The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos) by Samantha Shannon
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The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos)

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The New York Times bestselling "epic feminist fantasy perfect for fans of Game of Thrones" (Bustle).

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY:

AMAZON (Top 100 Editors Picks and Science Fiction and Fantasy) * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY * BOOKPAGE * AUTOSTRADDLE

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 all her life to be a dragonrider, 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.

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ISBN-10

1635570301

ISBN-13

978-1635570304

Print length

848 pages

Language

English

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Publication date

February 17, 2020

Dimensions

6.05 x 2.5 x 9.15 inches

Item weight

2.31 pounds



Popular Highlights in this book

  • You have not seen death, my lord. You have only seen the mask we put on it.

    Highlighted by 2,248 Kindle readers

  • Piety can turn the power-hungry into monsters, Ead said. They can twist any teaching to justify their actions.

    Highlighted by 1,966 Kindle readers

  • That is the problem with stories, child. The truth in them cannot be weighed.

    Highlighted by 1,824 Kindle readers


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B07DDGX4KY

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Editorial Reviews

"Mesmerizing." - Washington Post

"A timelessly relevant classic. Brilliant, diverse, feminist, subversive, thought-provoking, and masterfully told, The Priory of the Orange Tree is an absolute must-read." - Karen Marie Moning, #1 NYT bestselling author of the Highlander and Fever series

"A brilliant, daring, and devastating jewel . . . An incredible world full of depth and danger, with characters I would follow to the ends of the earth. I'm in awe of [Shannon's] talent." - Victoria Aveyard, #1 NYT bestselling author of the Red Queen series

"An epic feminist fantasy perfect for fans of ‘Game of Thrones’ . . . A rich and engaging high fantasy novel that puts women and their stories front and center, The Priory of the Orange Tree will pull you into its magical world from the first page." - Bustle

"An intricately realized and feminist fantasy . . . one might even be tempted to dub Samantha Shannon, ‘The female George R.R. Martin." - Hypable

"This magnificent epic of queens, dragonriders, and badass secret wyrm-slaying priestesses is a tour de force, and my new absolute favorite epic fantasy." - Laini Taylor, NYT bestselling author of the Strange the Dreamer and Daughter of Smoke and Bone series

"Spellbinding . . . extraordinary . . . A well-drawn feminist fantasy with broad appeal for fans of the epic and readers of Zen Cho, Naomi Novik, and V. E. Schwab. Highly recommended." - Booklist, starred review

"A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"An astonishing achievement." - Marie Brennan, award-winning author of The Memoirs of Lady Trent series

"An epic fantasy destined to be a classic." - Kami Garcia, #1 NYT bestselling coauthor of Beautiful Creatures and author of Unbreakable

"The Platonic Ideal of a fantasy novel . . . This story of good and evil, struggle and triumph, love and loss and return is beautifully written: complex but clear, and utterly immersive. I loved this book." - Nicola Griffith, award-winning author of Hild

"The Priory of the Orange Tree isn't our grandfathers' epic fantasy novel. It is a clever combination of Elizabethan England, the legend of St. George and Eastern dragon lore, with a dash of Tolkien. Shannon's feminist saga has enough detailed world-building, breath-taking action and sweeping romance to remind epic fantasy readers of why they love the genre in the first place. Modern sensibilities integrate seamlessly with genre tropes . . . Readers will beg for a sequel." - Shelf Awareness

"Shannon satisfyingly fills this massive standalone epic fantasy with court intrigue, travel through dangerous lands, fantastical religions, blood, love, and rhetoric." - Publishers Weekly

"A fascinating epic fantasy set in a rich, well-developed world. Shannon has created fertile narrative ground." - New York Journal of Books

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Sample

I

Stories of Old

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended.

—Revelation 20.1–3

1

East

The stranger came out of the sea like a water ghost, barefoot and wearing the scars of his journey. He walked as if drunk through the haze of mist that clung like spidersilk to Seiiki.

