Nothing makes me skeptical like the words "next Harry Potter." Usually it has less to do with charm or quality, and more to do with financial expectations. 
 So it was with caution that I approached "The Bone Season," the first book in a new urban sci-fantasy series by young author Samantha Shannon. And after reading it, I can assure the world -- this is not Harry Potter. Instead, it's an interesting but clumsily-handled story that needs a bit more editing to make it work. 
 It takes place in a dystopian Britain at the end of the 21st century. People with psychic powers (aka "voyants") have been outlawed by the evil government, forcing them to work secretly in criminal syndicates who compete against each other. Teenage Paige Mahoney (aka "The Pale Dreamer") is a dreamwalker, which is a rare type of clairvoyant. 
 And after a disastrous incident on a train, Paige ends up captured and dragged to Oxford, which is now controlled by the Rephaim, a mysterious, powerful race who want to use all voyants. Given to Warden Arcturus, the Rephaim want to use her talents for their own ends -- but Paige is determined to regain her freedom at all costs. 
 "The Bone Season" is very visibly a first novel. Samantha Shannon has an intriguing, mold-breaking idea for a world, with lots of psychics, mysterious other races, technology that can "read auras" and a seamless blend of fantasy and sci-fi. It's a complicated world, and she has a lot of intriguing ideas that she weaves into a plot that I haven't seen before. 
 The problem is the execution, which is rather clumsy. Shannon also seems to have taken "show, don't tell" to heart -- she shows us everything, but tells us little. Characters are plunked down as if we should know who they are, and she often doesn't explain what is going on. Showing is good, but a little telling is necessary to not confuse the audience. 
 She also has a somewhat mixed writing style. It's vivid and atmospheric, with powerful descriptions of everything that Paige experiences and feels -- and psychic powers are a difficult thing to pull off. However, her prose needs to be smoothed out. She uses words too long and complicated for the scenes she inserts them into ("Nuala had a permeable dreamscape") which just reminds you that you're reading a book. It's hard to lose yourself in it. 
 Paige is an interesting heroine as well -- she's strong but sometimes bratty, prickly but scrappy. She's got a lot of guts, and it's nice to see that kind of protagonist reentering the literary world after years of Bella Swans. 
 Samantha Shannon obviously has bright ideas and raw talent, but "The Bone Season" needed a bit more refinement before it sprang out into the world. All the same, keep an eye out for Paige's next adventure.