You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by soulofkhal
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
What is below must be balanced by what is above, and in this is the precision of the universe. Fire ascends from the earth, light descends from the sky. Too much of one doth inflame the other, and in this is the extinction of the universe
So excited to finally tackle one of the most popular sapphic fantasy series at the moment. And you know what? I have a good time with it!
It was actually hard to put this book down. I woulnd't say that I'm reaching out to it all the time in my down time but once I pick it up, I was really engrossed by it. The story flows quite fast and it certainly doubles its speed by halfway through the book and by the end of the book and so you're really getting a lot of information even when you only read about 10-20 pages of the book each time you pick it up. Now, the pacing does get a little wonky by about 40-50% of the book. One of the protagonist, Ead, was practically moving from places to places in a span of a few chapters which did frustate me a bit. I think they could've taken out some of the story elements so that they didn't have to rush through the plot so much.
Nevertheless, I found the central plot of the story to be very fascinating. You have this universe where there are regions that are divided by different beliefs in regards to how they interact with dragons as well as the origin as to WHO handle the main antagonist back in the day. What really piques my interest the most was how the story subverts the usual trope of the knight slaying the big bad dragon and instead having the Princess to be the one doing it. As previously stated, this story were in fact not properly conveyed to the future generation thus birthing multiple beliefs surrounding this mythos.
However, I'm not sure if the theological differences between these factions were properly told throughout the story. As a reader, it is quite difficult to try to understand the mindset of the believer of each faction when it was clear(ly told to us) that one of the faction was definitively in the wrong and while the ignorance does not come out of pure malice, it does feel more akin to seeing someone believing in a flat earth theory rather than having two different religion interpreting the texts differently.
It's also strange to me that the author seem to intend to show that both factions were equally in the wrong with the way they're treating others based on their beliefs but honestly it seems more of a one-sided beef to me. The Western faction was the only one throughout the book that condems others as being heretics for not believing in their virtuedom whereas the other faction seem relatively nonchalant or at the very least, only kept it inside of their heart. Sure, the Eastern faction was also wary of outsiders but it was grounded on health and safety precautions rather than on differences in their belief which make the Western faction extremely more bigoted compared to the other factions. Even when Sabran, the Queen of Inys which is part of the Western faction develops a relationship with Ead, who is originally from the Southern faction, she still didn't respect her beliefs or at the very least it was teetering on a transactional tolerance. The same thing happened when Ead interacts with Tane (she still calls her a slur (wyrm-lover) to her face!). Didn't really sit well with me personally!
Now let's talk about the characters. Starting from my favourite, Tane, who is amazing Have zero idea why she wasn't utilised more often throughout the book when she have the strongest potential out of the other characters. I'll argue that she's the most complex character alongside Niclays with how she wasn't afraid to do anything to keep her dream going even at the cost of others' lives but also with how she deals with the remorse that comes with it. I also lovee her chemistry with Nayimathun. It's actually crazy that despite their lack of screentime, their chemistry was easily the best one out of all the cast.
Moving on to Ead. I still like Ead a lot as a character. I thought her origin was really fun and I love how she truly perseveres through whatever challenge comes her way. I like that she's so friendly that she'll get along with just about anyone lmao I feel like she have allies everywhere. Unfortunately I do have some grievances regarding her relationship with Sabran but I think it's mainly on Sabran than it is on her. Though I am also not a fan when a character can easily forgive and go as far as being relationship with someone who belittles their culture. Couldn't be me but you know.
Sabran is...very weak as a character in my opinion. I think she's the type of character that should have gotten a point of view on her own because I'm not even sure if I understand her character. She was first depicted as being cold and hard-headed, almost bratty in my opinion but then we learned that this is apparently just an exterior that she puts on due to her position. But even during her personal interaction with Ead or her other ladies, I still find her to be quite childish and frankly, uninteresting. She was either being stubborn for no reason or being frantic. It was to the point where I wonder why Loth and Ead was speaking so highly of her when she hasn't shown herself to be an amazing Queen that she is. In fact, this was also the reason why I unfortunately didn't buy into Ead and Sabran as a couple. Ead has spent around 8 years in Inys court and she only just now fall for Sabran? Because mind you, there was no precipitating event that could've led her to suddenly fall for her either. I didn't really come into this book for the sapphicness of it all (because I already mostly read sapphic sff anyway) but knowing that this is THE sapphic fantasy rec that people usually give, it kinda sucks that I wasn't into their relationship what so ever.
