You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
4.5 stars ⭐️ i wish i could have given this five stars because i truly did love it, but it just fell a BIT short of my expectations after TPOTOT. Don’t get me wrong this was still an amazing book; the characters are rich and multi dimensional despite the sheer number of them, the love stories are beautiful, the universe is incredibly immersive and there is once again amazing diversity and representation without it feeling cheap or forced.
However, the plot just lacked the same level of excitement we experienced in TPOTOT. Some of this was kind of unavoidable, it is just the nature of a prequel that you lose some of the suspense when you know the future. I guess for such a long book it just still feels like it’s missing something. I disagree with people saying this should have been shorter, I think if it was shorter we would have missed out on some major character development. But I will admit after the middle of the book my interest started waning until the last 100 pages or so. I just think we could have felt the stakes a little more.
Despite my criticisms, I did really love this book. Shannon does a great job of tying up the ending in a way that’s satisfying but still leaves a lot to the imagination. This universe is beautifully built and it’s easy to lose myself in it. I’m definitely excited to know that there will be more of this world in the future.
However, the plot just lacked the same level of excitement we experienced in TPOTOT. Some of this was kind of unavoidable, it is just the nature of a prequel that you lose some of the suspense when you know the future. I guess for such a long book it just still feels like it’s missing something. I disagree with people saying this should have been shorter, I think if it was shorter we would have missed out on some major character development. But I will admit after the middle of the book my interest started waning until the last 100 pages or so. I just think we could have felt the stakes a little more.
Despite my criticisms, I did really love this book. Shannon does a great job of tying up the ending in a way that’s satisfying but still leaves a lot to the imagination. This universe is beautifully built and it’s easy to lose myself in it. I’m definitely excited to know that there will be more of this world in the future.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A Day of Fallen Night is set 500-years before the events of The Priory of the Orange Tree, but it is not necessary to read TPOTOT before ADOFN. (However, I do think you will get more out of ADOFN if you read TPOTOT first).
The story is told by 4 POV characters:
Glorian, the Crown Princess of Inys, is in the shadow of her mother, Queen Sabran the Ambitious, but finds herself being pushed to step-up.
Dumai is happy in her role as a godsinger on the mountain of Ipyeda in Seiiki, but her life is disturbed by the arrival of a visitor to the mountain.
Wulf is a housecarl in the retinue of the King of Hroth, but is haunted by his mysterious past.
Tunuva, a senior sister of the Priory of the Orange Tree, is content to spend her days in the service of the Mother, however when she witnesses the eruption of the Dreadmount, she realises that she will need to use all her skills to defeat the chaos that is unleashed.
Like TPOTOT, ADOFN is an expansive high-fantasy, with a diverse cast, intricate world building and beautiful writing. The characters are well rounded and interesting and the plot is intriguing and well paced. A number of themes, such as mothers, faith, dreams and duty are threaded throughout the book, and it is interesting to see how they are interwoven between the POVs. At nearly 900 pages it is an intimidating read, but I assure you it is well worth it.
The story is told by 4 POV characters:
Glorian, the Crown Princess of Inys, is in the shadow of her mother, Queen Sabran the Ambitious, but finds herself being pushed to step-up.
Dumai is happy in her role as a godsinger on the mountain of Ipyeda in Seiiki, but her life is disturbed by the arrival of a visitor to the mountain.
Wulf is a housecarl in the retinue of the King of Hroth, but is haunted by his mysterious past.
Tunuva, a senior sister of the Priory of the Orange Tree, is content to spend her days in the service of the Mother, however when she witnesses the eruption of the Dreadmount, she realises that she will need to use all her skills to defeat the chaos that is unleashed.
Like TPOTOT, ADOFN is an expansive high-fantasy, with a diverse cast, intricate world building and beautiful writing. The characters are well rounded and interesting and the plot is intriguing and well paced. A number of themes, such as mothers, faith, dreams and duty are threaded throughout the book, and it is interesting to see how they are interwoven between the POVs. At nearly 900 pages it is an intimidating read, but I assure you it is well worth it.
another solid entry with great representation
In my Priory of the Orange Tree review I mentioned how the first ~25%+ was a slog that took me three tries to get through, but the last half was really good. A Day of Fallen Night was pretty much the opposite.
This time around I was drawn right in and thoroughly enjoyed the characters, relationships and world building in the first half, but suddenly there was an interaction that felt forced and unnatural (as if it was a milestone in an outline that was force-fit) and then we launched into a battle heavy second half that revealed that battles are not the author's strongest suit.
Stakes in a book like this are interesting - there are things we know about the Grief of Ages from the first book that define the overall scope of what this book can accomplish, both in terms of people as well as outcomes. That made much of the second half feel like sketches of battles in a bounded box.
But where the book shines is in the characters and their relationships. This is a world that is diverse in its representation, and that really shines here as well. There are at least a dozen major characters we get to explore from four different regions of the world - there are multiple generations, romances, alliances and betrayals, political machinations, and more.
One area that I loved in this book was how much of a focus there was on older characters - and not just as wisened elders, but as vibrant main characters. One of the key POV characters was old enough to be a grandmother but still fought on the front lines and was critical to everything in the story. As an older reader I truly appreciated this representation.
Another exploration was motherhood - what it means to those who want it, don't want it, have it forced upon them, have it taken from them, or how found family can be every bit as real.
The book wraps up with a character by character epilogue that I liked but felt weird because it felt unnatural and like another thing tacked-on unnaturally - and yet I appreciated getting that 'after the story ends' look. Which is likely why it was added.
Overall I enjoyed Fallen Night about as much as Priory but for different reasons - and definitely recommend it. It is a 'door stop' volume, and will take an investment of time, but is overall a worthwhile read.
In my Priory of the Orange Tree review I mentioned how the first ~25%+ was a slog that took me three tries to get through, but the last half was really good. A Day of Fallen Night was pretty much the opposite.
This time around I was drawn right in and thoroughly enjoyed the characters, relationships and world building in the first half, but suddenly there was an interaction that felt forced and unnatural (as if it was a milestone in an outline that was force-fit) and then we launched into a battle heavy second half that revealed that battles are not the author's strongest suit.
Stakes in a book like this are interesting - there are things we know about the Grief of Ages from the first book that define the overall scope of what this book can accomplish, both in terms of people as well as outcomes. That made much of the second half feel like sketches of battles in a bounded box.
But where the book shines is in the characters and their relationships. This is a world that is diverse in its representation, and that really shines here as well. There are at least a dozen major characters we get to explore from four different regions of the world - there are multiple generations, romances, alliances and betrayals, political machinations, and more.
One area that I loved in this book was how much of a focus there was on older characters - and not just as wisened elders, but as vibrant main characters. One of the key POV characters was old enough to be a grandmother but still fought on the front lines and was critical to everything in the story. As an older reader I truly appreciated this representation.
Another exploration was motherhood - what it means to those who want it, don't want it, have it forced upon them, have it taken from them, or how found family can be every bit as real.
The book wraps up with a character by character epilogue that I liked but felt weird because it felt unnatural and like another thing tacked-on unnaturally - and yet I appreciated getting that 'after the story ends' look. Which is likely why it was added.
Overall I enjoyed Fallen Night about as much as Priory but for different reasons - and definitely recommend it. It is a 'door stop' volume, and will take an investment of time, but is overall a worthwhile read.
i think i liked this one better than priory. glorian is my favorite character in the world of this book, and it was so cool to see what happened before priory.
Took me a really long time to finish for no reason bc it was actually really good I was just depressed. 🙃 (it would probably be 4 stars if I wasn’t so mentally unwell)
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No