When I recieved this book, I did not realize it was part of an ongoing series. That is information I wish was given on every Netgalley book. I had heard many good things about The Bone Season but had never read it. I just got around to making the attempt and I did not enjoy it. My feedback is mainly being given in hopes that future books, as part of a series, are labeled as such. I don't like leaving things undone for so long.

I loved this book so much! I loved the characters and the world!  I would and have recommended this book to all my friends!  I love this series so much and was so excited to be able to read this!

Such an imaginative series!  Samantha Shannon's star is on the rise.  Wish I had a read this one sooner.

Not the strongest in the series, but a good developmental stepping stone. Excited to see where the story goes!

So. I had two main thoughts right after I finished this book. First, these books have serious pacing issues. I swear this one was all over the place. Might just be me, but it's something I had an issue with in the last two books. But I'll get to more of that in a bit.

Second, there wasn't enough of a certain Mime Lord. At the end of The Mime Order, that plot twist finally had me hooked on these books. And then... the turncoat that shall not be named is basically non-existent from this book beyond a few mentions here and there. That's what I was excited for! To see the stand-off between them and Paige. But... nothing. There's a scene near the end but it didn't warrant the ending of the previous book.

Alright, so it's three books into the series. I had my issues with The Bone Season and The Mime Order but ultimately the books seemed to be getting better. I can't say that isn't true now having read The Song Rising but I'm thinking that I'm just never going to like this author's writing style. 

Also this is going to be hard while also avoiding as many spoilers from previous books as I can, so keep with me here for a sec.

Paige has taken on a LOT of new responsibilities as Underqueen in London. It's a constant battle for her, with her own emotions and decisions that need to be made, with her "subjects," with the Rephaim she's partnered with. I liked that each of these conflicts is brought out and developed, that Paige has to make the tough calls and face the consequences of her decisions. 

On a lesser note, I am so tired of the Paige/Warden romance-baiting! We have three pretty massive books and now is NOT the time for them to cool their heels. Come on! If this is supposed to lead to some big revelation I will not be happy for being strung along this far. And it wouldn't surprise me if that's what happens based on the last scene.

This book actually reminded me a lot of the Hunger Games trilogy, specifically Mockingjay, in that way. Girl turned revolution symbol must take down the evil government. The darkness, the reality that sets in during the course of The Song Rising makes it very real. Granted, there are far more books coming up in this series so Paige still has a lot of work to do.

Now book 3 here is shorter than the previous installments which was great for me, first, in part, because of the pacing. It just wasn't consistent. For 75% of the book, I saw all of this real stuff going on but it was always written in a way that was either too slow and I became bored or too quick and was gone before the details set in. Now the last 25% was action scenes one after another. Something was always happening, tensions rising, and it was great. The ending? Eh, not sure how I feel about it but that comes in to the other part of the book length.

The world has expanded from London in The Song Rising, and I can see how the series will be shifting directions from the Mime Order out into something bigger that might warrant the 7-book series. Might. We shall see. But while the world grew, the details weren't around. I felt like the books went from drowning the reader in world-building to not including enough. 

I'm just... I don't think "underwhelmed" is quite the right word for this book but I felt like while it improved on some things, it failed on others. This wasn't the continuation I was hoping for but it's the one we got and I'm just wondering where this series is going and if it's getting too big for these characters and this story.

I loved this book so much! It was very enjoyable read for me and for anyone else who enjoys a good fantasy

Got ARC from Net Galley.

I don't like the cover change. You can get the original cover but I'm sure you're going to have to pay for it. Nice money grab there. I'm on the fence about this series so I'm not sure if this is a case of being over the series or just not being in the mood to read this book right now. I decided to stop when I got eight percent of the way in.

Things pick up from where the second book ends so of course you'll have to read the first two books. There's a major betrayal. Things are going down the crapper. Paige has a lot on her plate. I think I've been able to tolerate this series because the whole master/slave relationship was kept at arms distance but in this book not so much. I can see why she'd want Warden as a ally but it gets icky when things start to heat up. Jaxon might be a total asshole but he did make a good point about the whole getting involved with the man who kept you as a slave thing.

On a random note I think publishers really should have book cover consultants. I offer my services and I won't charge a hefty fine. This whole cover change thing but hey we're going to also have the other covers available for you so your books match puts a bad taste in my mouth. Since I can't afford to just buy every book I'm interested in the second it comes out the odds are good that I'd be getting this book used and the whole dual cover thing is going to lead to sellers on Amazon and elsewhere to take massive advantage of those of us who want the books to match. I have seen some pretty outrageous prices for other books and I'm sure that will happen with the matching book cover. I might come back to this series in the future maybe when all the books are out but for now I'm putting it down. I can always get it from the library if I'm in the mood.

