Author: Samantha Shannon
Genre: Adult/Young Adult crossover, Dystopian, Fantasy
Source: Bloomsbury Australia
Goodreads
Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal prison camp of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the survivors are missing and she is the most wanted person in London...Review by Nara
As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on the dreamwalker, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city's gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take centre stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner. Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. But where is Warden? Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided.
HOLY PLOT TWIST.
HOLY MOTHER OF PLOT TWISTS.
DAT ENDING.
OF ALL OF THE THINGS I EXPECTED TO HAPPEN.
MY GOD.
Okay, calm down, Nara. Let's review this book properly without thinking about the FREAKING PLOT TWIST MY GOD WHAT THE HECK EVEN HAPPENED WHERE THE HECK IS THE THIRD BOOK.
Um. Yes. Perhaps we should move on.
The world building, as in the first book, is really just fantastic. It's obvious that Shannon has spent a great deal of time really thinking about the different details of the world and the magic system, and this all translates to quite the immersive and complex world.
I do have to say that this book is a lot slower than The Bone Season, but that was something I expected, considering this is a seven book series. There's a lot more plot to be built, much more character development to be undergone and a heck of a lot more twists to be revealed. It probably would've been stranger to have an extremely fast paced sequel than to have a slower paced one. That being said, there's definitely no shortage of action and mystery, especially in the last third of the novel, and MY GOD THAT ENDING PLOT TWIST.
My only real complaint in this one might be the fact that we don't get to see enough of Warden. I mean, I get that there are seven books in this series, and so there needs to be a bit of build up with the romance, but seriously, the author keeps teasing us with these little scenes and "oh no, can we ever be together" and gahhhhhhhh the tension. To be honest, this isn't really a big complaint though, as obviously Shannon is preparing to hit us with the good stuff in later books.
Well, in any case, this series is a truly fantastic one. I'm going to be eagerly anticipating the third book, given THAT DAMNED PLOT TWIST CLIFFHANGER THING, and I'm sure as heck looking forward to seeing where Shannon takes the series. Highly recommended.
Incredible
Ratings
Overall: 9/10
Plot: 5/5
Romance: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
World Building: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
