The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon

Book Review

Mikaela Silk

Paige Mahoney has always dreamed of escaping Scion and returning to the free world beyond, where her mere existence doesn’t make her a criminal. Yet now that she has made it, Paige would give anything to go back to London. But first she has to get her memory back, find out who is after her and why, fulfil her contract with Domino, and find out what happened to Arcturus. Once again, she’ll need to decide who she can trust, a decision that seems to be getting harder by the day.

The sudden change of setting from Scion to the free world adds layers upon layers of intrigue to this story. In the previous book, we saw that Paris, whilst a different country, was just as familiar to Paige as London. But in the free world, all the rules are different and it’s no longer a matter of voyants against Scion. In addition to Domino, there are multiple other factions that appear throughout this book and none of their priorities quite seem clear. Some people are against Scion, some are against the Rephaim, some are against both, and some people just seem to want to stir the pot for their own benefits. These convoluted layers erode at the predictability of the plot and increase the danger and suspense to maximum levels.

One thing that the setting of the free world does is remove some of the immediate dangers, which slows down the pace of the war. This gives Paige more opportunities to develop her relationships with others. The obvious one is her relationship with Arcturus, which hit both a peak and a low point in the previous book. This turbulence continues in The Dark Mirror, hugely exacerbated by the six months of memory that Paige has lost. However, I found her relationships with Nick and Maria to be just as interesting. In the free world, the three of them have more of an opportunity to know each other as friends and equals rather than merely allies. Maria especially shines through with a whole new layer to her personality as we get to see the vulnerability behind the mask of the syndicate leader. Nick and page have always had a close relationship, but they seem more like equals in this book. In the early books he starred as her saviour and idol, whilst in the later books she was his queen and commander. In the free world, they are both just soldiers and spies and, above all else, friends.

Overall, Paige had both wins and losses in this book. Even as she moves further and further from Scion, she seems to be moving closer and closer to the centre of the war. Victory seems no closer or easier, but the revolution is growing, and Paige’s powers are growing with it. I can’t wait to see where the journey takes her next and what the final showdown will look like.