Book #2 - The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The second book on my Fantasy Book Challenge list was Samantha Shannon's The Priory of the Orange Tree. I had heard a lot of good things on TikTok from all the book people I follow, and the cover was just so pretty I couldn't resist it. I started this book on March 13 and finished it on March 22.

It also helps that I burn through books really fast and this is almost 900 pages long. (See the quote on the right - this book came close to being long enough!)

The Priory of the Orange Tree is a high fantasy novel. For those of you who don't know, "high fantasy" refers to a genre of fantasy in which EVERYTHING (or nearly everything) is invented by the author - the world, people, languages, countries, religions, everything. A good litmus test to check if you're reading high fantasy - maps. If there is a map in the book, it's a good bet that it's high fantasy!

Summary

The plot mainly centers around a single enemy: The Nameless One, who is a fire-breathing dragon who, according to legend, sprang from the womb of the earth in fire and laid waste to the land. Along with his fellow High Western dragons, they caused widespread destruction and death leading to a time known as the Grief of Ages or the Great Sorrow. A thousand years ago, The Nameless one was banished by (depending on who you believe) either Sir Galian Berethnet or by Cleolind Onjenyu. Two conflicting religions have sprung from this great event - Virtudom, which venerates Sir Galian (The Saint) and his six followers and detests all dragonkind, and the religion of the East, which venerates sea dragons. There is also the beliefs of the Priory of the Orange Tree, which mirror those of Virtudom but differ in significant ways which I shall not go into (spoilers!)

The kingdoms of the two religions have been sundered ever since the two religions were founded. They are deeply mistrustful of one another, afraid of the draconic plague that arose during the Grief of Ages and killed many people.

However, when The Nameless One and the other High Western dragons begin to rise, a millennium of tradition and religious discrimination might have to be put aside if humanity is to survive.

The story is told from four principle points of view: those of Ead Duryan, Lord Arteloth Beck (known as Loth), Doctor Niclays Roos, and Tané.

Ead Duryan is a lady-in-waiting for Queen Sabran Berethnet IX of the Queendom of Inys. Despite being an outsider from the South and a new convert to the state religion of Virtudom, she has risen to this position - all at the behest of the Priory of the Orange Tree, of which she is a member. She has been sent to protect Queen Sabran, and assassins get closer to the queen every day, sent by an unknown conspirator. Art by Romans-art on Tumblr

Lord Arteloth Beck, or Loth, is a childhood friend of Queen Sabran, and was also friendly with Ead at court. He has been sent away from court by the mysterious spy master of the court, the Night Hawk, on a mission to discover what has become of the queen's father in the Draconic Kingdom of Yscalin. Yscalin was, until recently, a follower of Virtudom, the same religion as Loth's own country of Inys - but they have fallen under the influence of The Nameless One, and Loth and his companion Kit have to find out what's going on if Virtudom is to survive the rising of their ancient foe. Art from instagram - marianouuu

Doctor Niclays Roos is an alchemist, originally from Mentendon, a country under Virtudom. He was banished from his homeland seven years ago after failing to produce the elixir of immortality for Sabran Berethnet IX, and he is very bitter about his banishment. He has been wasting away on the island of Orisima in Seiiki, as much an outcast there as he would be at home. His bitterness is well earned, but he will go to some lengths to act on it. Art from instgram - marianouuu

Tané is an orphan from a poor village who is training with the Sea Guard in the hopes of being a dragonrider. In Seiiki, far across the dark sea known as the Abyss, Virtudom is scorned, and Eastern dragons are venerated as gods. Tané's greatest wish is to be a dragonrider, and it seems that she will get her wish...probably. As long as no one finds out about the stranger who arose from the sea, whom she should have turned in but instead chose to hide. Art by Liuet from tumblr

Initial Reaction

I like to gauge my initial reaction to a book by what I felt when I finished it. When I finished The Priory of the Orange Tree, I felt fulfilled. The story was immersive and by turns action-packed and tenderly loving. There's religious feuds, political intrigue, love affairs, battles, secret missions, and dragons - basically everything I look for in a story (I'm a sucker for dragons - if there's a dragon in it, I'll probably read it). The character building was great, and I got to know each of the four narrators personally - though perhaps Tané least of all. Ead is the principle protagonist, which Niclays Roos is morally neutral at best, and Tané is something of an enigma. Loth's part of the story weaves through all the others, and he is mostly the glue that holds the other characters together. They all come together in the end, of course, but Loth has the most connections.

