The Bone Season

May 20, 2013
Shannon offers up a richly imagined debut, opening a projected seven-book series about clairvoyants used as catspaws in the year 2059, two centuries after mysterious events changed the world. Paige Mahoney possesses the illegal and extremely rare power of dreamwalking, using it to serve a criminal syndicate in a London controlled by the organization known as Scion. She’s captured and sent to Sheol I, a hidden penal colony established in Oxford and maintained by the extradimensional Rephaim. Claimed by the enigmatic Warden Arcturus, she’s trained to be a weapon, all the while dreaming of rebellion and escape. When Paige is drawn into schemes both political and far-reaching, she must fight for her life. The internal mythology is complex and intriguing, the emotional struggle is captivating, and the pace rarely falters as Paige unravels the mysteries and dangers of her new home. This extremely strong beginning will have readers eager to see whether Shannon can maintain her stride for a lengthy series. Agent: David Godwin, David Godwin Associates.

April 1, 2013
A futuristic novel that presents an alternative universe of seers, soothsayers and even such esoterica as rhabdomancers--and their enemies. The year is 2059--using the Scion calendar, that is--and the future is not a happy one. Paige Mahoney is 19, narrator of the story and a "dreamcatcher" at the top of the seven orders of clairvoyance. Her status means she has greater sensitivity to and control of the "aether," a higher plane of existence and something that gets her in big trouble when her spirit winds up flying out of her body and killing an Underguard. (Not only is the universe Shannon creates an alternative one, but so is the vocabulary. One gets used to deciphering such sentences as, "The idea that the Rephaim fed on aura just didn't compute. It was a link to the aether, unique to each voyant." An extensive glossary at the end of the novel helps with this decoding.) Paige is caught, given a strong dose of "flux" and taken to the "Lost City" of Oxford, where she's confined to the Residence of Magdalen. There she meets Nashira Sargas, the "blood-sovereign of the Race of Rephaim," who are all clairvoyants (in contrast to the Amaurotics, or nonclairvoyants). Paige's name is changed to XX-59-40, and she comes under the control of Arcturus, Warden of the Mesarthim, who becomes her "keeper." Nashira explains to Paige the existence of the Emim, "mindless, bestial creatures with a taste for human flesh." Every 10 years, the Rephaim "harvest" the clairvoyants to help them control the Emim, and these harvests are called Bone Seasons. The first of a projected set of seven novels, this book is for those who like their dystopian science fiction multilayered, philosophical and complex to the point of impenetrability.

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June 15, 2013

In the not-too-distant future, London is controlled by a totalitarian force called Scion, whose sole purpose is to discover and destroy the "unnatural curse" of clairvoyance. When Paige Mahoney, a dreamwalker (a rare type of clairvoyant), is captured by Scion agents, she believes her life is about to end in torture and death. But when she awakens in Sheol I, a prison camp dedicated to teaching voyants to fight an enemy called the Emim, Paige discovers that the world she thought she knew is not at all what it seems. To escape and survive, Paige, who has been renamed XX-59-40, will find herself making unlikely allies as the line between enemies and friends has become blurred almost beyond recognition. With this debut, young British author Shannon (she is getting her degree in literature at Oxford University) has created a world with a very 1984 feel to it. Throw in some otherworldly creatures, some who are supposed protectors and others who just want to eat people, and you have the makings of an epic sf/fantasy series. However, while there is plenty of action and tension, this foundation-building book ends on a nice round note; sadly, readers will not be breathless with anticipation about what happens next. VERDICT The first in a series of seven titles, this book sets the stage for a journey of discovery for Paige who may very well discover that she has to save the world whether she wants to or not. It will be interesting to see what Shannon does in her next installment. [The book has been sold in 18 countries, and actor Andy Serkis's film company has optioned it as well.--Ed.]--Elisabeth Clark, West Florida P.L., Pensacola

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