Book Review: 'The Priory Of The Orange Tree' by Samantha Shannon

Cover art by Ivan Belikov & David Mann

One of biggest fantasy reads of the year, and I'm not just talking about the sizeable heft of the book! 'The Priory Of The Orange Tree' by Samantha Shannon is a self contained epic fantasy on the scale of perhaps JRR Tolkien, George RR Martin and Brandon Sanderson, but with a very feminine slant.

The main protagonists of the story are Ead Duryan, an initiate of the hidden society of mages, The Priory of the Orange Tree - she's infiltrated the Queendom of Inys and the court of the young Queen, Sabran IX, and keeps watch, secretly protecting her. Whilst in the Eastern part of the world, Tané has been training all her life to become part of the illustrious Dragonriders of Seiiki. But when she makes what is an ultimately selfish decision, it sparks a chain of consequences that not only affects her but also those around her, as she inadvertently drags Niclays Roos, a famed anatomist and alchemist previously banished to Orisima by Queen Sabran IX, into the mix. And all the while, the threat of the Nameless One, a giant dragon, with a draconic army, and machinations to destroy humanity, looms over everything. The chapters are split mostly into East and West viewpoints as we follow the journeys across each of the nations and over the course of events throughout the story. 

The characters are written very well! From the main cast to the secondary and bit part players, it's an impressively diverse cast that feels very life like and quite relatable, complete with all their idiosyncrasies, emotions, self doubts and inner conflicts, making them so much more three dimensional and alive, which made me love them all the more. And so, with the that characters having to deal with all that as well the threat of the Nameless One, they still step up when they have to, taking charge of the situations they find themselves in, whether it's for the better or for the worst, and ultimately *SPOILER* banding together to save their world.

The author's note at the beginning of the novel states that the world of 'The Priory Of The Orange Tree' was inspired by real world events and legends but wasn't intended as a representation of any particular region or culture. And it shows. The world building feels like it has a depth to it and is very lived in, similar in part to the histories of Tolkien's Middle Earth and George RR Martin's Westeros, giving a feel of the familiar and yet staying rooted in the fantastic. The glossary and timeline at the back of the book adds to the already dense historical lore of this fictional world and it well worth a thumb through.

'The Priory Of The Orange Tree' is an epic fantasy that's woven into its beautiful storytelling a great diverse cast of characters - including LGBTQ, plenty of action, the intrigues and politics of a Royal Court, romance, witches, magic, pirates and of course dragons. What's not to love! The ending felt a bit open-ended, so there is always a hope that Samantha Shannon could return to this world with new stories. And I hope she does!

There was a lot of hype for this book in the run up to its release and after reading through and turning the last page, it was definitely justified! Recommended.

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