Priory of the Orange Tree

This book is often compared to "Lord of the Rings". I think that's somewhat misleading because while there are some superficial parallels it's very different. While LotR is an attempt to create a modern saga, Priory of the Orange Tree is a modern take on high fantasy. It has something in common with LotR: I devoured it in the span of a week, just like when I first read LotR. The world-building is tremendous and must have required years. The book has everything: knights, royalty, pirates, dragons, vikings and witches and takes place in several distant places at once. I also liked the author's depiction of the various religions and how none of them had the complete answer. The characters are flawed but in a realistic way - good people in odd places who have to overcome prejudices and preconceptions. The scope of the tales is epic and even though the book is long I felt it could and perhaps should have been longer. Not all of the fascinating places and characters in this story get the attention they deserve. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and immediately proceded to the prequel.

Full disclaimer: I started reading The Priory of the Orange Tree without knowing what it was about, so I didn't have high expectations for the sapphic love story, since I didn't know there was one.

On the contrary, I enjoyed a fantasy novel with a love story, which at the same time didn't make it the be all end all of the novel, but instead based decisions on somewhat realistic political needs. I'm probably either a cynic or just sated on all the love is all you need type of stories.

I didn't fully get the magic system, and I would appreciate if the sequel delved into that a bit more. I'll probably also look at the prequel for more world buildung on that front.

Although high fantasy isn't really among my favourite genres anymore, I really enjoyed the global viewpoint and all the different cultures in Shannon's novel. I wish I would find more novels like this and more high fantasy where the protagonist isn't coming from a mirrorworld Britain. Then I might return to this genre, which was a favourite during my teens, but often just feels like a faded copy of a copy of a copy.

There's nothing to be said about this that others haven't said better, but I want to add by 2 cents anyway.

Yes, this book is fantastic and absolutely worth the hype. While it is basically a world building textbook, I think the characters and their dynamic relationships take the cake as the best part of the story. I loved how all of the characters were well fleshed out and felt extremely real and complex. For just about all of them, there was at least one point during the book where you wanted to shake them by the shoulders and ask them what the hell they are thinking, and one point where you want to hold them and reassure them.

I thought there was great representation for the most part here, but I was a bit bummed to see that the only gay male characters in the book were either dead or weak/bad. I don't hold this against the author because I do indeed believe that all queer characters should have the freedom to be evil (I love it actually!), I just would have liked to see a bit more gay male representation across different character types. But despite that, without including spoilers, the most emotional scene in the book for me was the final scene with the gay male character, I really treasure that moment.

As others have noted, it's certainly not without its flaws. The overarching narrative gets lost in the world building and the jumpy POV. The story was simultaneously repetitive with many characters getting the same information from different sources, and confusing because you still aren't sure how each of the characters are coming to the conclusions that they are coming to with this information.

I also agree that the main climax of the book was shockingly short; even expecting it to be short I was still surprised with how few pages were devoted to it. However something that I don't think others mention enough is the very well paced action scenes peppered throughout the book. Yes, the climax was short, but that's not to say it isn't an action filled book. I found the several action scenes to be my favorite parts. I do think this book read as a serialized TV show, but I don't think that worked against it in any way.

In conclusion, this should be added to the fantasy canon of must reads, and I'm really looking forward to the prequel coming out in a few months.

I FINISHED. Wow. That was challenging. Haha. I’m rounding down to 3 stars from what is probably 3.5 because the ending is odd. I’m not sure this should have been a standalone. There’s too much story and the ending happens FAST. It’s also very much a plot book. I’m not sure how much any of the characters change. They go through a lot, and there are some adjusting of basic beliefs, but I’m not sure there’s really much a shift. The mythology here is really fun though. And I LOVE that it’s all women pushing the narrative forward, and who played very large parts in the establishing mythologies. In the end, though, that’s all the book really cares about: plot and mythology. It goes a little farther than that, but not enough for me. I’ll probably recommend it at some point but there’s a lot of books I’d recommend before this.

Amazing pacing. A fantasy trilogy in one book. 

The Priory of the Orange Tree has lesbians, dragons, and magic in an epic mix which crosses nations and seas to stop an evil 1000 years in the making. The political intrigue and religious clashes drive the actions of individuals and the fate of nations.

Reading this in the spring of 2020, it requires a content warning for plague and a country-wide quarantine, but while mentions of the plague are frequent, depictions of it occur sparsely and can easily be skipped without distorting the story. Please take care of yourselves.

I love doorstoppers, especially fantasy doorstoppers with dragons, thousand-year cycles, curses, betrayal, intrigue, murder, and magic. What I didn't expect, because I haven't been taught to expect it, was queer romance and complex intimacy a fantasy novel. There's a breadth of queerness too; lost loves, forbidden loves, and as close to a canon asexual character as you can get without anachronistically using the term outright. I began the book very worried that it would become a "bury your gays" situation, but I was very glad to see that it was not.

Every narrator is unreliable, in a way, as they all are working from incomplete and contradictory information regarding some major historical events (and some personal ones). The way this is resolved was ingenious, and far more complex than one side or the other simply being incorrect about their own religious history.

The beginning felt a little slow, partly because there were so many characters and settings to establish, but once I had a sense of the main players the story flew by. The political intrigue was detailed and multi-faceted, the various sets of power dynamics were well-constructed. Even for characters I didn't know well, their actions made sense within the politics that I did know, without needing dramatic monologues explaining their motives. This allowed the few Big Damn Villain speeches to carry weight, as the impact hadn't been blunted on minor reveals of petty (and not so petty) antagonists.

Overall I liked this book a lot, and while I don't know if it's one I would re-read soon, it's definitely one I'd recommend to anyone looking for dragon-filled fantasy with excellent depictions of queerness.