The Mime Order
(Bone Season 2)
by Samantha Shannon
fantasy, steam punk?
copyright 2015
read in August 2016
rated 9/10: really, really good
Shannon's first book was very good. Somewhat clunky plot but a new and interesting world. With a likeable heroine.
Book two gets it all right.
It's funny. The Mime Order makes me think, dystopia. Yet it is not. It is an underworld with both good and bad, in a world with both good and bad. A bit like real life... except that it's fantasy.
The world itself has moved from interesting, to fascinating. I think that's in part because the action has moved from the restricted set of Oxford to the major centre of London. We have moved from, effectively, a prison camp to a capital city. With a much wider range of activity.
The first book hinted at chick lit. I like chick lit... but this second book is in the broader category of fantasy. (Or possibly science fiction. The science is just a little futuristic. With a feeling of steam punk. Is that right? Science fiction set in Victorian times?) I enjoy chick lit -- but some chick lit essentials can limit readership.
Sure, there's romance. And, in Mime, quite a bit of costume change and description. It's neither a genre requirement nor a distraction, it's another dimension of the story.
The heroine is still a caring person. In a rough, tough world she wants to save everyone. Good on her :-) She suffers but not enough to give me nightmares. It's a brutal world, minor characters may suddenly be killed, this is conflict, not pointless violence. The balance is about right.
The cliff-hanger ending is overdone. In book one the heroine is told, I'm sure you'll be able to get out of this... A good reassuarance for the reader. At the end of Mime, the cliff-hanger is less plot driven, more intentional extra. Sure, the heroine will sort it out -- but there is a feeling of, let's tack on a cliff-hanger.
There are still more characters that I can follow. With the added difficulty that the central group have dual names. I have trouble remembering which character has which gang name... but that's just me.
As I was reading I thought, it's a great book though not great enough to requiire re-reading. Then I finished -- and a great finish it was, too -- and thought, I think I'll read that again. And, perhaps, remember who is who!
At the end of Mime there is a major fight. You know the style: heroine has powers, uses powers, finally meets boss villain and is losing -- then suddenly discovers new powers to win the day. Well...
Mime uses a similar approach. Except that the new super-powers are anticipated. Not, Oh dear what shall I do oh my I suddenly have this extra power... The heroine actually tries to develop her powers. And trains before the event! Very, very good.
So my only niggle is with the tacked-on cliff-hanger.
Overall: a really, really good book.
....
Footnote: Almost forgot...
The author strikes me as... intelligent. She knows her stuff. I'm perfectly happy with fantasy, and with fantasy science fiction. (Doc Smith, for example.) Yet I do like a bit of actual knowledge. When I read up on some passing comment -- and find that it's correct -- it's a bonus. And interesting.
Doc Smith mentioned "cosmogeny". I read up on cosmogeny. Found out that it's different to cosmology. I enjoy that minor but thought-provoking reference. Shannon provides a number of similar concepts that I have enjoyed researching. (By "researching" I mean, reading Wikipedia.")
An intelligent author. Leading me to interesting concepts. An added bonus :-)
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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"The world's most affectionate creature is a muddy dog." … per Ginger Meggs
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