The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos)

I wanted to like this book and for much of the time I did. However, every so often authorial tics or downright errors annoyed me. For example, I have no problem with fantastic beasts but to call a large hairy animal an 'ichneumon' is simply wrong when you know that it is a parasitic wasp. The use of obscure words to describe the quotidien adds nothing to the narrative and seems more about the author saying "look at me, I am so clever knowing these words". And given the state of technology in this universe how do the characters know (a) where the deepest part of the Abyss lies, and (b) how to get there accurately if all they have to steer by is compass and stars? The canvas she paints is so large that inevitably much is sketchy. Seemingly important characters are either abandoned or summarily killed off. The ending doesn't seem sure whether it is setting the reader up for a sequel or not. The narrative flaws that were becoming evident in 'The Bone Season' series where action is piled on in lieu of character are all to clearly on display here. All that said, I did enjoy reading this but much less than I had anticipated.

ARC Provided by Bloomsbury via NetGalley. Thank you so much to the publisher for the chance to read this early. Brilliant. Fabulous. All immersive. Devastating. Amazing Everything I hoped and thought it would be and so much more. Was what I said when I read this back in November 2018 and I stand by those comments. Since The Priory of the Orange Tree comes out next month, I think I'm now allowed to give a full review. So here goes. Priory is not a perfect book but it was absolutely the perfect book for me. If that sounds contradictory bear in mind that from an objective point of view, I could see minor flaws. The wrap up is very sudden for instance. The pacing is a little off in places. Some threads could have done with longer conclusions - it's an 800+ page book and I would have happily read even more so just how much of a flaw these things are is up for question. This is not one of those huge books that is mostly filler. This is a tome that deserves to be a huge book because every bit of that plot was needed (and I still wish it was longer!). The book opens on Tane, who yearns to be a dragon rider, making a fatal error the night before her dragon rider trials. Her actions set off a chain of events that send subtle ripples across the world. In the East, dragons are beautiful, wise, graceful and serpentine - creatures of air, water and intellect. Far from the Eastern reaches of the world, there are other kinds of dragons on the move - creatures of fire and greed and violence. A great evil is stirring in its sleep, ready to wake once more. In the West, the queens of Inys have ruled for a thousand years. The current ruler is Sabran the ninth, a young woman who is reluctant to wed and bear the heir the kingdom is waiting for. Each queen of Inys bears only a single child, a daughter to rule after her. And then there's Ead, a foreigner who has climbed the ranks to become first a lady in waiting, then a lady of the royal bedchamber and trusted confidant. But Ead's loyalty is long since given to an ancient and mystical order, and her defence of the queen is secret, employing the use of forbidden powers. The young queen must face off against the fire breathing monsters her forebears defended the realm against before her, as well as the lesser draconic creatures - wyverns, cockatrices etc. And under the surface calm, political turmoil and intrigue foment. Some believe that the great evil can only be defeated with draconic intervention from the East. Some believe the young queen who will not provide an heir should no longer rule. And the prejudice between East and West over their beliefs surrounding dragons makes any attempt at an alliance both unlikely and deadly. This book has so much going for it, I almost don't know where to start. The world building was fantastic. Fully realised with multiple cultur...