TL;DR - I loved it.

What's Important?

The book focuses a lot on world building, particularly of the opposing religions and the tensions between them. Also prevalent is the relationships between certain characters who will remain unnamed so I don't give away any spoilers. The main romantic relationship is a slow burn, starting out distant and gradually growing closer and closer.

Character building outside of the four main storytellers is minimal, as everything is seen through their eyes in a third person limited narrative style. More important is how their seemingly separate story lines come together and intertwine with one another, weaving the world together and allowing the plot to unfold from different directions, which allows for a good amount of dramatic irony and speculation on the part of the reader.

The world building in this book is quite natural and I didn't find myself being "dumped" on - rather the world unfolded around me as I followed the characters and I came to understand how the political, religious, and geographical structure of the world worked through their experiences. This is my favourite kind of world building, because I'd really rather not have to study in order to understand a book on the first read.

Another important aspect of the world is its feminist undertones. Almost every major country is ruled by a woman, and the main heroes of the book are women. The Queendom of Inys has been ruled by a woman for a thousand years, and had no King since the very first, King Galian. There seems to be no preference for male heirs over female - only eldest children inherit, regardless of gender. That was something I actually had a little trouble getting used to. I'd be reading a description of a leader of some country or other and suddenly it says "she" and I have to remind myself that women are in positions of power. Apparently the patriarchy is so ingrained in me that even in made up worlds I assume the powerful people are male.

The relationships in the book are also particularly interesting. We see many love affairs throughout all the characters, though it doesn't get too spicy in most parts. If you're looking for sapphic and LGBT+ representation, you've got it here, as well as more "traditional" love stories. Every single one is heartbreaking in its own way.

Favourite Quotes

One of my favourite things to do lately has been to find quotes that I find particularly beautiful or telling, either to the plot or to life in general. My favourite from The Priory of the Orange Tree...

"You have not seen death, my lord. You have only seen the mask we put on it."

- I found this one to be pretty relevant to life and death in general - we fear death so much that we hide behind anything to get away from it. Just a mask.

"Terror and creativity, in my experience, do not often walk hand in hand."

-I'm not too sure I agree with this statement but it is quite poetic.

"As long as I had someone I could be myself with, I could bear to be someone else with him."

- This really made me think of how one is expected to act versus how one wants to act and how one would act naturally, and the feeling of not being able to be oneself in particular situations - it does indeed help if you can be yourself around someone.

"'Perhaps she has something to tell me.' 'Or perhaps she has a dagger and means to introduce it to your back.'"

- This is the same character who said the previous two quotes as well - he's hilarious.

"I do not think of you often enough to have formed any opinion of you, Your Grace."

- Burn.

"In darkness, we are naken. Our truest selves. Night is when fear comes to us at its fullest, when we have no way to fight it. It will do everything it can to seep inside you. Sometimes it may succeed - but never think that you are the night."

- I am finding this particularly powerful right now as I work through my mental illness.

"'Please pardon me if this is an ignorant question.' 'Only ignorant men do not ask questions.'"

- I just loved this. As an educator, I am always wanting to be asked questions, and I am always asking them!

"She had not been human in that final hour. Just a paper lantern, thin and wind-torn, clinging to the flickering remnants of a soul."

- I thought this was such a beautiful metaphor and so poetically written.

"The way he gazed at her, she might have been a sunrise after years of night."

- Awh. This was just too cute.

"I will endure, my midnight sun. I will teach my heart to beat again."

- Paradoxically, this promise of a lover to his dead partner made my heart flutter a little bit.

"I would live alone for fifty years to have one day with you."

- Another one that's just adorable.

Rating

I give The Priory of the Orange Tree 4.5 of 5 stars. The world building was spectacular, and the characters and plot engaging. I would have liked to get more insight into the magic systems and how they are used, and some more character development of some of the minor characters. I almost gave it 5 stars just because I loved the story so much but I have to be honest!

I recommend this book to people over 14 years of age (there are a couple of spicy scenes!) who enjoys high fantasy (you may have to refer back to the map!) and sapphic or LGBT+ characters. Basically if you're into fantasy, read it. Highly recommend it :)