The stories of old said water ghosts were doomed to live in silence. That their tongues had shriveled, along with their skin, and that all that dressed their bones was seaweed. That they would lurk in the shallows, waiting to drag the unwary to the heart of the Abyss.

Tané had not feared those tales since she was a small child. Now her dagger gleamed before her, its curve like a smile, and she fixed her gaze on the figure in the night.

When it called to her, she flinched.

The clouds released the moonlight they had hidden. Enough for her to see him as he was. And for him to see her.

This was no ghost. It was an outsider. She had seen him, and he could not be unseen.

He was sunburned, with hair like straw and a dripping beard. The smugglers must have abandoned him to the water and told him to swim the rest of the way. It was clear that he knew nothing of her language, but she understood enough of his to know that he was asking for help. That he wanted to see the Warlord of Seiiki.

Her heart was a fistful of thunder. She dared not speak, for to show she knew his language was to forge a link between them, and to betray herself. To betray the fact that just as she was now a witness to his crime, he was a witness to hers.

She should be in seclusion. Safe behind the walls of the South House, ready to rise, purified, for the most important day of her life. Now she was tainted. Soiled beyond redemption. All because she had wanted to immerse herself in the sea once more before Choosing Day. There were rumors that the great Kwiriki would favor those with the mettle to slip out and seek the waves during seclusion. Instead he had sent this nightmare.

All her life, she had been too fortunate.

This was her punishment.

She held the outsider at bay with the dagger. Faced with death, he began to shake.

Her mind became a whirlpool of possibilities, each more terrible than the last. If she turned this outsider over to the authorities, she would have to reveal that she had broken seclusion.

Choosing Day might not proceed. The honorable Governor of Cape Hisan—this province of Seiiki—would never allow the gods into a place that might be fouled with the red sickness. It could be weeks before the city was pronounced safe, and by then it would have been decided that the stranger arriving had been an ill omen, and that the next generation of apprentices, not hers, must be given the chance to be riders. It would cost her everything.

She could not report him. Neither could she abandon him. If he did have the red sickness, letting him roam unchecked would endanger the entire island.

There was only one choice.

She wrapped a strip of cloth around his face to keep him from breathing out the sickness. Her hands quaked. When it was done, she walked him from the black sand of the beach and up to the city, keeping as close as she dared, her blade pressed to his back.

Cape Hisan was a sleepless port. She steered the outsider through its night markets, past shrines whittled from driftwood, under the strings of blue and white lanterns that had been hung up for Choosing Day. Her prisoner stared at it all in silence. The dark obscured his features, but she tapped the flat of her blade on his head, forcing him to lower it. All the while, she kept him as far away from others as she could.

She had an idea of how to isolate him.

An artificial island clung to the cape. It was called Orisima, and it was something of a curiosity to the locals. The trading post had been constructed to house a handful of merchants and scholars from the Free State of Mentendon. Along with the Lacustrine, who were on the other side of the cape, the Ments alone had been granted permission to continue trading in Seiiki after the island had been closed to the world.

Orisima.

That was where she would take the outsider.

The torchlit bridge to the trading post was guarded by armed sentries. Few Seiikinese had permission to enter, and she was not one of them. The only other way past the fence was the landing gate, which opened once a year to receive goods from the Mentish ships.

Tané led the outsider down to the canal. She could not sneak him into Orisima herself, but she knew a woman who could. Someone who would know exactly where in the trading post to hide him.

It had been a long time since Niclays Roos had received a visitor.

He was rationing himself a little wine—a trickle of his paltry allowance—when the knock came at his door. Wine was one of his few remaining pleasures in the world, and he had been immersed in breathing in its aroma, savoring that golden moment before the first taste.

Now an interruption. Of course. With a sigh, he uprooted himself, grumbling at the sudden throb in his ankle. Gout was back once more to vex him.

Another knock.

“Oh, do shut up,” he muttered.

Rain drummed on the roof as he groped for his cane. Plum rain, the Seiikinese called it at this time of the year, when the air hung thick and damp as cloud and fruit swelled on the trees. He limped across the mats, cursing under his breath, and opened the door a fraction of an inch.

