The Bone Season

Paige Mahoney, Shannon’s resourceful protagonist, grows up on the streets of a future London where she and other “voyants” like her—people with clairvoyant abilities—are criminalized and persecuted. She falls under the protection of Jaxon Hall, a mime-lord who offers her employment and protection in exchange for her help in maintaining the security of his criminal enterprise. Paige, whose special ability is noticed first by Jaxon and later by Warden and Nashira, embodies the typical “Chosen One” archetype of fantasy literature and fantastical storytelling in general. (George Lucas’s Luke Skywalker and J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter are also popular examples of this theme.) Also true to type, Paige’s tenaciousness is born of copious emotional trauma, for she is an outsider who is tormented at school thanks to her clairvoyant ability, which renders her a liability in a place determined to conform to social norms. Her ability thus marks her as different and makes her a target not only of peers, but also of the Scion government’s security forces. Worse, until Nick shows up, she has no one in whom to confide or share her fears. When Nick introduces her to Jaxon and a community of other voyants, she realizes that she is not alone, and thus the fact of their criminal nature pales in comparison to the camaraderie that they offer her.