemy and her trainer. Paige and the other captives in Oxford are divided into a strict hierarchy based on their ability to succeed in a series of tests administered by the Rephaites. Paige must work with Warden to learn to use her abilities to survive the tests. When Nashira, the Rephaim queen, decides that she wants to add Paige's unique talents as a dreamwalker to her collection, Paige must find a way to escape.

Like many fantasy series-openers, THE BONE SEASON includes a lot of world-building to lay the foundation for the rest of the series, and it takes some time to wade through those explanations to get to the meat of the story. THE BONE SEASON is an adequate start to this highly-anticipated new dystopian series. The world of Scion-controlled London is interesting, and there is plenty of room for Jaxon and the other members of the Seven Seals to develop throughout the series. Paige is an appealing heroine, and there is still much to be learned about both the depth and the nature of her clairvoyant abilities. I look forward to seeing more of this new world and the characters in it as the series continues.

Book Summary

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.

But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers in their army.

Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.