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A review by the_chaotic_witch
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
4.0
4.75 - almost 5, I know, but not quite.
Right as the first thing to mention: My only problem.
It's a long book and thus a long story and thus is bound to - at some points - drag on a little. That's the only problem (and that I was more interested in some plot lines than others), that's the missing .25 stars.
Other than that: an amazing book, a blurb by Laure Eve says "Deserves to be as big as Game of Thrones". I've never read or watched GoT but this story is grand and intricate and so so detailed.
It tells the story of a fictional world, though inspired by different cultures around the globe.
A clash of religious beliefs in the face of history and a great enemy sleeping in the dark bound by the blood line of a ruling house of the west, or is it?
Following two main storylines in the east and west connected to two young women in pursuit of their dreams and the task ahead of them, we are introduced to the different countries, languages and cultures. Politics, tradition and responsibility are draining our 2-5 main leading characters.
The worldbuilding is exquisite and vast, a well executed picture of a world that very well could be real.
It is subtle but strong. Though the reader is thrown into the court of the west and the culture of the east without warning by following two very emersed charcters it is rather easy to grasp the different relations as their are revealed with the story.
As previously mentioned: There isn't just one protagonist. The plot follows Ead in the west - connected to the dangerous court of Queen Sabran Berethnet IX of Inys and the Priory of the Orange Tree in the south - and the eastern dragonrider-to-be Tané of the secluded island of Seiiki.
Five characters might be considered the Leads while in the end of course they are all in some way connected.
In the west were Ead serves Queen Sabran there is also their good friend Arteloth Beck. In the east there is Tané and a man called Niclays Roos who will be knotted to the drama without really expecting any of it.
All of those characters are really well constructed just as much as the secondary and side characters which might just appear for a few pages. They are all very much developed, not just in their background which we slowly but thoroughly explore, but also in the way their interact with other people and creatures. While they encounter many new faces, places and certainties they grow - some more than others - and are shaped.
As for diversity: We have some LGBTQA+ representation, though I can't speak for the mental illness rep or other things since I myself have about no experience with those at all.
For all characters in this world is honour a very important thing. Since dwelling and interacting with sovereigns (?) and higher beings as well as blood and faith and conviction are core themes of this story.
The story is evidently well thought through, the religions (most of them) are connected and in the end illumintated in all their good and bad aspects and the different cultures well explored. Maybe because I was so immersed in the story or because it was such a long one, but I can't remember any plot holes which is rather impressive with such an expansive work.
The tensionbuilding is slow - I mean consider the length of the book - but thorough even if sometimes you might get the thought of "another obstacle? again?". It doesn't happen often and in my opinion doesn't batter the story so it's okay.
Now for the last thing: The writing style. It is a style I love, one where the language seems of another time (and especially with the aspect of honour and responsibility, the dangers and traps of it all) and seems to take you by the words alone into another - an older - world.
If you don't like to sometime stumble over words or have another syntax than nowadays, then maybe just try a chaptersampler first. Since the coutries, cultures and languages are at least partailly fictional there are a few words that might now flow as others do.
All in all a very fascinating world, great relationships, characters, faces of humanity, religion and culture.
Definitely worth the read!
Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.
Right as the first thing to mention: My only problem.
It's a long book and thus a long story and thus is bound to - at some points - drag on a little. That's the only problem (and that I was more interested in some plot lines than others), that's the missing .25 stars.
Other than that: an amazing book, a blurb by Laure Eve says "Deserves to be as big as Game of Thrones". I've never read or watched GoT but this story is grand and intricate and so so detailed.
It tells the story of a fictional world, though inspired by different cultures around the globe.
A clash of religious beliefs in the face of history and a great enemy sleeping in the dark bound by the blood line of a ruling house of the west, or is it?
Following two main storylines in the east and west connected to two young women in pursuit of their dreams and the task ahead of them, we are introduced to the different countries, languages and cultures. Politics, tradition and responsibility are draining our 2-5 main leading characters.
The worldbuilding is exquisite and vast, a well executed picture of a world that very well could be real.
It is subtle but strong. Though the reader is thrown into the court of the west and the culture of the east without warning by following two very emersed charcters it is rather easy to grasp the different relations as their are revealed with the story.
As previously mentioned: There isn't just one protagonist. The plot follows Ead in the west - connected to the dangerous court of Queen Sabran Berethnet IX of Inys and the Priory of the Orange Tree in the south - and the eastern dragonrider-to-be Tané of the secluded island of Seiiki.
Five characters might be considered the Leads while in the end of course they are all in some way connected.
In the west were Ead serves Queen Sabran there is also their good friend Arteloth Beck. In the east there is Tané and a man called Niclays Roos who will be knotted to the drama without really expecting any of it.
All of those characters are really well constructed just as much as the secondary and side characters which might just appear for a few pages. They are all very much developed, not just in their background which we slowly but thoroughly explore, but also in the way their interact with other people and creatures. While they encounter many new faces, places and certainties they grow - some more than others - and are shaped.
As for diversity: We have some LGBTQA+ representation, though I can't speak for the mental illness rep or other things since I myself have about no experience with those at all.
For all characters in this world is honour a very important thing. Since dwelling and interacting with sovereigns (?) and higher beings as well as blood and faith and conviction are core themes of this story.
The story is evidently well thought through, the religions (most of them) are connected and in the end illumintated in all their good and bad aspects and the different cultures well explored. Maybe because I was so immersed in the story or because it was such a long one, but I can't remember any plot holes which is rather impressive with such an expansive work.
The tensionbuilding is slow - I mean consider the length of the book - but thorough even if sometimes you might get the thought of "another obstacle? again?". It doesn't happen often and in my opinion doesn't batter the story so it's okay.
Now for the last thing: The writing style. It is a style I love, one where the language seems of another time (and especially with the aspect of honour and responsibility, the dangers and traps of it all) and seems to take you by the words alone into another - an older - world.
If you don't like to sometime stumble over words or have another syntax than nowadays, then maybe just try a chaptersampler first. Since the coutries, cultures and languages are at least partailly fictional there are a few words that might now flow as others do.
All in all a very fascinating world, great relationships, characters, faces of humanity, religion and culture.
Definitely worth the read!
Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.