Standing in the darkness outside was a woman. Dark hair fell to her waist, and she wore a robe patterned with salt flowers. Rain alone could not have made her as wet as she was.

“Good evening, learnèd Doctor Roos,” she said.

Niclays raised his eyebrows. “I strongly dislike visitors at this hour. Or any hour.” He ought to bow, but he had no reason to impress this stranger. “How do you know my name?”

“I was told it.” No further explanation was forthcoming. “I have one of your countrymen with me. He will stay with you tonight, and I will collect him tomorrow at sunset.”

“One of my countrymen.”

His visitor turned her head a little. A silhouette parted ways with a nearby tree.

“Smugglers delivered him to Seiiki,” the woman said. “I will take him to the honored Governor tomorrow.”

When the figure came into the light from his house, Niclays turned cold.

A golden-haired man, just as drenched as the woman, was standing on his threshold. A man he had never seen in Orisima.

Twenty people lived in the trading post. He knew every one of their faces and names. And no Mentish ships would arrive with newcomers until later in the season.

Somehow, these two had entered unseen.

“No.” Niclays stared. “Saint, woman, are you trying to involve me in a smuggling operation?” He fumbled for the door. “I cannot hide a trespasser. If anyone knew—”

“One night.”

“One night, a year—our heads will be sliced from our shoulders regardless. Good evening.”

As he made to shut the door, the woman jammed her elbow into the gap.

“If you do this,” she said, now so close that Niclays could feel her breath, “you will be rewarded with silver. As much of it as you can carry.”

Niclays Roos hesitated.

Silver was tempting. He had played one too many drunken games of cards with the sentinels and owed them more than he was likely to make in a lifetime. So far, he had stalled their threats with the promise of jewels from the next Mentish shipment, but he knew well that, when it came, there wouldn’t be a single wretched jewel on board. Not for the likes of him.

His younger self urged him to accept the proposal, if only for the sake of excitement. Before his older, wiser self could intervene, the woman moved away.

“I will return tomorrow night,” she said. “Do not let him be seen.”

“Wait,” he hissed after her, furious. “Who are you?”

She was already gone. With a glance down the street and a growl of frustration, Niclays dragged the frightened-looking man into his house.

This was madness. If his neighbors realized that he was harboring a trespasser, he would be hauled before a very angry Warlord, who was not known for his mercy.

Yet here Niclays was.

He locked the door. Despite the heat, the newcomer was shivering on the mats. His olive skin was burned across the cheeks, his blue eyes raw from salt. If only to calm himself, Niclays found a blanket he had brought from Mentendon and handed it to the man, who took it without speaking. He was right to look afraid.

“Where did you come from?” Niclays asked curtly.

“I’m sorry,” his guest whispered. “I don’t understand. Are you speaking Seiikinese?”

Inysh. That tongue was one he had not heard in some time.

“That,” Niclays answered in it, “was not Seiikinese. That was Mentish. I assumed you were, too.”

“No, sir. I am from Ascalon,”came the meek reply. “May I ask your name, since I have you to thank for sheltering me?”

Typical Inysh. Courtesy first. “Roos,” Niclays bit out. “Doctor Niclays Roos. Master surgeon. The person whose life you are currently endangering with your presence.”

The young man stared at him.

“Doctor—” He swallowed. “Doctor Niclays Roos?”

“Congratulations, boy. The seawater has not impaired your ears.”

His guest drew a shuddering breath. “Doctor Roos,” he said, “this is divine providence. The fact that the Knight of Fellowship has brought me to you, of all people—”

“Me.” Niclays frowned. “Have we met?”

He strained his memory to his time in Inys, but he was sure he had never clapped eyes on this person. Unless he had been drunk at the time, of course. He had often been drunk in Inys.

“No, sir, but a friend told me your name.” The man dabbed his face with his sleeve. “I was sure I would perish at sea, but seeing you has brought me back to life. Thank the Saint.”

