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A review by emzvoice
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
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? No
4.25
Beautifully diverse, wide reaching and epic.
Ah I LOVED this book, this series. Lesbians, multiple matriarchies, criticism of religion and monarchy.
A must read. I can’t recommend this series enough.
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Criticisms
Some rushed moments: Important events occurring too early to feel the significance to the protagonist; characters having a change of heart out of nowhere; foes bested quickly. For the most part the pacing, twists and battles are brilliantly done - there’s just a handful of moments that fell short.
A few underdeveloped plots: Tané; The East, The Priory. Inys is the clear focus of the book. Though we do spend a reasonable amount of time in the East, the world building and background aren’t as thorough. The Priory felt like a side story, a background, a useful driver of plot points, rather than a central location and society as I’d expected. [The East + Priory issues are less troublesome if you’ve read A Day of Fallen Night first].
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Prequel vs Sequel
I adored seeing characters whose ancestors I’d met. Mentions of behaviours and customs that the sequel characters couldn’t quite explain the reasoning of, but that are born out of occurrences in the prequel.
A Day of Fallen Night wins for me. Greater diversity and intersectionality, stronger representation (though both are pretty strong). Immense world building, broader scope and more evenly realised protagonists.
That being said, in order to build such a robust world and character set the prequel flipped location and perspective so rapidly that it sometimes felt hard to settle in the story. So I suppose I’m kind of saying Shannon can’t win? Or perhaps hasn’t quite found the balance yet. I’m not sure, either way both books are incredible. My criticisms are small steps away from perfection, rather than any real frustrations or problems.
Ah I LOVED this book, this series. Lesbians, multiple matriarchies, criticism of religion and monarchy.
A must read. I can’t recommend this series enough.
————————————————————
Criticisms
Some rushed moments: Important events occurring too early to feel the significance to the protagonist; characters having a change of heart out of nowhere; foes bested quickly. For the most part the pacing, twists and battles are brilliantly done - there’s just a handful of moments that fell short.
A few underdeveloped plots: Tané; The East, The Priory. Inys is the clear focus of the book. Though we do spend a reasonable amount of time in the East, the world building and background aren’t as thorough. The Priory felt like a side story, a background, a useful driver of plot points, rather than a central location and society as I’d expected. [The East + Priory issues are less troublesome if you’ve read A Day of Fallen Night first].
———————————————————
Prequel vs Sequel
I adored seeing characters whose ancestors I’d met. Mentions of behaviours and customs that the sequel characters couldn’t quite explain the reasoning of, but that are born out of occurrences in the prequel.
A Day of Fallen Night wins for me. Greater diversity and intersectionality, stronger representation (though both are pretty strong). Immense world building, broader scope and more evenly realised protagonists.
That being said, in order to build such a robust world and character set the prequel flipped location and perspective so rapidly that it sometimes felt hard to settle in the story. So I suppose I’m kind of saying Shannon can’t win? Or perhaps hasn’t quite found the balance yet. I’m not sure, either way both books are incredible. My criticisms are small steps away from perfection, rather than any real frustrations or problems.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death of parent