Whew. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I WILL FOLLOW SAMANTHA SHANNON ANYWHERE.
 
This gorgeous author’s preferred text of The Bone Season is astounding. No one world builds like Ms. Shannon. Her words always manage to encompass my very being into a lushly layered world of fantastical settings. It’s grim and oppressive, but delicately woven into a story you can’t imagine stepping away from.
 
I can’t wait to immerse myself back into Scion London with the arrivals of the revised texts of the next three additions to this series. And get ready for the 5th novel The Dark Mirror.
 
Once again, thank you to Bloomsbury for this #gifted copy. And as always, thank you to Samantha Shannon for consistently reminding me of the joys of reading.

There is just something about Samantha Shannon's work that will always have me wishing the book never ended, but is still so perfectly written that I cannot be mad that it is ending. I loved every second I spent reading this book. I wish I had the ability to read it for the first time again. The words Shannon writes are magical and the worlds she creates are masterpieces. Everyone needs to read this book!

One thing I love about Samantha Shannon is how expansive her worlds are. I truly felt like I was there with Paige, and I loved how complex our cast of characters was. I'm waiting for the other edited versions now, but I'd totally read the rest of this series based on what I've seen now, and I wish it was already complete!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

It makes sense that this came out in 2013 because even though it has been heavily re-written, it exudes 2010s energy. The tropes, the rebellion, the romance, the dystopia, the chosen one... all our old friends are here and exactly as you remember them.

Re-Written:
There've been quite a few books in recent years where the publishers claim that it's being re-written (especially when self-pub get picked up by trad) and when listening to the audiobook and reading along (one of the old version, one of the new) I find that there's a handful of changes and none of them are meaningful or consequential in any way.

Until now. This is 100% re-written. I had the ARC of the anniversary edition and the audiobook copy of the old edition from my library and initially there were a lot of changes but I could easily dual read (eg the curtains in one are purple, and in the other are red, but nothing apart from the one adjective was changed in the sentence). However, as the book went on it became increasingly mentally taxing, and eventually whole pages were missing or added or re-written so heavily that I had to pause one book and catch up on the other.

Which Version Should You Read?:
Because of the brain strain, I only maintained my experiment through the end of ch 4. After that I only read the anniversary edition so I could more accurately review my ARC. But I do think that overall, I was vibing more with the older edition. The info-dumping felt slightly more organic, but primarily the character personalities change a lot between editions and I only had one preference for a character in the new edition; the old edition was my preference for everyone else.

The Magic System:
There sure is a lot of information about the magic system here, but almost all of it was delivered through very flat 'I should explain this to you now' dialogue so I struggled to retain much if any of it. This book is so long and there should've been a lot more occasions to show not tell.

The Romance:
While I could feel the writing steering me toward a romance from the very beginning, I was always waiting for it but couldn't quite feel it. There were some contrivances like (view spoiler).

Irish History:
One thing that I appreciated was the incorporation of a subject that the author seems to be passionate about, as the main character appears to have survived through an analogous Bloody Sunday in their world. There were a lot of clear inclusions of and parallels to British/Irish clashes and rebellions that were mirrored in the plotlines here.

Overall:
Had I been a teen who read this in the 2010s, I think I could've been all about it. And even as an adult in the 2010s it would still have been fairly decent (hence the 3/5 rating). For my personal enjoyment I think I'd lean more on the "it's fine" side of things. Far too long for the amount of content, and easy to read but nothing that really stood out that I'll be ruminating on at all.

I eagerly anticipated diving into this book, especially after being captivated by Samantha Shannon's writing in ADOFN. The plot and setting introduced something entirely fresh to me, with its portrayal of clairvoyants and dreamwalkers. The relationship between Paige and Warden intrigued me greatly; it starts off complex and gradually unfolds with each step forward and backward, as they cautiously build trust in each other. I didn't expect myself to enjoy a dystopian novel this much now that I'm not /too/ into the genre anymore lol. I will definitely pick up the sequel.

TY NETGALLEY FOR THE ARC <333 (sorry it took so long, the epub formatting was horrendous on my kindle (idk why, it's never happened before) so i waited until i got my hands on the physical copy)

I read this book YEARS ago, when it first came out and I wanted to reread it again to say if it had "aged well". Unfortunately it did not. The world that Shannon has created is amazing, and I still have intrigue around the world but it was a good reminder of how young Shannon was when she first wrote this book and how large of a task it was to create such a developed world.

Priory of the Orange Tree is one of my favourite stories which opened me up to the world of Samantha Shannon. I saw that her Bone Season was popular, and that the tenth anniversary edition was being released, so I thought when better to dive into a new (to me) series?

The story is beautifully written. The character development has you connecting and feeling every single one. I don’t really care for master/lover tropes… but this was done, differently- allowing me to not get angry and losing interest in the story itself. The world building is brilliant. I am eager to continue further into the rest of the series.

