Source: Netgalley – Thank you, Bloomsbury USA! I received a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Release Day: TODAY! March 7, 2017
I could not wait to get my hands on The Song Rising and was lucky enough to get an early copy. I absolutely LOVED the first two novels in this series, The Bone Season and The Mime Order.
Here’s a summary of the first book in the series with no spoilers:
Set in a future England with a fantasy twist, the series follows “dreamwalker” Paige Mahoney, but her abilities are a dangerous secret. It is not legal to practice clairvoyance in Scion-controlled London. It is not even legal to be clairvoyant. The powerful “mime lord” Jaxon Hall employs her, but even he can’t protect her when she is attacked, kidnapped, and transported to the secret slave city of Oxford. There she learns the terrible truth about the forces behind Scion: an otherworldly race known as the Rephaim.
Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.
Go to Goodreads!!
The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon
As this is the third book in the series, the rest of this post has spoilers.
You have been warned.
Let’s talk about The Song Rising.
It was fine. I know—that’s not what I was expecting to say either. I probably would have classified it as good (3/5) if I hadn’t had such high expectations after books one and two. However, I committed to the review on Netgalley, and it was good enough that I’m planning to continue reading the series. Overall, I give it 2.5/5 stars, which is my “it was fine” equivalent. As a result, this is going to be a more critical review than what I usually post. The qualifier that I will state here, for the record, is that my criteria for this author is higher than usual because I expect more from her. The first two books in this series are two of my favorites, so perhaps I’m being overly harsh. But I know what this author is capable of, so I know she can do better!
Publisher’s Summary
Following a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London’s criminal population. But, having turned her back on Jaxon Hall and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilizing the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging. Little does Paige know that her reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community and the world as they know it. . . . . (read the rest on Goodreads)
I’ve acknowledged already how much I was looking forward to returning to the world that Samantha Shannon has created and finding out what happens next. However, since she took an extra year to write this book, I admit I expected more. I read this as a galley, but it was immediately apparent that this book is significantly shorter than the other two. Length is not necessarily an issue if the narrative is tight, but The Song Rising also had pacing issues. I was completely immersed in the first two novels in this series, both of which I was unable to put down. This one I didn’t feel as drawn to continue.
That being said, there were still glimpses of the Samantha Shannon we’ve seen before. There are some gripping action-adventure scenes in The Song Rising. These were the bits that kept me turning pages. You want to know what did not? The relationship between Paige and Arcturus. EVEN THOUGH THEY’RE MY FAVORITE PART! Why, you ask? Because their relationship was so static that it barely existed. (Insert dramatic sigh here of disappointment here.)
I found Paige so annoying in this book, and I really liked her before! Her struggle to be a leader may have been more realistic than in a lot of fiction, but it made it hard to root for her as a character. Her inability to see herself as a leader also felt unconvincing, as she’s proven herself several times over at this point. Then, she suddenly accepts her position and goes in way too strong and it’s kind of a shock. Arcturus is unquestionably my favorite character and there is still so much we don’t know about him. I liked learning a little more about his history in this book. It just needed more Arcturus in general. We also learned more about some secondary characters, which I enjoyed. I found Cutthroat especially fascinating! There were other parts that I liked, but it was the less pleasing stuff that stuck with me. I do feel for Samantha. The pressure on her must have been huge. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t do it for me. But I’m not giving up on her yet!
Redeeming Quality:
The Song Rising ended with a promising set up for the next book.
Questions to Ponder:
What is the best thing that could happen at this point, now that the world is being taken over by Scion? Is there even a solution?
Where are all the regular non-extremist people? I feel like there is room for a broader resistance beyond those directly affected by Oxford. There have to be some people out there who aren’t buying all this Scion crap, right?
Predictions for future books, anyone?
~ Anna
annahenke 