Promotional Information

A major event – the first book in a seven-part series of dizzying imagination. Welcome to Scion: No Safer Place.

About the Author

Samantha Shannon is the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Season series. Her work has been translated into twenty-six languages. This is her fourth novel and her first outside of The Bone Season series. She lives in London. samanthashannon.co.uk / @say_shannon

Reviews

Truly extraordinary and thrilling
*Andy Serkis*

A dark and exquisitely rendered fantasy unlike anything out there. The Bone Season is a must read
*Kami Garcia, No. 1 New York Times bestselling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures series*

A new breed of women authors are claiming fantasy for their own. Leading the charge is Samantha Shannon
*Harper's Bazaar*

Samantha Shannon has a hugely inventive talent and an imagination with seven league boots. She's hit the ground running
*Susan Hill*

A richly dramatic and unadulterated pleasure, filled with horrors, wonders and charm
*Justina Robson, author of the Quantum Gravity series*

A dazzlingly brainy, witty and bewitching tale of outrageous courage, heroic compassion, transcendent love and the quest for freedom ... the first in a thoughtful fantasy series by a brilliant young writer
*Booklist*

Marks the arrival of an extraordinarily talented British writer set to challenge the worldwide bestseller list domination of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games
*The British Fantasy Society*

The Bone Season, set in 2059, stems from Shannon's interest in works such as The Handmaid's Tale and A Clockwork Orange, which have backdrops of repressive regimes, and in John Donne's poetry
*Sunday Times*

Fascinating ... It will be very interesting to see where Shannon goes with this
*Daily Mail*

Shannon offers up a richly imagined debut, opening a projected seven-book series about clairvoyants used as catspaws in the year 2059, two centuries after mysterious events changed the world. Paige Mahoney possesses the illegal and extremely rare power of dreamwalking, using it to serve a criminal syndicate in a London controlled by the organization known as Scion. She's captured and sent to Sheol I, a hidden penal colony established in Oxford and maintained by the extradimensional Rephaim. Claimed by the enigmatic Warden Arcturus, she's trained to be a weapon, all the while dreaming of rebellion and escape. When Paige is drawn into schemes both political and far-reaching, she must fight for her life. The internal mythology is complex and intriguing, the emotional struggle is captivating, and the pace rarely falters as Paige unravels the mysteries and dangers of her new home. This extremely strong beginning will have readers eager to see whether Shannon can maintain her stride for a lengthy series. Agent: David Godwin, David Godwin Associates. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

In the not-too-distant future, London is controlled by a totalitarian force called Scion, whose sole purpose is to discover and destroy the "unnatural curse" of clairvoyance. When Paige Mahoney, a dreamwalker (a rare type of clairvoyant), is captured by Scion agents, she believes her life is about to end in torture and death. But when she awakens in Sheol I, a prison camp dedicated to teaching voyants to fight an enemy called the Emim, Paige discovers that the world she thought she knew is not at all what it seems. To escape and survive, Paige, who has been renamed XX-59-40, will find herself making unlikely allies as the line between enemies and friends has become blurred almost beyond recognition. With this debut, young British author Shannon (she is getting her degree in literature at Oxford University) has created a world with a very 1984 feel to it. Throw in some otherworldly creatures, some who are supposed protectors and others who just want to eat people, and you have the makings of an epic sf/fantasy series. However, while there is plenty of action and tension, this foundation-building book ends on a nice round note; sadly, readers will not be breathless with anticipation about what happens next. VERDICT The first in a series of seven titles, this book sets the stage for a journey of discovery for Paige who may very well discover that she has to save the world whether she wants to or not. It will be interesting to see what Shannon does in her next installment. [The book has been sold in 18 countries, and actor Andy Serkis's film company has optioned it as well.-Ed.]-Elisabeth Clark, West Florida P.L., Pensacola (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.