The Song Rising was a really good read with a fascinating world, complex characters, and an engaging plot. It did feel like were some things about the plot development and pacing that I didn't love but I did really enjoy the book. I think on it's own I don't think it's perfect but as part of the series I think it's a good addition.

When I requested this I didnt realize that it was book 3 of a series. 
I have purchased the other 2 books and will update this review once i have completed the series. 
Thank you for the opportunity. 

Mare~Slitsread

A lumbering continuation of the series that leaves us asking, again, what's next that hasn't been drawn out already?

Oh, happy day, Paige Mahoney is back in book three of the Bone Season saga! At the end of The Mime Order she had wrested control of the London clairvoyant syndicate from her boss and mentor, Jaxon, and was now the new Underground Queen. Unfortunately, she had not killed Jaxon in the process and when the novel ended she learned that he was working with their greatest enemy, the Scion. In The Song Rising Paige needs to manage her new role as leader while fighting the increased pressure from Scion to destroy her and everyone like her.

Author Samantha Shannon brings back virtually all of the original cast in The Song Rising but ratchets up the tension by tightening Scion’s noose around London and the voyant population. They’ve produced new technology that, out of the seven levels of supernatural powers, can detect humans with voyant capabilities up to level four. This pushes all voyants deeper into the underground and limits their ability to survive. Paige must work with the Ranthen, immortals who have long been their enemy, to find where Scion’s new weapons are being produced and what fuels their technology. There is no trust between any of the factions meaning every decision made comes at the risk of betrayal and destruction.

Action and the kind of imagination that fuels science fiction is not enough for a long term series to be successful. There needs to be an evolution of the characters and Shannon gets this. In books one and two, Paige was very clearly the underdog, but in The Song Rising her character becomes more nuanced. She is still fighting the good fight, but she’s also faced with personal sacrifices and the growing pains of leadership and making mistakes. Additionally, Shannon uses the novel to continue to fill in the back story of this Great Britain of the future and of who the players have come to be aligned as they are.

By this point, if you haven’t read the first two books it’s worth it to go back and do so before reading The Song Rising. Plus, it’s great escape reading and there are still 4 more books to come. The novel stands on its own, but stepping into the middle of this world of crime, double dealing, the paranormal, and authoritarian regimes is not nearly as much fun as full immersion. As each book ends, my only thought is ‘why can’t I keep reading?’—the hallmark of a skilled storyteller. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Embracing a literary series can be a tricky thing.

Sure, some authors appear capable of turning books out on a fixed schedule, adding to their rich fictional worlds with a comforting degree of consistency. It might not be as fast as a fan might like, but at least it’s coming. However, there are others (*coughcoughGeorgeRRMartincough*) who, well … aren’t.

Thankfully, Samantha Shannon appears to be in the former category. Her latest novel “The Song Rising” – the third in her “Bone Season” series - has arrived. It continues the story of clairvoyant (or “voyant”) Paige Mahoney as she battles against the oppressive government forces that control her home and threaten to wipe her kind out.

Paige, much to her chagrin, has risen to the top of the heap of the voyant underworld in the Scion-controlled London of 2059. She is the new Underqueen, the ruler of the various and sundry gangs of the paranormally powered who strive to stay underground in order to survive. She achieved this post – however reluctantly – by defeating her former superior Jaxon Hall in the arena.

Not all are pleased with Paige’s ascendance, though. That displeasure is compounded by outside factors – namely Paige’s alliance with a faction of the immortal Rephaim in an effort to maintain the Mime Order, a group dedicated to the overthrow of Scion in order to defend reality itself against monstrous creatures from another dimension.

But when word gets out that the Scion Senshield technology – the technology that allows government agents to detect voyants – has evolved from large, clumsy, easily avoided machines into devices that are concealable and potentially portable, Paige knows that it is only a matter of time before Scion has the capability to completely and utterly eradicate the voyant community.

And so, she undertakes a nigh-hopeless mission to track this new technology to the source and – somehow – find a way to destroy it before it destroys her and everything that she cares about. She may have to compromise who she is to achieve that goal, but in a world filled with powers of the spirit, it’s especially dangerous to put one’s soul at risk.

Samantha Shannon has settled into an impressive groove here. She’s playing a long game with regards to the world-building that she’s been doing – and it’s paying dividends. Bits of information are scattered throughout, brief moments that exist amidst the story’s basic structure and offer flashes of insight with regards to the larger universe. Those flashes provide a lovely context and add pieces to the puzzle.

There’s a rich and complex hierarchy at work here, one whose depths are revealed as layer after layer is peeled back. The juxtaposition of the ethereal swirl of spiritual powers amongst the voyants against the militarized quasi-Puritanism of Scion creates a fascinating dynamic – one that has grown more engaging with each installment.

