Reading the Bone Season is kind of like reading someone else's blueprints: it's clearly detailed and incredible and well thought out, but it does take a little while to make sense of it. But once you do it's worth the effort, because the world Shannon has built is so unique and layered that you may find yourself putting the book down just to give yourself time to process what is happening. She tackles the problem of other countries in this dystopian story with aplomb, and builds a realistic alternate history of London from the split in the past all the way into the future. The characters are dark but compelling, as is the world (despite, or perhaps because of, its violence). Read this when you are looking for something strange and thrilling and dark and new.