On the Merits of Unnaturalness by Samantha Shannon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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.
This is more of a companion book to read if you are invested in the categories of voyants on The Bone Season, and essentially has no plot. This is the pamphlet that Paige carried around, a guide to categorize voyants written by her boss, Jaxon Hall, before he came a Mimelord. Though supposed to be mostly a clinical observation of voyant abilities and how one would go about sorting them with respect to type, effectiveness and strength, a lot of his personality also comes alive in the snide comments he makes regarding what he considers the ‘lower’ levels of voyants. No wonder it sparked gang wars! Jaxon is elitistic and snobbish, but he is also an intrepid observer of facts, which is how we the readers get to know more about what voyants could be there in the world of The Bone Season. Overall, I’d say it is informative but also entertaining.
YA on my Mind 