There’s an intensity of focus on Paige, but Shannon utilizes the relatively little developmental space given to the supporting characters quite well. Paige’s compatriots tend to be a bit broadly drawn (with the notable exception of her idiosyncratic and somewhat sad relationship with Warden, the Rephaite who was once her trainer/captor and is now her friend), but they fit nicely into the overall narrative.

Still, it’s Paige’s story – a truth that the author embraces wholeheartedly. Her journey – her growth – is a large part of what separates these books from standard genre fare. There are plenty of young heroines striding through scores of magical realms out there; the fantasy fiction landscape is littered with them. Paige is … more. Shannon has created a compelling character and set her loose in a fascinating world, and really, what more can you ask from a fantasy series?

“The Song Rising” is a strong continuation of an excellent series. The blend of dystopian future and paranormal power is an intriguing one; I think of it as fantasy fiction with sci-fi elements, but if you called it science fiction with fantasy elements, I wouldn’t argue. Either way, it’s two great tastes that taste great together – another sterling effort from the pen of a gifted young writer.

Shannon continues to amaze readers with her intensive, yet sprawling world building. Paige is a character who keeps her fans on their toes. Great installment. Can't wait for more!

An impeccable sequel that left as many questions as it answered. Made me want more with each chapter.

It’s really hard to review middle books of a series so I’m going to keep it short and simple. If you aren’t already reading this series, what do I need to do to convince you to pick it up? I know a seven book series is a lot, but the author has already published three of those seven books so you know she’s committed, and hey, Harry Potter was a seven book series, and this series is almost that good, in my opinion. It’s completely different, of course, and the only thing it has in common with HP is the seven book length.

What this series has that I think readers may be interested in:

~ An angsty, forbidden lovers, secret romance. It’s never the most prominent thing about the book though. The romance was barely there in book two, but it’s back fairly strong in The Song Rising with quite a bit of added angst. Paige is human and Warden is a Rephaite, and the idea of a Rephaite touching a human is highly frowned upon among humans and found to be disgusting among the Rephaite. They have to keep their relationship secret from all, and in this installment, some people are starting to catch on, which adds an interesting element to the romance.

~ Excellent world building. No, this goes beyond excellent. It’s something from another realm, no pun intended. Though I do sort of like the pun. It’s a well thought out blend of science fiction, dystopia, and fantasy. The author has made some interesting changes to ghosts and the spirit realm, or what humans guess about them anyway. Cold spots are completely different. Ghosts are a completely different thing altogether. The way clairvoyants can spool and control ghosts is interesting to me. Then you have the Republic of Scion, Scion London, and the feud between voyants and the controlling government. We get to see different Scion Citadels in The Song Rising, and from the way the book ends, we will get to see even more in the next book.

~Characters. It’s amazing to me how many different characters are in this book. Some are in all three, and some we only see every so often, but they are almost all memorable, and thankfully the author writes book recaps on her website so you can give yourself a refresher before you start reading again. This was incredibly helpful as this one was immediately confusing when I started it and thankfully I had that recap to remind me of what I couldn’t remember. Look, obviously, I like Paige the best, but I really enjoyed Maria and Tom in this novel as well. It’s amazing how you can get attached to characters in books.

What didn’t work for me:

Not that much, actually. It was a little tough for me to get back into the world and it was a bit slow at the beginning, and honestly, a little boring. But that’s just me. Once it got going though and View Spoiler » I was interested.

I guess I expected a little more from the ending, considering how book two ended. And I’m not talking about the fact it ended on a cliffhanger, but the twist. This one did have a twist and I liked it a lot, but I had an inkling that something like that was coming, so it wasn’t as much of a twist for me. I guess it just didn’t live up to the same level as The Mime Order. That said, it was still a really solid, well-written novel and I love this series. It will be a looooonnng wait for the next one.

This series keeps getting better and better! I would recommend rereading the first two books or at least reading book summaries because there is a lot that has happened that you need to be reminded of. For me that is always an issue with books that are part of a massive fantasy or science fiction series, you have to wait so long between books and there is so much to keep up with and remember. But trust me, all your hard work and dedication certainly pays off with this series.
This world is complicated and requires focus but it is so worth it!
If you like paranormal mixed with dystopian mixed with fantasy mixed with science fiction please read this series!

Song Rising by Samantha Shannon is a direct continuation of The Mime Order. This means the beginning of the book is a bit in recovery mode after the climatic events of the previous book. Though, it does not take all that long for a renewed threat, in the form of the Senshield Sensors (more powerful than before), to appear.

The, now epic, Bone Season series provides a well created world with flawed, dynamic, evolving characters, epitomized by Paige. Things are not easy for her, and as she fights the battles in front of her, you connect with her and the other characters more and deeper than ever before. Every wound is felt, every loss meaningful. Be prepared for the long game though as this is a series that will not be wrapped up in just three books, which just means that we will get to enjoy Paige and all of the characters that much longer.

