Description

The Sunday Times bestseller, from the bestselling author of The Bone Season and The Priory of the Orange Tree

Paige Mahoney has eluded death again. Snatched from the jaws of captivity and consigned to a safe house in the Scion Citadel of Paris, she finds herself caught between those factions that seek Scion’s downfall and those who would kill to protect the Rephaim’s puppet empire.

The mysterious Domino Programme has plans for Paige, but she has ambitions of her own in this new citadel. With Arcturus Mesarthim – her former enemy – at her side, she embarks on an adventure that will lead her from the catacombs of Paris to the glittering hallways of Versailles. Her risks promise high reward: the Parisian underworld could yield the means to escalate her rebellion to outright war.

As Scion widens its bounds and the free world trembles in its shadow, Paige must fight her own memories after her ordeal at the hands of Scion. Meanwhile, she strives to understand her bond with Arcturus, which grows stronger by the day. But there are those who know the revolution began with them – and could end with them . . .

Publisher Review

This is an ebullient, gloriously complicated fantasy [...] the characters feel grippingly real. Shannon unravels her tangled tale in galloping prose, which will carry even the reluctant readers to the very satisfying end * Telegraph * Dark, embattled, highly wrought fantasy * Observer * Fabulous, epic fantasy thriller * The Times * Shannon has continued to build on this imagined world with intricacy, and Paige's voice comes through to deliver a suspenseful story * Washington Post * Language as rich as a figgy pudding, the best terminology in the genre and gripping, edge-of-the-seat plotting to boot * Daily Mail * A rapid-fire wonder of a book * Marie Claire * Had me gripped as if in a vice, keeping me hostage among the 452 pages until the end, when I was left eager for the next book * Stylist * Dynamic and direct ... There is an exciting breadth to Shannon's world * Evening Standard * A dystopian thriller that delivers * Salon * A massive, intricate story ... in [a] blisteringly paced plot * New York Magazine * Truly extraordinary and thrilling -- Andy Serkis Slick and vivid ... Gives the fantasy genre a refreshing lease of life. The Bone Season is enough to transport even hardened sceptics of the fantasy genre into its imaginative realm * Metro * The world is so carefully constructed [...] weaved with lies and deceit and impossible to predict * Guardian * Easily the most politically engaged of any of the dystopian fantasies * Scotsman * Phenomenal ... An unputdownable continuation of the saga * Waterstones, The best books to look forward to in 2021 * Fiercely intelligent and articulate, Samantha Shannon has been blazing a trail for a new generation of feminist fantasy authors * Grazia, The 30 Best Books We're Looking Forward To Reading in 2021 * If the BBC are cautious about embarking on the new Pullman trilogy once we get to the end of the (brilliantly realised) original, then Shannon's books - plucky heroine Paige, a repressive orthodoxy, a supernatural being, clairvoyants, low-life criminal gangs, exotic settings - would be a smart choice * The Scotsman, The Year Ahead in Books *