A review by ehmannky
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

An incredibly complex, queer and fantastic fantasy novel. Yes, it is a doorstopper and there is the standard "wtf is happening" for the first few hundred pages or so, but it's very well-written and intricate. I thought that the first half of the book moved much more slowly than the latter half (even in terms of like time scale, the first half of the book is so ponderous), but I bought in to the world that it didn't bother me too much. If you're into Lord of the Rings and you want a world where more than two women are allowed to do things or Game of Thrones without any sexual assault and a variety of dragons, this is for you. 

One thing that is interesting to me is Shannon's willingness to introduce meaningless deaths. None of the main storytellers die, but plenty of people around them die in just meaningless ways. Some deaths I was incredibly upset over, but overall it felt like a good way to emphasis that not every death has meaning, but that doesn't mean that that person's life was pointless. 
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