“Your saint has no power here,” Niclays muttered. “Now, what name do you go by?”

“Sulyard. Master Triam Sulyard, sir, at your service. I was a squire in the household of Her Majesty, Sabran Berethnet, Queen of Inys.”

Niclays gritted his jaw. That name stoked a white-hot wrath in his gut.

“A squire.” He sat down. “Did Sabran tire of you, as she tires of all her subjects?”

Sulyard bristled. “If you insult my queen, I will—”

“What will you do?” Niclays looked at him over the rims of his eyeglasses. “Perhaps I should call you Triam Dullard. Do you have any notion of what they do to outsiders here? Did Sabran send you to die a particularly drawn-out death?”

“Her Majesty does not know I am here.”

Interesting. Niclays poured him a cup of wine. “Here,” he said grudgingly. “All of it.”

Sulyard drank it down.

“Now, Master Sulyard, this is important,” Niclays continued. “How many people have seen you?”

“They made me swim to the shore. I came to a cove first. The sand was black.” Sulyard was shivering. “A woman found me and led me into this city at knifepoint. She left me alone in a stable . . . then a different woman arrived and bid me follow her. She took me to the sea, and we swam together until we came to a jetty. There was a gate at the end.”

“And it was open?”

“Yes.”

The woman must know one of the sentinels. Must have asked them to leave the landing gate open.

Sulyard rubbed his eyes. His time at sea had weathered him, but Niclays could see now that he was only young, perhaps not even twenty.

“Doctor Roos,” he said, “I have come here on a mission of the utmost importance. I must speak to the—”

“I will have to stop you there, Master Sulyard,” Niclays cut in. “I have no interest in why you are here.”

“But—”

“Whatever your reasons, you came here to do it without permission from any authority, which is folly. If the Chief Officer finds you and they drag you away for interrogation, I wish to be able to say in all honesty that I have not the faintest idea why you turned up on my doorstep in the middle of the night, thinking you would be welcome in Seiiki.”

Sulyard blinked. “Chief Officer?”

“The Seiikinese official in charge of this floating scrapyard, though he seems to think of himself as a minor god. Do you know what this place is, at least?”

“Orisima, the last Western trading post in the East. Its existence was what gave me the hope that the Warlord might see me.”

“I assure you,” Niclays said, “that under no circumstances will Pitosu Nadama receive a trespasser at his court. What he will do, should he get wind of you, is execute you.”

Sulyard said nothing.

Niclays briefly considered telling his guest that his rescuer planned to come back for him, perhaps to alert the authorities to his presence. He decided against it. Sulyard might panic and try to flee, and there was nowhere for him to run.

Tomorrow. He would be gone tomorrow.

Just then, Niclays heard voices outside. Footsteps clattered on the wooden steps of the other dwellings. He felt a quiver in his belly.

“Hide,” he said, and grasped his cane.

Sulyard ducked behind a folding screen. Niclays opened the door with shaking hands.

Centuries ago, the First Warlord of Seiiki had signed the Great Edict and closed the island to all but the Lacustrine and the Mentish, to protect its people from the Draconic plague. Even after the plague abated, the separation had endured. Any outsider who arrived without permission would be put to death. As would anyone who abetted them.

In the street, there was no sign of the sentinels, but several of his neighbors had gathered. Niclays joined them.

“What in the name of Galian is happening?” he asked the cook, who was staring at a point above their heads, mouth wide enough to catch butterflies in it. “I recommend not using that particular facial expression in the future, Harolt. People might think you a halfwit.”

“Look, Roos,” the cook breathed. “Look!”

“This had better be—”

He trailed off when he saw it.

An enormous head towered over the fence of Orisima. It belonged to a creature born of jewel and sea.

Cloud steamed from its scales—scales of moonstone, so bright they seemed to glow from within. A crust of gemlike droplets glistened on each one. Each eye was a burning star, and each horn was quicksilver, agleam under the pallid moon. The creature flowed with the grace of a ribbon past the bridge and took to the skies, light and quiet as a paper kite.