I never read the original version of The Bone Season so I cannot make comparisons, but I can review this revised edition and am happy to do so.

There is something that sets Samantha Shannon's writing apart from her peers. Everything that I have read by her has been incredibly impressive. Where I think a lot of authors in modern fantasy tend to lean into tropes, similar elements, and similar plot points and formulas, Samantha Shannon has been able to create original characters in original settings with original conflicts and original abilities. While her stories do tend to be long, I don't ever feel that it hinders my enjoyment because the story is substantial and satisfying.

With The Bone Season, I didn't really know what to expect going into it. I went into it as blind as possible for a book that's been out 10 years. I liked Paige a lot as a character, and I found myself really intrigued by this sort of alternate future she exists in. I found myself thinking that the first third of the book is set up like the first act of an rpg video game, where you really learn a lot a about the world through her conversations with other characters and how she interacts with her surroundings. There isn't a whole lot of fluff or prose and it really sets a certain tone. The introduction of the rephs kind of blew my mind because they're like aliens, and I was just so curious about their history and why they came to be in the human world. I thought that magic/ability system was really interesting and can't wait to see it explored and explained more in the sequels. I did also enjoy how Paige and Warden's relationship developed and that the plot in this first installment was not bogged down with a flowery romance. So refreshing.

This book surpassed my expectations. I really enjoyed the way Shannon twisted alternative history and combined it with the paranormal fantastical science fiction aspect. Unfortunately, I waited too long after reading the book to write a more detailed review.

With her 2 recent books being bestsellers I think I shouldn't have expected any less. An amazing complex and rich fantasy story for avid readers! Without having to get into long series this delivers perfectly!

I originally read this over a decade ago so being able to read an updated version has brought me back into this world. I can’t wait to get rereading the rest of the series in anticipation for a new instalment in the series!

I loved this one! The world building was incredible and the story was layered. Shannon's writing is exquisite.

As it's been a decade since I read the original release of The Bone Season, it's hard for me to pick out what changed, but I will say that I really enjoyed reading this updated version! I originally thought this was a 3-star read, but this update gets 4 stars from me! I'm looking forward to continuing the series now.

An absolute classic! I truly love this author - and The Bone Season was the start of it all. Shannon writes characters and fantastical worlds so well. I do enjoy her new works a bit more, but this book is still better than most fantasies.

This book started out very confusing for me. You are thrown into a complex world divided by hate and with a complex magic system. After about 20% or so, I started to fully grasp the nuances and was able to enjoy the story.

It is set in an alternate universe, post-war England, where Scion has taken over. Once I got settled into the world, the overall writing was wonderful and completely immersive. Paige as the main character was perfect. She had strengths and flaws and a compelling backstory that really wins the reader to her side.

The captor/captive trope isn't particularly my favorite, but this book did it very well. I am excited to continue this series.

Samantha Shannon's skills are aging like a fine wine, and she knows it. This was my first venure into this cycle, and I'm writing this review as I'm 90% of the way through the second book. The Bone Season is expertly crafted, with a main character who is sure to frustrate and empower in equal measure.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

The perfect edit of a fantastic series.

I absolutely adored The Bone Season in its original form, but I was delighted by how much more I enjoyed it in the new edited version.

You can really see the skill and development of craft that 10 years have given Samantha Shannon, and it helps this already fabulous story to truly shine.

Whether you’re a long standing fan of the series, or someone who has yet to enter the world of The Bone Season, you absolutely must read this book! I cannot wait for the next (much more lightly edited) book in the series!

WELCOME TO SCION. NO SAFER PLACE.

First, thank you so much to Bloomsbury and Samantha Shannon for my review copy. I first read The Bone Season in 2021 when I binged the whole series in under a week. When I finished the first book, I gave it five stars as a promising debut. Revisiting the 10 anniersary edition, I can happily give it five stars once more, but not as a promising debut. Now, it is overall, a five star book.

Samantha Shannon has accomplished what she endeavored to do with these revisions: Have the state of the writing in her debut book measure up to her current caliber as an author. I don't just mean in terms of prose, but certain scenes from the first version have been VASTLY revised to improve both pacing and exposition.

For those of you teetering on reading the revised edition, I must, must MUST encourage you to do so. Most especially if you have already read the first edition. Scenes that had me on the edge of my seat have been heightened, exchanges between Paige and Warden are fraught with delicious tension, and the Rephaim are scarier than ever.

I hosted a read-along on my IG (@readthesefics) and if you missed it, you can still follow along by visiting my highlights. I am so so very excited for her to release the remainder of the revised editions: most specifically The Mime Order.

I'll end on this: I've never been so excited to re-enter a dystopian dictatorship