Author Interview: Samantha Shannon

Novel: The Bone Season

Website: www.boneseasonbooks.com

Blog: samantha-shannon.blogspot.com

[Taken from an interview for The Today Show. Reprinted here with permission.]

> When did you begin writing The Bone Season and what inspired the story?

I started writing The Bone Season when I was nineteen years old, shortly after completing an internship at David Godwin Associates (DGA), a literary agency in Seven Dials, a small district in London. While I was there, I had a vivid image of a girl having the same day at work as me, but she happened to be clairvoyant – and The Bone Season was born. I sent the finished book to the same agency in April 2012 and it was bought by Bloomsbury a month later.

> Can you describe The Bone Season and the world of Scion? What inspired you to come up with the idea of clairvoyant powers?

The novel begins in 2059, two hundred years after the day that triggered its events, but 1859 still shapes the world of Scion. The way I handle this in the book is through anachronism. You’ll see gramophones, Victorian clothes and herbal remedies in the same space as oxygen bars, data pads and advanced painkillers. I’ve tried to find a word that fits what I’m doing with the novel in this respect. One of the guys at Bloomsbury suggested ‘penny farthing futurism’, which I love. The idea of clairvoyant powers just came to me while I was working at Seven Dials.

> Some of the themes are quite complex, how did you research the book? How many of the clairvoyant ideas are from historic stories, and how many created by you?

I wanted my clairvoyant society to be a cross-section of historical types of divination, extending to encompass twenty-first century parapsychology. I did quite a bit of reading about classical and Renaissance impressions of augury, soothsaying and so on. After that I moved on to nineteenth century Spiritualism, mainly using The Book on Mediums by Allan Kardec. I also integrated Native American legend for Paige’s gift. Although I did a lot of research, I wanted to put my own spin on each type, hence the Seven Orders classification system. I wanted there to be a sense of inheritance and progression, a coming together of legends and phenomena.

> Why is fantasy/dystopia as a genre growing steadily in popularity? Do you think women authors seem to have a better handle on it currently? How does the fantasy aspect of the book help you to get your ideas across?

I think they're still two distinct genres – dystopia tends to veer more towards science fiction than fantasy – but both crucially allow the reader to escape from reality. Personally I like writing and reading dystopian fiction because it takes its characters to the edge: the edge of sanity, of safety, of survival. They're in extremis, and that allows you to see a side of them that you wouldn't be see if they were in, say, a kitchen sink drama, which is pure realism. Fantasy provides a more luxurious escapism. It can often be as gritty as a dystopia, but instead of being woven from nightmares, it plays with the stuff of dreams.

I don't think female authors necessarily have a better handle on the genres, although it certainly can't be disputed that they're writing most of the 'blockbusters': Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Mortal Instruments and so on. Part of the success of these books may be that they boast female characters in leading roles. The vogue for ‘strong heroines’ has transformed the face of fantasy. While it’s great that so many series have female protagonists, the fact that they are still considered noteworthy shows that we need to keep writing them. I’ve never yet been asked why I put ‘strong male characters’ in my book. I think it’s time we stopped being surprised when female-driven books become successful. Paige is ‘strong’ in that she’s relatively independent, a fighter, not defined by her love interest, and driven by the need for freedom, but she has plenty of weaknesses. She’s proud and stubborn, has a knack for

trusting the wrong people, and in many ways, she’s very vulnerable. I try to treat my characters first and foremost as people, not as sexes.

> Do you have any advice for budding authors?

Be open to constructive criticism, don't be afraid to start again, and whatever you do, don't give up at the first hurdle.

Book Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Pros: intricate world-building, strong female protagonist, glossary of terms

Cons: lots of characters to remember (no character list)

Paige Mahoney is a dreamwalker, able to send her spirit into the aether.  She works for the criminal underworld of Scion London because clairvoyant powers like hers are illegal.  Unnatural.  A series of unfortunate events leaves her hunted by the Night Vigilance Division, voyants who work for the state against their own kind.  But it's a different group that finds her.  Instead of being executed or brought to the tower, she's drugged and woken up in a different city.  She finds herself a prisoner of a race of beings called Rephaite.  Beings who helped bring Scion to power.  Beings who are now her masters.

The world building in this novel is incredible.  Shannon has created 1) an alternate history from 1859, when clairvoyance became widespread, 2) a kind of caste system for clairvoyants, including numerous ways to access the aether, 3) a complex crime syndicate based in London, 4) a dystopian government that's extending its powers, 5) the Rephaite and Emim, and 6) the penal city of Sheol I.

While there are a few info dump style scenes, they're quick and intigrated into the story.  And you really need them.  So much is going on that the faster you're grounded in the background of each section, the more interesting the story is.  The information is explained in different ways, the branches of clairvoyance are delivered via an infographic at the start of the novel, there's an orientation meeting for Shoel I, and Paige learns more about the city from other inmates.  I really appreciated that Paige's flashbacks not only allowed you to learn more about her character but were used as a point of intrigue later on in the narrative.   

Paige is a flawed but still kick-ass protagonist.  She makes mistakes in the book and pays for them, but comes back fighting.  Her progression through the book feels realistic.  She's trying not to give in to hopelessness like so many others around her, while at the same time understanding that she has something to return to should she escape, unlike many of the others. 

The Rephaite are fantastic bad guys.  The more Paige learns about them, the more evil they become.  And yet, she's drawn to her keeper, who isn't quite like the others.  Their relationship is complicated and rather fun to read.

One of the few complaints I had about the novel was the large number of characters.  There are Paige's syndicate members (by name and codename), people in government, people from history, numerous Rephaite, and the people in Shoel I, who you have to remember by both name and number.  The numbers could confuse you too, as Paige was sometimes her full number, XX-59-40, sometimes XX-40 and sometimes just 40.  A list of characters, with their numbers/aliases, would have been a helpful addition alongside the included glossary of terms (which I had to refer to several times towards the end of the book).  

Another complaint was that amaranth became too powerful towards the end of the novel, which reduced tension in some otherwise tense scenes.

This is the first of a planned 7 book series.  Given everything introduced in this book, I can't wait to see what the author does next.  There's so much left unexplored, especially with regards to the Rephaite.  And while this book is definitely open ended, there is a sense of completion to this volume, which I appreciated.

Shout-Out: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

I know I did a shout-out a few days ago and I'd planned to mention this book as a shout-out next week, but as a copy arrived on my doorstep today I figured I'd bump up that schedule.

We got several boxes of this book at the store yesterday, which surprised me as I hadn't encountered it anywhere other than my 'Upcoming SF/F' list.  Usually if a book's expected to do well there's a lot more pre-publicity for it on the internet.  I discovered (after googling the author) that the book's been optioned for film.  Not bad for a debut.

So, what's the book about?

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others' minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing. But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city--Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly--as soldiers in their army. Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

I have to say it sounds pretty interesting.  Her facebook account says this is the first book of a 7 book series, which is an exciting prospect.  If you're interested in learning more about the author you can check out her website, her blog and facebook.