A dragon. Even as it rose over Cape Hisan, others were ascending from the water, leaving a chill mist in their wake. Niclays pressed a hand to the drumbeat in his chest.

“Now, what,” he murmured, “are they doing here?”

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About the authors

Samantha Shannon

Samantha Shannon

Samantha Shannon is the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Season series. Her work has been translated into twenty-six languages. The Priory of the Orange Tree is her fourth novel and her first outside of The Bone Season series. She lives in London.

samanthashannon.co.uk / @say_shannon


Reviews

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

20,268 global ratings

Tyler

Tyler

5

An AMAZING standalone high fantasy with amazing world building and female characters

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2022

Verified Purchase

Wow, this book. I was not quite sure what my thoughts would be on it before diving in, but I am so glad I finally read this huge novel! I haven’t read many 500+ page books since high school, so I was looking forward to seeing how I would do with one now.

Let me tell you, this book sucked me IN!

THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE is an adult high fantasy standalone novel set in the world where dragons are either reviled or worshipped—depending on which side of the world you live in. In the West, there is the Queendom of Inys, the seat of Virtuedom. Here we meet Ead, one of the two main heroines of the novel, who is a mage on a mission set down from the Prioress, the leader of the Priory (a secret group of mages who live halfway across the world). Her mission is to protect Queen Sabran, as it has been known for a thousand years that as long as a Berethnet queen sits on the throne of Inys, the Nameless One will never be able to return.

Who is the Nameless One, you ask? He is the leader of the wyrms, also known as the “evil dragons”. They are what you think of when you think of dragons—fire breathers who reign destruction on their enemies. The Nameless One surfaced over 1000 years prior to the events of PRIORY, and has been entrapped in the middle of the ocean since. As far as Virtudom is concerned, all wyrms are evil spawn of the Nameless One, and must be destroyed.

In the East, however, the dragons are worshipped. Here we meet Tané, the second of our main heroines. She is in training to be a dragon rider. And yes, in the East there are dragons, not wyrms. The dragons of the East are the opposites of wyrms—they get their power from water and cannot breathe fire. They are thought to be sacred gods.

Thus, throughout the story, we the readers are taken on a fantastical journey that explores the vibrant worlds present in PRIORY, as well as seeing a magnificent take on the growth of characters who learn that all they have been taught to believe is a lie. I think some of my favorite parts of this novel were ones that reminded me of our society today. The characters who lived in Virtudom held deep prejudices for those who lived elsewhere. Seeing how those characters grew (or didn’t) out of those prejudices reminded me of what I wish our real world was like.

Another favorite part of mine was all the amazing women! No matter which part of the world a character was in, there was at least one woman leader, whether that be militarily or in the government. It was so refreshing for it to be so ordinary to have women be the leaders. Another high point for me was how LGBT+ relationships were not thought of as abnormal! If there were any oppositions to a relationship, none of them dealt with the gender or sexual orientation of the participants. Honestly, there are many people in our society who could learn a thing or two!

Overall, I rated this book 5 stars. I thought the worldbuilding and character development were amazing, and I loved the unexpected twists. I think Shannon did a great job of telling this story as a standalone. The way the book ended was enough to spark my curiosity on what happened next, while also ensuring that there was nothing missing. I highly recommend this novel!

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14 people found this helpful

M

M

5

Absolutely Stunning!

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2019

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The Priory of the Orange Tree has been one of my favourite reads of the year thus far! The book looks super imposing so I put off picking it up for a few weeks and then ended up absolutely devouring it over the course of three days! It has everything one could possibly want-- strong character arcs, religious zealots, cultural clashes, magic, DRAGONS (which, Clan Miduchi will have you know, are NOT the same as wyrms) and writing that literally transports you elsewhere.

