A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.
This is the first book from Samantha Shannon I have read, and I have really liked it. The overall story is very good, the characters are very interesting and the worldbuilding has many layers (as it should).
I like how each chapter starts by having a geographical distinction, which helps situate the different characters in the map. It also cements the differences between each region and the lore.
Another important topic of the book is the rupture with other fantasy novels in the importance of the women in the plot (which is good) and the prominence of queer characters in it (which is also good).
I am looking forward to more works from the same author and I imagine that I will be reading them as soon as I know that they are released.
Honestly, you don't know what you're missing in fantasy until you read this book. An author who genuinely succeeds in not recreating patriarchy in a fictional world, and then it's a fantastic, gripping story to boot.
I had a lot of fun seeing the disparate plot lines come together in the final battle. How the world is balanced is very obvious, but it was how that affected the world, and how the characters came to realize it that made it interesting.
4.3/5
Review of 'The Priory of the Orange Tree' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
comments I have recieved whilst reading this: "that book is bigger than the bible" - my friend "wooaahh" - fellow violist "I could finish that in a week, easy" - book club member silently hands me the Brothers Karamazov - my dad "shiny, I love it" - classmate
Review of 'The Priory of the Orange Tree' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
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 …
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’ve long been intrigued by Samantha Shannon’s ‘Bone Season’ series, but couldn’t quite bring myself to start such a long, as-yet-unfinished saga without at least getting a sense for whether I liked the author’s style. Shannon publishing a standalone fantasy novel seemed like a good opportunity to find out.
Initially I got bogged down a bit by the intricate world-building and high number of characters in this book, but once I adjusted, I was hooked. Ended up devouring the rest in short order and loving it. Truly epic standalone fantasy novels seem rare these days; finding one I enjoy this much is a gift.
Review of 'The Priory of the Orange Tree' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
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 …
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.
Review of 'The Priory of the Orange Tree' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
It felt like it started slow, in part from switching from four character perspectives. Three of those are key, two are important, and one feels most like the main character.
I enjoyed the mix of dragons and duality at play in the story, and characters forced to consider their view of the world. Pacing is a little weird a times.
Review of 'The Priory of the Orange Tree' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
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 …
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.
Review of 'The Priory of the Orange Tree' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I had been putting this book off for a while because of just how long it was. It's an intimidating size! But I figured with this weird world we're in now and having so much time on my hands, there would be no better time.
I'm glad I did! This was a really good book! The writing style was immersive and it really painted clear pictures of scenes, people, places, and action. I thought it was reading a little flowery in the beginning, but actually it seemed to work really well and was well thought out. The characters were also mostly well fleshed out, and I liked the moral dilemmas that cropped up occasionally about religion and duty.
The negatives keeping me from giving this a full 5 stars are probably mostly personal hangups. I didn't really like the character of Niclays Roos, who didn't really have a clear picture …
I had been putting this book off for a while because of just how long it was. It's an intimidating size! But I figured with this weird world we're in now and having so much time on my hands, there would be no better time.
I'm glad I did! This was a really good book! The writing style was immersive and it really painted clear pictures of scenes, people, places, and action. I thought it was reading a little flowery in the beginning, but actually it seemed to work really well and was well thought out. The characters were also mostly well fleshed out, and I liked the moral dilemmas that cropped up occasionally about religion and duty.
The negatives keeping me from giving this a full 5 stars are probably mostly personal hangups. I didn't really like the character of Niclays Roos, who didn't really have a clear picture in the story except as a plot vehicle in my opinion. I also thought the beginning was a little slow and confusing, with the author throwing people, places, and concepts at you so quickly. Finally, I felt like the pacing of the ending was a little off, especially compared with how methodical the buildup had been up to that point. Suddenly we're rushing through action and plot threads like mad, and I wished we had spent a little more time at least at resolving them. Perhaps the book would have benefited from being split into two smaller books, which would have given the author more time to devote to a better paced ending.
Still, this made my favorites shelf for 2020, and that says something. Highly recommend.
Review of 'Priory of the Orange Tree' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
An engaging and well-written story with rich worldbuilding and believably flawed characters. Visual descriptions were especially stunning, and I was impressed with the amount of thought given to diverse cultures, religions, and folklore. My significant complaints are that the plot was frequently too pat, with people conveniently being where they need to be or finding things/leads at precisely the right time, and the action scenes felt stilted and rushed.
Review of 'The Priory of the Orange Tree' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This was absolutely amazing. Story, characters, dragons, epic fantasy... you name it, this book has it. I could wish it had the highflown style usually associated with fantasy, but not enough to knock it a star or keep me from running out to get the other books by this author, so on balance not much of a complaint