The Bone Season is set in 2059 and follows Paige Mahoney, a clairvoyant who can break into people’s minds. Since clairvoyance is punishable by death in Scion, the high-powered political and security establishment that controls London, Paige makes her living as part of an underground crime syndicate. One day, Paige is drugged and kidnapped. She awakes in the long-lost city of Oxford, where she discovers that the Rephaim, a cruel, psychic race from another world, are actually controlling Scion. Paige spends the novel fighting against the Rephaim and trying to determine who her captors really are, and why they have come to earth.

The Bone Season is one of the most gripping books I have read in months. Its plot turns left me breathless, and often terrified. I really cared for Paige and her friends and became invested in Paige’s unnerving relationship with her Rephaim keeper.

The world of The Bone Season is incredibly complex: Samantha Shannon describes in detail the different types of clairvoyants and their powers, the governance mechanisms of Scion and the crime syndicate, as well as Paige’s personal history. Shannon weaves the intricate details of this world smoothly into the story (only a few times do the descriptions feel like exposition), and there are multiple maps, descriptions of clairvoyant powers, and a glossary of Scion slang included to aid readers in piecing together Shannon’s universe.

The plot races by very quickly, and a couple of times I felt its development was a little stiff. Mostly, though, Shannon sustains convincing action scenes, running from one outrageous situation to another, with a strong female protagonist at the centre.

If you want a fun, fast read that promises exciting sequels, read The Bone Season. Shannon is only 21 years old, and I look forward to the writer she will become, considering her current talent.

Julia Tulloh is a freelance reviewer.