The premise of The Priory of the Orange Tree is a bit hard to describe because it tracks the perspectives of multiple characters from East and West, but essentially: Ead has been a transplant at a foreign court and is meant to protect Queen Sabran, who is the current ruler of the Virtudom and claims descent from the supposed defeater of the Nameless One (a big scary fire-breathing wyrm). She protects the queen using forbidden magic, which comes from her training as a mage in the Priory of the Orange Tree. In the West, a girl training as a dragon rider is trying to overcome her lack of pedigree in a fiercely competitive struggle to be named as one of the warriors in the most prestitious dragon rider clan of all time, the Miduchi. There are two other POVs that come from less major characters that sketch in some of the gaps around the world, but the book basically threads together disparate pieces of heritage, us vs them mentality, religious fanaticism, developing romantic interests, and the history of three magical trees and women they made powerful into one epic, lush fantasy with world-building for days.

What I Loved:

  • Ead was an incredibly interesting character. Her ambition, thoughtfulness, and protective nature make her one of the fiercest characters I've ever read without the typical sass and aggression that we might see in one of those characters. She doesn't have a problem speaking her mind, but she isn't hot-headed or explosive.
  • The world building was just.... intensely lush. It was so richly detailed, and while I spent a lot of time in the beginning having to double check where I was, the chapter headings with "East" and "West" simplified a lot for me (which is saying something because I am TERRIBLE with geography).
  • Dragons and wyrms. Just... dragons and wyrms.
  • The kind of ongoing commentary on historical manipulation and the lies our ancestors tell us was really incredible and I think very, very fitting when we think about history today. (This is just a little nugget that really made an impression on me, even if it wasn't something we were beaten over the head with.)
  • The descriptions of scenery. WHOOOSH. This book was descriptive AF without clogging up the pages with unnecessary prose.
  • The backstory was so well done and so clever. There were so many amazing elements of the story-- three trees, the stars and the earth, and so on. I still find myself daydreaming about the intricacy of everything Samantha strung together. LOVE.

What I Liked:

  • It was immersive, rather than full of info-dumps, which is great. It does have its drawbacks, because there was stuff I wanted more information on, but stuff generally came together neatly.
  • The pacing was very well done and kept me engaged in almost all of the storylines at once, though sometimes I was impatient to pop back to another storyline I liked more.

What I Didn't Like:

  • At times, I did get a little bit lost with the epicness of it all-- there were so many tiny cultural details and the words used to describe clothing or certain scents were things that I was completely unfamiliar with (and were often unique to the world) BUT I FOUND A GLOSSARY IN THE BACK AFTER. So make use of that!
  • There were a couple times that I got very frustrated by the same character, again and again. It was not a main POV character, but because of all of the contact between these characters, we saw a lot of her. I came to appreciate her in the end, which I feel like is a testament to the beauty of Samantha's writing.... she made me convinced I should love a character I originally wanted to punch in the nose.
  • I have conflicting feelings (still) about the way that Tane was treated in the middle of the book by the people who claimed her as family. Won't say anything else because spoilers, but I felt like Tane was a better person than I am if she still felt such intense love and respect for them.
  • There was one character who I low-key shipped with Tane for a enemies-to-lovers relationship and it didn't pan out, which was fine... but it seemed like this character just literally ghosted after the antagonistic bit of their relationship was over and it served her character development, which was kind of a bummer. There weren't too many loose threads like that, but this one was fairly memorable for me. (Really though, all of these are tiny gripes.)

Overall, I absolutely love this book and would highly recommend it. If you enjoy epic high fantasy, then this would be a great choice. If you like feminist books with empowered female characters, then Priory of the Orange Tree might be your new favourite. If you like multiple POVS, intense world building, F/F relationships, or to be dropped into a new world and left to explore, then this book is definitely for you. But if epic fantasy isn't your thing or if you get confused by multiple POV, then this book could be a bit much to handle... though I'd definitely give it a go anyway!

5/5 stars!