Overall, Song Rising was a great third book in the series with a growing magical dynamic in a world of complex characters. We are still finding out whose side people are on, and I have a feeling it will take till the last book of the series for all to be revealed. I very much recommend.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review.)

I could not wait to get my hands on The Song Rising and was lucky enough to get an early copy. I absolutely LOVED the first two novels in this series, The Bone Season and The Mime Order.

Let’s talk about The Song Rising.

It was fine. I know—that’s not what I was expecting to say either. I probably would have classified it as good (3/5) if I hadn’t had such high expectations after books one and two. However, I committed to the review on Netgalley, and it was good enough that I’m planning to continue reading the series. Overall, I give it 2.5/5 stars, which is my “it was fine” equivalent. As a result, this is going to be a more critical review than what I usually post. The qualifier that I will state here, for the record, is that my criteria for this author is higher than usual because I expect more from her. The first two books in this series are two of my favorites, so perhaps I’m being overly harsh. But I know what this author is capable of, so I know she can do better!

Publisher’s Summary

Following a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London’s criminal population. But, having turned her back on Jaxon Hall and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilizing the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging. Little does Paige know that her reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community and the world as they know it. . . . . (read the rest on Goodreads)

I’ve acknowledged already how much I was looking forward to returning to the world that Samantha Shannon has created and finding out what happens next. However, since she took an extra year to write this book, I admit I expected more. I read this as a galley, but it was immediately apparent that this book is significantly shorter than the other two. Length is not necessarily an issue if the narrative is tight, but The Song Rising also had pacing issues. I was completely immersed in the first two novels in this series, both of which I was unable to put down. This one I didn’t feel as drawn to continue.

That being said, there were still glimpses of the Samantha Shannon we’ve seen before. There are some gripping action-adventure scenes in The Song Rising. These were the bits that kept me turning pages. You want to know what did not? The relationship between Paige and Arcturus. EVEN THOUGH THEY’RE MY FAVORITE PART! Why, you ask? Because their relationship was so static that it barely existed. (Insert dramatic sigh here of disappointment here.)

I found Paige so annoying in this book, and I really liked her before! Her struggle to be a leader may have been more realistic than in a lot of fiction, but it made it hard to root for her as a character. Her inability to see herself as a leader also felt unconvincing, as she’s proven herself several times over at this point. Then, she suddenly accepts her position and goes in way too strong and it’s kind of a shock. Arcturus is unquestionably my favorite character and there is still so much we don’t know about him. I liked learning a little more about his history in this book. It just needed more Arcturus in general. We also learned more about some secondary characters, which I enjoyed. I found Cutthroat especially fascinating! There were other parts that I liked, but it was the less pleasing stuff that stuck with me. I do feel for Samantha. The pressure on her must have been huge. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t do it for me. But I’m not giving up on her yet!

Redeeming Quality:

The Song Rising ended with a promising set up for the next book.

Questions to Ponder:

What is the best thing that could happen at this point, now that the world is being taken over by Scion? Is there even a solution?

Where are all the regular non-extremist people? I feel like there is room for a broader resistance beyond those directly affected by Oxford. There have to be some people out there who aren’t buying all this Scion crap, right?

Predictions for future books, anyone?

Anna

Samantha Shannon’s books are a little weird for me. I start off curious but they’re never books that I’ve been dying to read… by the end however, I’m always VERY impressed by how events unfold and how the characters change. Part of what I love the most is how you could never in a million years confuse the plots or mix anything up because each book is very distinct from its predecessors. Each book is a new chapter in Paige’s life- once it’s closed, it’s closed.

The Song Rising begins with Paige having just ascended to the throne as Underqueen. She must simultaneously retain control of the Mime Order and strike a blow at Scion, but this is becoming increasingly difficult as Scion develops technology to identify clairvoyants. The central goal in The Song Rising is the destruction of the SenShield device that detects voyants, leading Paige and her close allies out of London and into the other citadels in England. This provided a nice change in scenery and an opportunity to see what life is like for other, smaller syndicates.

I love the continued growth of all the characters, but Paige in particular continues to shine. She has matured a great deal and taken the foremost role in the syndicate to further her goal of destroying Scion and the people responsible for so much destruction and oppression. She made difficult decisions that many YA heroines would never have made because oftentimes they are weak, insipid creatures and forgo self-sacrifice in favor of remaining with their love interests. There were a number of new people introduced, from other syndicate leaders to one of the many faces of evil in Scion. All the new introductions kept me on my toes!

Overall, The Song Rising was a very good book and after that ending I can see how this series could stretch out into seven books. I like the story but I can’t find it in myself to gush over this series the way I do others- it just doesn’t bring forth any silver-tongued eloquence the way some books do… However, I DO think it’s quality writing and The Song Rising will be a pretty awesome fantasy series once complete.