Author: Samantha Shannon
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN:
Rating: 10/10
Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal penal colony of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the fugitives are still missing and she is the most wanted person in London. As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on Paige, 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. Will Paige know who to trust? The hunt for the dreamwalker is on.
Breathless. That's how I felt after finishing this book. A year I waited for this book and for something I waited so long for, I finished so quick and now I'm waiting for the next one... already.
But seriously, The Mime Order utterly blew me away. Phenomenal doesn't even begin to describe it.
The story. Whilst I knew vaguely where the story would go after the massive cliffhanger that was 'the Bone Season' I had no idea it would go the way it did. This story and world is already so unique and special, as it is, and Shannon has succeeded in penning another riveting and twist filled plot that will keep you up till the dead of night, turning the pages until there none left to turn.
I love how we saw the story progress through this novel and how we followed Paige as she travelled through London as well as being on the run from everyone. No joke, everyone is after Paige (she doesn't really catch a break in this book) and that's why this is just such an insane, action packed book, that I just couldn't put down.
The story, I found, flowed, well. It was never slow in any way, but the further you read the more the pace picked up and the more riveting it became, to the point where I was locked to it and could not put the book down. Shannon has masterfully created this plot and whilst it gave me everything I wanted it left me wanting so much more. (I know this is kinda vague around the plot but I really don't want to give anything away guys, you really have to read this is experience how perfect this book is)
The setting. It was really interesting to see London through Paige's eyes, but in a different way to how she saw it in book 1. In book 1 it was very much a place hide from but now it's her place to hide within, and I loved seeing how she moved around London with all these secret places that only she knew about. Needless to say, I just loved seeing this fantasy ridden London (in the future) and even though I've been to London so many times, I didn't even need to use those images to engross myself because Shannon's writing was so fluid and rich that it just built up the new London so vividly in my mind.
Also, this is a personal thing, but I feel like this story and novel just wouldn't have worked or had the same effect had it been set elsewhere and London and Oxford really were and are the perfect settings for this book and Shannon makes them work beautifully with the story.
Now onto the writing. Shannon's writing wowed from book one and it's done nothing but get better with book 2. The writing has only become more seamless and a pleasure to read. Words flowed easily, building up worlds and characters in my mind with ease. The way Shannon used words to craft this world is on a whole new level of amazing and from page one I slipped into this story, and lived it first hand through this articulate and beautiful prose.
The characters in this were even better than last time. Not only did we get to delve deeper into their mind and not only see them in a different light, responsive to different situations, but we also got to know them and their history better, allowing us to understand them better and their place within the story. However, the two I want to focus on are Paige and Warden, first separately, then together.
Paige, as a character, grew so much in this book and I loved watching it. Even though, really, she's always been on her own, she becomes alone properly for the very first time and we see her come into her own, take control of her life and somehow just about manage to keep it together in the middle of the biggest mess ever. Seeing her develop in this book was exactly what I wanted because now she's a stronger and better character and I can't wait to see her take on everyone in the next book (hopefully).
Now to Paige and Warden. Although Warden isn't in this novel straight away (he comes back about halfway through), the chemistry and electricity between these two characters is off the charts. They're literally the perfect couple together and Shannon has made it this way, so that you can't help but love them together, which also worries me that she's made us love them as a couple so she can do something devastating, however until that happens I can't wait to see them together in the next book.
That's another great point to the book; whilst there is romance and it does have a key role it doesn't ever overwhelm or take over the book, nor does Paige let it become the most important thing in her life. The book still stays strongly focused on the main storyline and Paige says focused on herself and what she needs to.
So overall I can say I am not disappointed at all with this book; It's everything I wanted and more. Whilst it's still a complete mess everything came together in a satisfying way, that's left me needing the next book now. All the aspects of this book have tied together to create a masterpiece, and quite honestly this book is dripping with perfection.
No comments:
Post a Comment