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22 people found this helpful

Ashley Broderick

Ashley Broderick

5

Fantastic Feminist Fantasy

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2023

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The Priory has been on my TBR list for years now. As someone who fell into a reading slump for several years and recently (2020) got out of it, I had a lot of catching up to do, and frankly, the size of this behemoth novel was uninspiring as I worked my way back into regular reading. Two years later, after my bookish side was finally back in full force, a book box I subscribe to announced special editions of the Priory and it's standalone prequel, and I knew the time had come.

If you want to read a review outlining the story and the characters, there are plenty of those other than this one. The Priory is fantasy unlike any I've ever read before, and I say that in the best way possible. I can honestly say that I had almost zero spoilers before reading, except I knew there would be a sapphic romance involved. Since that was quite literally all that I knew (minus knowing there would be dragons, due to the cover - which is honestly what appealed to me to begin with), I went in completely blind and with moderate expectations. It blew all of them out of the water. I devoured this book; it was physically hard to put down when I had to stop reading for whatever reason. Shannon's pacing and prose are something I've rarely encountered, and I can't get enough of the story or the characters. I honestly wish the book was twice it's size so I could read more about this world and these characters. I also felt so much in this novel. I felt the anguish, the joy, the uncertainty, the victory, the defeat, the duplicity, like it was happening to me, and it's not even written in the first person.

I have a love/hate relationship with multiple POV books, and this one is done exquisitely well. There wasn't a single character that I inwardly groaned at when I got to their next chapter; I was always excited to read what was next, even for the character who becomes (sort of) an antagonist. This is the first book I've read with multiple POVs that hasn't been like that (yes, I'm looking at you, ASOIAF).

The female characters were diverse not only in their origins/appearance, but also in how they can be a strong female character without having to be a sword-wielding, curse-breaking, "the one who was promised" type role. There is female strength shown in a myriad of ways, and I appreciated that as a female reader who generally (especially in fantasy) has to constantly read about how this poor, malnourished girl learns how to fight and becomes hot and strong in like, a month, and cool, now she's a strong female character. I also appreciated how the few romances included stemmed naturally, and not from forced circumstances (another pet peeve with romantic fantasy novels).

As my second favorite reading genre is history, I also loved the clear research into actual history reflected in the book. While it's a made-up fantasy realm, many elements of the story and the societies stem from the real world, which helped cement the believability of the story in my brain. I especially loved the East/West dynamics and how the two eventually collide.

If I had to nitpick, the part the book that disappointed me was the final conflict. Compared to the rest of the novel, it felt rushed and glossed over, like she wasn't sure exactly how to write it so she just kinda skipped over it. 800+ pages of buildup, and then it just...is over. I am glad that we still got to see each character after the final conflict and that each arc felt (mostly) completed, but that would be my only issue if I had to pick one.

((SPOILER)) Side note: this is fully just my opinion, but I do find it ironic that the Priory is presented as good for worshipping the Mother, and the people of Virtudom are presented as brainwashed sheeple, when both "religions" worship a mere human. The Priory has magic and the truth, and yes the story of the Saint is a lie, but at the end of the day both Cleolind and Galian were humans. The members of the Priory worship a human just as the people in Virtudom do. So, the Priory is kind of also a cult, just one based on a true story and not a lie. It's hard to discern what (if any) "afterlife" in the world of the Priory actually exists, but both religions exalt a figure who was just a human and likely has no bearing on any sort of afterlife or answering prayers.

All in all, 5/5, and I highly recommend getting the Kindle version like I did because this beast of a book is a lot to hold onto. Also, I've attached a photo to show the beautiful edges of my special editions :)

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Zoey

Zoey

5

Just read it, it's 100% worth it

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2021

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They described this book as a feminist fantasy that is perfect for fans of Game of Thrones andI totally agree. I just read the ASOIAF books and this one holds to that standard. It's just such a cool, interesting story that despite its' length, doesn't feel like a difficult read. It also didn't drag for me at all. I was always enrapt by something that was happening in one of the four main POVs. I love reading books where there are multiple POVs and they begin to intersect with one another in a dramatic way. Though this one was certainly frustrating in more than one part, you were almost constantly begging characters not to do something headstrong, it was also very satisfying. I was completely in agreement with the ending, it felt like a strong end to a strong book.

