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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
slow-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
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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:
Yes
This is Shannon's most ambitious novel to date, & one in which her decade of steady writing & publishing has greatly paid off. The growth from Priory to this is clear; sentences are sharper, characterizations & general arcs of growth fuller & more defined. It's a behemoth of a book, with four main perspectives to juggle (& several more on the side), & yet it still feels balanced, each main throughline crafted well enough to stand on its own, even as they brush up against one another & intersect.
There are some pacing issues, & even in an epic fantasy there are things that could be cut or trimmed, but I found myself less bothered by them than I was with Priory. There's a greater sense that Shannon knows what she's doing here, in a way she did not in the previous installment of the Roots of Chaos series, & so I was far more likely to let myself enjoy the journey. A good thing, considering the journey in question is well over 200k words....
(Sidenote: I read ADoFN via audiobook, which certainly aided in my generally positive experience with this novel; the audio production is lush, & each perspective is narrated by its own distinct voice actor, with their own distinct portrayal of their character(s). This succeeded in not feeling like a gimmick, but instead a genuinely smart & necessary choice in bringing the story alive.)
TL;DR: while I fought my way through Priory just to say that I had, there was no such difficulty with ADoFN. It's a more defly crafted novel as a whole, & left me honestly looking forward to the next installment in the series. Sometimes that's about all you can ask for.
♾️⭐️
I am going to be honest… I do not have the words to describe how much I loved this book. I thought The Priory of the Orange Tree was a masterpiece (still do) but somehow this book was even better. It takes a lot for me to rank a book 5 stars, it means it is perfect in my eyes and there is nothing I would change. Infinite stars means there is nothing I would change and I wish there was more, which is saying a lot for a book already so large (I only have three infinite stared books in my lifetime) The world building and magic system are so unlike anything I have read before. The depth of the characters, the character’s development, the found family, everything was absolute perfection. I haven’t cried from a book in a long time and this book had me bawling my eyes out a few times. Samantha Shannon has now become an auto-buy author for me and I will be reading the Bone Season series soon.
If you are looking for a book that is a true epic fantasy with intricate woven threads between its characters and magic I would HIGHLY recommend this series. The world building and dictionary are a bit complex, but I tabbed mine for when I was reading to review when I was confused.
I am going to be honest… I do not have the words to describe how much I loved this book. I thought The Priory of the Orange Tree was a masterpiece (still do) but somehow this book was even better. It takes a lot for me to rank a book 5 stars, it means it is perfect in my eyes and there is nothing I would change. Infinite stars means there is nothing I would change and I wish there was more, which is saying a lot for a book already so large (I only have three infinite stared books in my lifetime) The world building and magic system are so unlike anything I have read before. The depth of the characters, the character’s development, the found family, everything was absolute perfection. I haven’t cried from a book in a long time and this book had me bawling my eyes out a few times. Samantha Shannon has now become an auto-buy author for me and I will be reading the Bone Season series soon.
If you are looking for a book that is a true epic fantasy with intricate woven threads between its characters and magic I would HIGHLY recommend this series. The world building and dictionary are a bit complex, but I tabbed mine for when I was reading to review when I was confused.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-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:
No
Another excellent installment in the series. I loved every character POV in this book whereas I remember struggling with the Inys-focused chapters in Priory. While this is an 850 page book, it flew by for me. Samantha Shannon's writing is so easy to sink into and made me want to keep reading. Can't wait for the new book in this series to come out next month!
This book has 800+ pages and to Samantha I say: sign me up for another one
There are so many characters and POV but I still loved every single one, I cried with so many, and I connected with them. It is amazing that Samantha does something that is so hard to do, and many authors struggle with even with just one main character, but every character is developed that in one way or another you grow to love them.
It is such a long book and very political, so initially you struggle, specially because you have no clue what’s going on (if you decide starting with this one). Although I would start with the Priory as intended, because it is AMAZING to see the little clues for the future, and you can see how it started everything
I am so delusional about everything Samantha writes
There are so many characters and POV but I still loved every single one, I cried with so many, and I connected with them. It is amazing that Samantha does something that is so hard to do, and many authors struggle with even with just one main character, but every character is developed that in one way or another you grow to love them.
It is such a long book and very political, so initially you struggle, specially because you have no clue what’s going on (if you decide starting with this one). Although I would start with the Priory as intended, because it is AMAZING to see the little clues for the future, and you can see how it started everything
I am so delusional about everything Samantha writes
After the Priory, I was like: no way I could love a new set of characters as much as I loved the first set.
Color me wrong. I was absolutely invested and sucked deep into this prequel even if I did read and know what happens in their future - although not to these exact characters, per say. I was most invested in Tunuva, she was closest to my heart, but I loved the character arch of Glorian and how far she came, she really made the biggest journey of them all. It doesn't mean I didn't also love Dumai - her story was heartbreaking and I loved the indication at the end about what became of her.
This book was epic with flawless worldbuilding and awesome characters, every single page was a joy to read and I'm only sad there's not even more because the world of the Priory does. not. disappoint!!
Color me wrong. I was absolutely invested and sucked deep into this prequel even if I did read and know what happens in their future - although not to these exact characters, per say. I was most invested in Tunuva, she was closest to my heart, but I loved the character arch of Glorian and how far she came, she really made the biggest journey of them all. It doesn't mean I didn't also love Dumai - her story was heartbreaking and I loved the indication at the end about what became of her.
This book was epic with flawless worldbuilding and awesome characters, every single page was a joy to read and I'm only sad there's not even more because the world of the Priory does. not. disappoint!!
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-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