Book Review: "The Mime Order" by Samantha Shannon

"The Mime Order" by Samantha Shannon
First published in 2015
501 pages
2nd in series of 7 books
My rating: 5 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

"The Mime Order" is the kind of rare gems that had me neglecting everything on my to-do list (and reading a couple pages while my oatmeal was in the microwave and grabbing two pages before dashing off to work in the morning and fitting in a page while brushing my teeth). It was one of those novels that sucks you in and demands your full attention and makes devouring the book your number-one priority in life -- screw cooking, cleaning, hygiene, favorite TV shows and feeding the cat (sorry, Lily!).

I don't write a lot of reviews for sequels or series continuations, but I just couldn't resist mentioning "The Mime Order" on the blog given how awesome it was. It's the second installment in Samantha Shannon's Bone Season series and far, far better than the first (here's my review for book 1). "The Bone Season," despite its crazy hype, was just a decent read for me -- nothing mind-blowing. I wasn't even positive I wanted to read the next book.

But I'm so glad I did. The story was fascinating and far more masterfully woven than in the first book. Shannon -- a young author, only 23 -- has really improved her writing chops and I have a feeling her work is going to keep getting better.

I really can't tell you much about "The Mime Order" without giving away all the goodies from "The Bone Season" (so go read my review!) but I can say that the series is about clairvoyants, a future gone wrong and a horribly corrupt government a la "The Hunger Games." Shannon has created a whole other world -- a completely different version of London in 2059, our not-so-far-off future. You'll be drawn into this world with its strange words, its futuristic technology and its cozy remnants of the past, like meat pies and top hats.

"The Bone Season" lays the groundwork for the entire series so it must be read, but don't be discouraged if you don't think it's the best book ever. Just move on to "The Mime Order" and you'll be transfixed and reading while you brush your teeth!

P.S. There are very helpful maps, charts and a glossary in the back of the books.

P.P.S. Since I'm trying to be better about keeping track of quotes I like in books, here's one:

"You're mad," I said into his neck.

"Madness is a matter of perspective, little dreamer."