Overall, I still enjoy the book even if some of the character doesn't work for me. I still have to give immense credit to this book for popularizing or repopularizing the sapphic fantasy into the mainstream market.
So excited to finally tackle one of the most popular sapphic fantasy series at the moment. And you know what? I have a good time with it!
It was actually hard to put this book down. I woulnd't say that I'm reaching out to it all the time in my down time but once I pick it up, I was really engrossed by it. The story flows quite fast and it certainly doubles its speed by halfway through the book and by the end of the book and so you're really getting a lot of information even when you only read about 10-20 pages of the book each time you pick it up. Now, the pacing does get a little wonky by about 40-50% of the book. One of the protagonist, Ead, was practically moving from places to places in a span of a few chapters which did frustate me a bit. I think they could've taken out some of the story elements so that they didn't have to rush through the plot so much.
Nevertheless, I found the central plot of the story to be very fascinating. You have this universe where there are regions that are divided by different beliefs in regards to how they interact with dragons as well as the origin as to WHO handle the main antagonist back in the day. What really piques my interest the most was how the story subverts the usual trope of the knight slaying the big bad dragon and instead having the Princess to be the one doing it. As previously stated, this story were in fact not properly conveyed to the future generation thus birthing multiple beliefs surrounding this mythos.
However, I'm not sure if the theological differences between these factions were properly told throughout the story. As a reader, it is quite difficult to try to understand the mindset of the believer of each faction when it was clear(ly told to us) that one of the faction was definitively in the wrong and while the ignorance does not come out of pure malice, it does feel more akin to seeing someone believing in a flat earth theory rather than having two different religion interpreting the texts differently.
It's also strange to me that the author seem to intend to show that both factions were equally in the wrong with the way they're treating others based on their beliefs but honestly it seems more of a one-sided beef to me. The Western faction was the only one throughout the book that condems others as being heretics for not believing in their virtuedom whereas the other faction seem relatively nonchalant or at the very least, only kept it inside of their heart. Sure, the Eastern faction was also wary of outsiders but it was grounded on health and safety precautions rather than on differences in their belief which make the Western faction extremely more bigoted compared to the other factions. Even when Sabran, the Queen of Inys which is part of the Western faction develops a relationship with Ead, who is originally from the Southern faction, she still didn't respect her beliefs or at the very least it was teetering on a transactional tolerance. The same thing happened when Ead interacts with Tane (she still calls her a slur (wyrm-lover) to her face!). Didn't really sit well with me personally!
Now let's talk about the characters. Starting from my favourite, Tane, who is amazing Have zero idea why she wasn't utilised more often throughout the book when she have the strongest potential out of the other characters. I'll argue that she's the most complex character alongside Niclays with how she wasn't afraid to do anything to keep her dream going even at the cost of others' lives but also with how she deals with the remorse that comes with it. I also lovee her chemistry with Nayimathun. It's actually crazy that despite their lack of screentime, their chemistry was easily the best one out of all the cast.
Moving on to Ead. I still like Ead a lot as a character. I thought her origin was really fun and I love how she truly perseveres through whatever challenge comes her way. I like that she's so friendly that she'll get along with just about anyone lmao I feel like she have allies everywhere. Unfortunately I do have some grievances regarding her relationship with Sabran but I think it's mainly on Sabran than it is on her. Though I am also not a fan when a character can easily forgive and go as far as being relationship with someone who belittles their culture. Couldn't be me but you know.
Sabran is...very weak as a character in my opinion. I think she's the type of character that should have gotten a point of view on her own because I'm not even sure if I understand her character. She was first depicted as being cold and hard-headed, almost bratty in my opinion but then we learned that this is apparently just an exterior that she puts on due to her position. But even during her personal interaction with Ead or her other ladies, I still find her to be quite childish and frankly, uninteresting. She was either being stubborn for no reason or being frantic. It was to the point where I wonder why Loth and Ead was speaking so highly of her when she hasn't shown herself to be an amazing Queen that she is. In fact, this was also the reason why I unfortunately didn't buy into Ead and Sabran as a couple. Ead has spent around 8 years in Inys court and she only just now fall for Sabran? Because mind you, there was no precipitating event that could've led her to suddenly fall for her either. I didn't really come into this book for the sapphicness of it all (because I already mostly read sapphic sff anyway) but knowing that this is THE sapphic fantasy rec that people usually give, it kinda sucks that I wasn't into their relationship what so ever.
Overall, I still enjoy the book even if some of the character doesn't work for me. I still have to give immense credit to this book for popularizing or repopularizing the sapphic fantasy into the mainstream market.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest