When “The Bone Season” was originally released back in 2013, its author, Samantha Shannon, was only 21 years old and still a student at the University of Oxford.

Today, Shannon is a much more experienced author and best known for the “Roots of Chaos” fantasy series that features the smash hit, “The Priory of the Orange Tree.”

So when Bloomsbury, the publisher of “The Bone Season,” approached Shannon about a 10th anniversary edition of her first book, she laid her wishes on the table: she wanted to do a comprehensive revision now that she had more experience under her belt.

In the 10th anniversary essay about “The Bone Season” featured in the Waterstones edition of the book as well as on the author’s webpage, Shannon explains why a fully revised version of her first book was important to her.

“I couldn’t believe my childhood dream had come true, to the point that I began to believe that something terrible had to come next, to balance the scales,” said in her essay. Within this pressure cooker, my mental health went into a sharp decline, and I found myself unable to give the editorial process the necessary care and attention as I floundered in my own panic.”

Despite continuing “The Bone Season” series with consequent books—Shannon plans to cap the series at seven; five are out now—Shannon was given permission to fully revise her first book for its 10th anniversary.

I provided this backstory before beginning my review so you can better understand how I came to this book. I had previously read Shannon’s “The Priory of the Orange Tree” and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I knew Shannon’s “The Bone Season” series was very different—a more dystopian piece based on the Greek myth of Prometheus and Pandora. On her website and social media, Shannon urged any readers who were interested in “The Bone Season” series to wait until her revisions were done and the book was rereleased. So, that is exactly what I did.

“The Bone Season” takes place in the year 2059 in an alternate version of London. The book’s protagonist, Paige Mahoney, works in the criminal underworld and is a dreamwalker, a type of clairvoyant, which makes her very existence illegal. When Paige gets herself in a tight spot, she meets the founders of the mysterious government that runs London who recognize her magic and bring her into their world. The book follows Paige as she survives and attempts to escape her captors and their oppressive authority.

Shannon has stated that “The Bone Season” is reminiscent of “The Hunger Games” and other fast-paced dystopian stories. I completely agree. The pacing of “The Bone Season” was phenomenal. World-building information is served to the reader slowly over time instead of a huge info dump in the first chapter, and Shannon’s pace never lets up. I was never bored reading this book.

I am usually very wary of first-person narratives and find myself drawn to very few of them, but Paige is the rare narrator that I truly love. Her humor and sarcasm add to the story and really connects the reader to her.

Overall, this book was everything I hoped it would be: fast-paced, intriguing plot, interesting characters, and a great dystopian world. I will definitely be continuing the series and encourage others to give it a try!