When I stumbled across The Priory of the Orange Tree I saw lots of glowing reviews, a common theme of which was the comparison to George R R Martin's 'A Game of Thrones', in fact PotOT even has one slapped right in the middle of its front cover. Nowadays it seems every fantasy book is labelled "the next Game of Thrones", but this one seemed to have the potential to live up to the claim - suspicious lords, secret societies, fraught politics, and dragons - so I was keen to get into it. Unfortunately it feels more like a YA novel than an epic fantasy. To start off, the pacing is some of the worst I've ever seen in a book. Absolutely nothing happens in the first 400ish pages, most of which are spent discussing royal lineage, religious practices and etiquette among the queen's handmaidens. Peppered in are chapters here and there which hint at more interesting storylines but which are over before you've gotten anything worthwhile out of them, dragging you back to the palace for more excruciating chatter about who is changing the queen's bedsheets. In the latter half of the book, once the story does finally begin to move, it jumps around wildly with epic quests beginning and ending within a few pages, grand revelations being made one after another, centuries old conflicts mended in minutes and ancient mysteries solved with startling ease. Characters constantly end up in the right place at the right time, often stumbling across something to advance the plot by sheer chance or avoiding certain doom by magic. This makes an already fantastical story seem so unrealistically convenient that it robs it of the agency, suspense and struggle needed to sustain a fairly lengthy novel. Like the plot, the characters are a mixed bag. The bulk of the story revolves around Ead, magic-dragon-hunter-turned-queen's-assistant, but despite her impressive CV she felt very bland to read about with little personality to grab onto. Other characters, like prospective dragon rider Tané or lord sent on a suicide mission Arteloth, are a bit more interesting and likeable (respectively) but for the first 2 thirds of the book they are largely absent and undeveloped. By the time they became more central to the plot I had lost any desire to find out what happens to them. The author indulges in the fantasy trope of ridiculous character and place names that could make Tolkien wince - not a deal breaker for everyone but a pet peeve of mine. The feminism that underpins much of the story, while welcome in a genre often dominated by male archetypes, is at times eye-rollingly unsubtle. Plot threads are often dropped or cleared up with lazy exposition. At around 500 pages I looked on in despair at the bulk of the book still unread but forced myself to continue, hoping that like A Game of Thrones this would be a slow burn that built to something spectacular, but i...

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon was such an epic read! This fantasy had so many twists and turns that my head still feels like it's spinning. I loved how all of the characters intersected and the ending of the book was a full-on cinematic masterpiece. These characters were all so interesting and multi-faceted but my favorite was definitely Ead. She was such a strong protagonist and proved again and again, her integrity and fierce protectiveness of those that she loved. I also loved all the descriptions about the dragons and the draconic animals that they sired. The differences in the kinds of dragons and creatures were really interesting and made for such cool battle scenes. I didn't really love the queen at first, but she grew on me, especially as she became more human and humbled. Loth and Tana were great characters as well and it was really cool to see how they fit into the story with the others and how they grew throughout the tale. This book was absolutely HUGE and at times seemed a bit intimidating but once the story got going it was easy to read and hard to put down. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read this with my book club and I'm definitely interested in reading more from this author. She has an amazing way of world building that feels organic and easy to lose yourself in and her characters really grow on you and make you feel like you're surrounded by the story as you're reading. Five stars and I would definitely recommend this to any fantasy reader out there!

They described this book as a feminist fantasy that is perfect for fans of Game of Thrones andI totally agree. I just read the ASOIAF books and this one holds to that standard. It's just such a cool, interesting story that despite its' length, doesn't feel like a difficult read. It also didn't drag for me at all. I was always enrapt by something that was happening in one of the four main POVs. I love reading books where there are multiple POVs and they begin to intersect with one another in a dramatic way. Though this one was certainly frustrating in more than one part, you were almost constantly begging characters not to do something headstrong, it was also very satisfying. I was completely in agreement with the ending, it felt like a strong end to a strong book. The way that Shannon was able to weave the different points of view together so that they fed on one another was great. Just, the story in general was great. The combination of Eastern and Western politics and the way that their world views differed so significantly was fascinating. The world views of the different places were also so well developed. It served to illuminate the concept of religions being closely based on one another, but disagreeing on minute details. Then it emphasized how those details culminate into something bigger until there are wars or feuds happening over something so unlikely. The idea of religion being based on real events and how little changes in the canon can be so detrimental to historical accuracy was a nice touch. It was just such a well-developed story okay? There was always enough action, backstory, or intrigue to keep the reader interested. Seeing the different point of views of the four of the characters also allowed for the opportunity to understand their different world-views and their various cultures. They all possess these deep-seated beliefs and ideals (well, maybe not Niclays) and it was so interesting to see how they clashed and intermingled. The characters themselves were just interesting to read about. They felt not only well-rounded and interesting, but also realistic. They didn't feel stiff or abnormal, they just felt like people with their own thoughts and emotions. Not only that, but there was a very diverse cast of protagonists. Three of the four primary characters were people of color. Two of the four were queer and the society itself was essentially a post-queer, post-racial society. Really, the main biases that existed within the society were primarily based on religion. The romantic aspects of the story were very touching, though I will say that it wasn't necessarily the focus. Really only Eadaz's POV was the one with a big, active romantic influence and it isn't constant, nor is it for the entire four. What I'm saying is, the plot doesn't take a back seat for the romance. In fact, it's far more heavily influenced by th...