A note on the edition: I received the 10th Anniversary fully revised edition from Bloomsbury, which is said to contain new scenes and altered scenes. I can’t compare how much it differs from the original text so my review will solely be based on this edition. 

This review may contain mild spoilers for The Bone Season. 

“Some revolutions change the world in a day. Others take decades or centuries or more, and others still never come to fruition. Mine began with a moment and a choice. Mine began with the blooming of a flower in a secret city on the border between worlds.

You’ll have to wait and see how it ends.

Welcome back to Scion.”

In the aftermath of Paige Mahoney’s daring escape from her captors in Oxford, she is now a fugitive in London. The Republic of Scion has its eyes firmly set on Paige and the other escapees and will stop at nothing to hunt them down, for the knowledge and secrets they possess can never be revealed. Having very little options left, Paige must return to Jaxon Hall, a man who uses her for her gifts, a man who enjoys controlling others. Yet Paige is not who she used to be and now her focus is set on bringing the criminal Syndicate together to rise up against Scion, but to do that she must first win the Rose Crown. 

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon is a fast paced, electrifying sequel that is steeped in treachery and deception. Enter a criminal underworld where Clairvoyants operate in the shadows and live on a knife’s edge.

This time around we see Paige as The Pale Dreamer, mollisher to Jaxon, the White Binder, and in his eyes, his puppet. Though Paige has been under the thumb for too long, she’s been manipulated, used and hunted and now she knows she’s capable of withstanding against those who seek to control her kind. Her time in Oxford has changed her, it has opened her eyes to so many things and now it’s her turn to cause a great change. At first seeing Paige beholden to Jaxon felt like her character had taken a step back but it’s clear to see this is not the case. This is the book where Paige steps out from the shadow of others, her Clairvoyant ability as a dreamwalker gives her a great advantage and seeing her work to perfect her skill and push her abilities further than before was just thrilling. She doesn’t do this alone and Paige has to make some uneasy alliances but there was also a strengthening of bonds. Nick and Eliza had always been close to Paige, coming to her aid whenever she needed and this doesn’t change here. I was glad to see her character have two solid friendships to put her trust into because seeing the love between friends in books is one of my favourite parts. 

Whereas The Bone Season centered on the Rephaim and their hidden secrets, this book focuses on the Syndicate and the criminal underworld’s hierarchy. I thought I’d feel disappointed by this but actually the syndicate is just as fascinating as the alien race are. Through the course of the novel we meet many of the mime-lords, mime queens and mollishers within different cohorts and territories, we see how they earn money using their gifts, we see how their lives operate beneath the surface. With the unexpected death of the Underlord we are also driven into a compelling murder mystery plot which kept me guessing throughout. Each syndicate member has their own unique abilities and rules and alliances, making anyone a suspect. The deeper we look into the syndicate the more corruption we see, which sounds strange to be surprised about considering they are all criminals and thieves but in a way they all are like a family, they are all united in the fact that Scion wishes to hunt and eliminate them, they are all oppressed and all misfits, which made me think they would work together more. I was wrong. That’s not to say the Rephaim are left out completely, in fact we learn a significant amount about their history in the Netherworld and the figures heading the rebellion still play a significant role, it is just they manoeuvre the plot in the background. To say anymore or to mention Warden would be a spoiler!

“London – beautiful, immortal London – has never been a city in the simplest sense of the word. It was, and is, a living breathing thing, a stone leviathan that harbours secrets underneath its scales. It guards them covetously, hiding them deep within its body; only the mad or the worthy can find them.”

There were many exciting events in this sequel, Shannon packs each chapter with tension, intrigue and towards the end, revelations. Most of the book is centered around the scrimmage, a contest for the mime-lords and mime-queens to showcase their Clairvoyant talents, their strength and their ability to become the new Underlord of Underqueen of the syndicate, to win the Rose Crown. The build up to this had me constantly on edge, when the main event arrived, it was everything I hoped it would be. Here is where we see the array of Clairvoyants that exist, we see treachery, a bloodbath and much flamboyant showmanship. I absolutely loved it. Then just as you think the novel is wrapping up and no further events are to come, Shannon leaves us with a shocking twist. This would be pretty cruel if not for the fact that I have book three ready and waiting to be read.

‘They told us we were lucky to be in a prison instead of the æther. Lucky to be murdered with nitrogen and not the noose.

Lucky to be alive, even if we weren’t free. They told us to stop wanting more than what they gave us, because what they gave us was more than we deserved.’

Review Copy provided by Ben at Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the copy! 

The Mime Order is available now. You can order your copy HERE!