The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Song Rising picks up just after the events of the previous book The Mime Order. Paige Mahoney is now Underqueen of the Mime Order. She’s driven Jaxon into hiding with Scion London and is working with dissident members of the enigmatic Rathan to overthrow their totalitarian regime. Paige’s relationship with Warden is officially on the rocks and the whole narrative takes a hard turn into political intrigue.

Paige really grows in this volume. Despite being a member of a criminal underground, she’s always struck me as bizarrely naive in all the practical ways. Finally, in this novel, it seems that she spends time really thinking about trust and relationships instead of simply reacting to events. While that could make for an exceeding tedious read, Shannon blends the introspection with plenty of action. The end is explosive and opens up the series for more books. I can’t wait.

The biggest challenge with these books is figuring out what is going on. If it’s been a while since you read the first two books in the series, I recommend a quick reread. I’m a huge fan of the Bone Season Series in general. It’s literary science fiction of a sort that challenges the reader. These aren’t books that one can pick up expecting an easy read. They are, however, immensely satisfying.


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