The Priory of the Orange Tree

SYNOSPSIS:

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.

REVIEW

(4.5 STARS)

Idea (20/20):

This book is the most inclusive one I read so far this year.

Drawing inspiration from several cultures, Samantha Shannon manages to surprise us again by delivering this outstanding stand-alone fantasy novel that will sweep you off your feet. It has unusual dragons, magic trees, kickass females, LGBTQA+ multiracial characters – what else do you need?

Plot (15/20):

This book is very complex, with loads of characters and places that exist and coexist in several timelines. At first, one can't see how it will all come together. It's a bit scary to read something so intricate and to have to keep moving when not much makes sense. However, Shannon mastered the art storytelling and made us fall in love with her words and ideas. I relished the time the author took to build the world and introduce us to the characters, making us acquaintances. I was afraid I was going to get lost (even though the author kindly presents us a character list at the end) or that Shannon was going to lose herself. But alas, she built a surprising narrative, filled with plot twists and character growth.

I think the only disappointing thing in this book (plot-wise) was the ending. We spend 700 pages waiting for that huge final battle, the one that will have many deaths, that will make you agonise and hyperventilate, and then, in less than 50 pages, Shannon writes it. It was so anti-climatic it hurt my soul.

I also got confused when, in the end, certain characters knew things they were not supposed to. Both of these things gave the impression that the author was getting tired of the story. It felt like we were being rushed to an ending that didn't quite make sense.

Characters (18/20):

Besides the reason I gave above, the only quarrel I had regarding the characters was Tané's open ending. If this is to be a stand-alone, I don't know why Shannon chose to live us in the dark. Maybe there's a reason none of us is supposed to know about (maybe a book dedicated to her? Or a prequel?), but it felt incredibly frustrating.

Other than that, I loved how Shannon used her characters to give us a better insight into her world.

There are four main characters, the storytellers, that come from different parts of the world, and move in different directions throughout the narrative, only to come together at the end. Loth, Eadaz, Niclays and Tané are very different people, both physically as psychologically. Sometimes, when authors create as many characters as she did, they can't give them enough personality to differentiate them. However, Shannon gave them distinctive voices and you could understand who was who just by reading the first lines of a chapter. She also made them diverse, sexually and racially, which is an aspect we all should value more. Literature needs to be representative. Society isn't white and straight, so books shouldn't be either. Stories can educate generations and can reach thousands of people, giving them the confidence to be whoever they want to be, free of judgement. If a character is like me, I'll feel seen. Shannon managed to add more diversity to her story, a model more authors should follow.

World (20/20):

Taking place in the East, West and South locations of an imaginary world, Shannon combined fiction and reality in her book. She managed to be descriptive, but not tiring so, seducing the reader to come back.

No world can be 100% original, but I loved certain aspects that conveyed creativity, such as the way dragons flew, the source of the Berethnet house and how magic worked.

However, my favourite aspect was the queendoms. Shannon makes a feminist statement and builds a world around and about women. She creates strong and independent characters, with the ability to rule the world. They are not to be rescued by men. They are not helpless or fragile. They fight and kick ass like no other. They are heroes and goddesses guess what? The world does not end in the hands of women – it gets to continue thanks to them.

Women are still underrepresented and undervalued. I hope more authors will stop being afraid of creating feministic literature, and begin to pave the path for women to feel empowered and capable.

Writing (16/20):

Samantha Shannon knows how to tell a story. Her writing is intense and poetic without being too descriptive. She writes without fear and lets her imagination run wild. She's unapologetic and states her beliefs without caring how a feminist book will sit amongst an effed up 21st century.

Writing an 800-page book is not easy, especially if you want to keep your audience interested. You can't afford to be boring and your characters need to grow and reinvent themselves. Shannon did it, almost perfectly. If it weren't for the fact that she rushed at the end, this would've been a masterpiece.

Total: 89/100