The way that Shannon was able to weave the different points of view together so that they fed on one another was great. Just, the story in general was great. The combination of Eastern and Western politics and the way that their world views differed so significantly was fascinating. The world views of the different places were also so well developed. It served to illuminate the concept of religions being closely based on one another, but disagreeing on minute details. Then it emphasized how those details culminate into something bigger until there are wars or feuds happening over something so unlikely. The idea of religion being based on real events and how little changes in the canon can be so detrimental to historical accuracy was a nice touch. It was just such a well-developed story okay? There was always enough action, backstory, or intrigue to keep the reader interested.

Seeing the different point of views of the four of the characters also allowed for the opportunity to understand their different world-views and their various cultures. They all possess these deep-seated beliefs and ideals (well, maybe not Niclays) and it was so interesting to see how they clashed and intermingled. The characters themselves were just interesting to read about. They felt not only well-rounded and interesting, but also realistic. They didn't feel stiff or abnormal, they just felt like people with their own thoughts and emotions. Not only that, but there was a very diverse cast of protagonists. Three of the four primary characters were people of color. Two of the four were queer and the society itself was essentially a post-queer, post-racial society. Really, the main biases that existed within the society were primarily based on religion. The romantic aspects of the story were very touching, though I will say that it wasn't necessarily the focus. Really only Eadaz's POV was the one with a big, active romantic influence and it isn't constant, nor is it for the entire four. What I'm saying is, the plot doesn't take a back seat for the romance. In fact, it's far more heavily influenced by the plot than the romance. So, come to the book for the queer romance, but stay for the over-arching plot. Also, let me just say that I found Niclays's backstory regarding his romance with Jannart and his desire to accomplish what Jan set out to do was heart breaking. Their whole dynamic was simultaneously so sweet and so gut-wrenching. Just, very well-written.

The setting of the story was established very well. The cultures of the East and West were well-rounded and simultaneously all-encompassing. It was important that the reader understand the different cultures and the impact that it had on character behavior and potential consequences. It was developed beautifully, just like everything else. The magic system felt wonderfully original and also understandable. I saw a review where someone said that they wished it had been developed more, but I totally disagree. It felt like it was done well to me. It was all explained in such a straightforward way, that I felt like I had a great grasp of it. Shannon's writing style in general was simultaneously beautiful but understandable. Like, the story wasn't dumbed down, and once you got used to the writing style it added a layer of believability to the story. You were never taken out of the story by writing that was too modern or far too complex. It was simple enough to keep the story going (which is great because 804 pages has to be kept at a constant pace), but not so simple as to lose its' lovely nature.

My only problems that I had are relatively minimal. Every book has its' issues and this one isn't exempt. First off, it felt like we didn't get nearly enough of Tané's POV. Her point of view was one that I felt like I didn't see nearly enough, especially since her's and Eadaz's are the two that I was the most interested in. You just really want the warriors' points of views when you know you're going to have a battle at some point. My other issue was that it felt like some of the problems that happened within the story were solved way too fast. Like, when they needed to solve a puzzle that somehow nobody has been able to figure out for years, they solve it on the first try. Or when they need to find something important, it's in the first place that they look. Like, just a little more struggle felt necessary. It gave the illusion that they were really non-problems. That's it though. Those are my only two qualms and given the expansiveness of the book, they're very minor.

Now that I've read the book, I completely understand the hype. This is a must-read for any high fantasy lovers. It really gives you everything you could want in a fantasy book and it's done in a way that just makes you want to devour it as quickly as possible. This was definitely a top read for 2021 for me. I'm so glad I enjoyed it and that I made the decision to read it this year. By all means, if you've been considering reading this book, take this review as your sign to read it!

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45 people found this helpful

Paula

Paula

5

Wonderful read

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2024

Verified Purchase

So great to be just taken away from every day life by reading this book

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