Week 52 Reviews: On the Merits of Unnaturalness, The Mask Falling

From Goodreads:

Be aware, my good Reader, that this Pamphlet, no matter how controversial its content, must never fall into enemy Hands.

The most important piece of clairvoyant literature written in the twenty-first century, On the Merits of Unnaturalness is a pamphlet first published anonymously in 2031 by Jaxon Hall, the voyant who would later become the mime-lord known as the White Binder.

Hall was the first to index both known and supposed forms of Unnaturalness, resulting in the classification of the Seven Orders. This controversial piece of literature spread across the voyant underworld like a plague, revolutionising the syndicate but also creating discord in the form of brutal gang wars between the newly-divided categories, the scars of which can still be seen today.

Revelatory and subversive, On the Merits of Unnaturalness is a must-read for any reader with a desire to further immerse themselves in the incredible world of Samantha Shannon's The Bone Season.

From Goodreads:

Dreamwalker 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 Program 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...

My Review:
I really enjoyed reading these books! The pamphlet that Jaxon wrote, I do wish I'd read it earlier in the series, because it does lay out the various types of voyants, and what their skill is, but I have now read it! And oh, The Mask Falling was just excellent!

Knowing that the pamphlet was written by Jaxon, you can tell, because there's this underlying nastiness, one that pits the voyants against one another, elevates some and pushes down others. And honestly, it was hard reading because it was a little dry, despite the edges on some of the comments! 

The Mask Falling is a bridge between the first 3 books, and the second set of 3 books in this series. Paige is now in Paris, and while she still kinda is the Mime Queen, she's also now an agent of the Domino Program. So that was some interesting dynamics and personalities that Paige had to juggle!

There where two really important pieces that happened in this book. Paige found out this one secret that Arcturus was keeping, which yeah, that was pretty shocking! And the other was the developments in their relationship, which is where the title comes from. So really loved that! 

Basically the whole of The Mask Falling, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Between her "capture" by the Grand Inquisitor of France and co, and the orders to kill the person in charge of Sheol II, there's just so much potential for something to go wrong. And that ending, well, that just brought my worst fears to life, and I'm just dying for book 5! 

Loved reading these two, and I can't wait to see where the series goes from here!

Author: Samantha Shannon
Series: The Bone Season #4
Read: December 27th, 27th, 2021
Source: Ebook.bike, Bought
Reason Why: Love this series, and they're 2021 Dystopia Books and Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2021 Books and The Mask Falling a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: January 27th 2015, January 26th 2021

 On the Merits of Unnaturalness: 

5/5 Hearts

3/5 Books

2/5 Stars

The Mask Falling 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars