The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
This book is a story about a world where there are dragons, magic, and many divided kingdoms and queendoms with differing beliefs. In Virtudom, they believe in a saint who founded their religion and ensures their safety through his bloodline. In the east, they have dragons as their gods, dragon riders and the red sickness.
I discovered this book through the goodreads nominations for best fantasy books of 2019. On to my library list it went, and by the time it popped up as available, I had mostly forgotten about it.
I went ahead and read it, and I’m so glad I did! At over 800 pages, it’s a very long book. It almost feels like something other authors might have split into two or three smaller books. It was satisfying to have the whole story at once, rather than waiting for future novels to be published. However, this book switches between 4 different points of view, and there are a large number of characters. Because of this, at times it can be difficult to follow.
The Priory of the Orange Tree spends a significant amount of time on world-building; showing you the history of the various nations, their lore and religious beliefs, and how those came to be. What divided the world? With the threat of The Nameless One looming, can they resolve their differences long enough to stand against evil and fight for the future of the world?
This is one of the best fantasy books I’ve read in quite some time. A female driven cast of characters, a clever and unique magic system, some romance (but not as the main focus of the story), and an epic battle against evil are awaiting within the pages of The priority of the Orange Tree.
This novel tells one complete story. The world is so amazing, so rich and filled with wonders and fantastically real, well-developed characters, that it feels as though the author might have many stories to tell us about in the future. If so, perhaps we’ll get a glimpse into what becomes of the priory.