Margaret M - (too far behind to catch up although trying to spend more time on GR)'s Reviews > The Priory of the Orange Tree

5 juicy stars for a book that breathes heart and soul into Fantasy.

“It was the stuff of legend, a tale destined to be enshrined in song”. and a song that needed to be sung. And so from the realm of the Orange Tree we travel east and west, to reveal how the lives of Ead, Tane, Niclays, Loth and Sabran become so dependent on each other as they face an evil buried for a thousand-years. A world on the brink of destruction. A world divided for many years.

The Priory of the Orange Tree is a complex book that is adventurous, daring, and yet still magical. A book that creates a new universe, inspired by the cultural differences between East and West, and with striking similarities to countries and periods in our own history. A book that introduces new religions, and new demons, while using one of the most powerful monsters dating back to antiquity. The Dragon.

A commitment at 800 pages, but a book that is imaginative, addictive and absorbing; action packed and energetic but also dramatic and expressive.

The Plot.

It is difficult to summarise an 800-page book and do justice to the plot, sub plots, and world building because this feels like a series crammed into one mammoth read, not just because of the 800+ pages, but also the scope of the book and the number of stories at play at any one time.

Four narrators deliver this great tale covering the vast realms of Inys, Yscalin, Mentendon and Hróth. So, let’s start with Ead in the West who is an outsider at court and sent by the Priory of the Orange Tree to protect Sabran the Ninth who is the current ruler of the Queendom of Inys, the last in line of the House Berethnet. A Queen who must produce an heir to secure the dynasty, but a leader who faces an invisible enemy and the return of the nameless one who was sent to the abyss by one of Sabran’s ancestors.

We travel East to Miduchi and to the famous dragon rider’s of Seiiki where we meet Tane, a fierce warrior who earns her place among men to pair with one of the dragons, that is to become her bond. Then we meet Niclays Roos, an exiled alchemist, and Lord Arteloth Beck, a trusted advisor to the queen who is sent on missions that presents all sorts of challenges as he is captured, mistrusted, and pardoned but it is his finesse and gift of words that keeps him alive and ready to return to his Queen in the west to face the final trial against the nameless one.

With a very divided East and West who are refusing to forgive the past, one or all of the four must force the unlikely alliance of all kingdoms as the forces of evil are slowly arising from their thousand-year sleep, and the mythical creatures in the East and West start to lose their powers.

Review and Comments.

The Priory of the Orange Tree is a feminist story, with women in leads roles. Inys is ruled by a woman, her protector is a woman, the powerful warrior Tane is female, while all the wisdom is imparted by female ancestors. As such this creates the perfect backdrop for a same sex love story between Eads and Sabran, that is very touching, deep, and respectful of their personal duties.

Whilst I love the feminist story, not so much at the expense of weak men, because that is not the world we live in, and it makes the story too one dimensional. Had we enjoyed the company of some strong men (not love stories) then I feel this would have appealed more to a wider audience and set this up there as one of the best Fantasy stories ever written.

The second criticism is the lack of detail in some of the action scenes. Sounds bizarre in an 800-page book that I am asking for more detail? Why? Although packed with lots of action, the conflicts and encounters seemed to be over in a flash and we were missing the mental and emotional detail experienced by the characters who had to solve many riddles and work out the problems as they were faced some harrowing challenges.

Now to the positives. And there are plenty. This is one of my favourite fantasy books ever, the characters felt real but flawed and the love stories felt honest, deep, and sincere. I would like to see same sex / opposite sex relationships incorporated into the stories written by other Fantasy authors, as well, which is more representative of the world we live in today. However, I loved that Shannon did bring a same sex relationship to this feminist story.

The book was well structured and divided into parts that could easily be read as separate books without feeling the need to finish in one go. The writing style was perfect for the genre, and although some of the names like ‘the nameless one’ could have been more imaginative, this book overall was an explosion of imagination.

The outstanding quality of this book, however, came from the world building. You could see the cultural differences between the East and West and the countries the author took inspiration from. Although most of the story took place in the West, the action in the other parts of this magical world was equally captivating and by no means played down.

An exceptionally gifted author that brought sincerity to the characters many of whom were strong but flawed, combatants but compassionate; deadly but loyal. A series of plots that were so intricately woven you can only admire the author for being able to keep all this in her head when writing this epic fairy tale. Then finally the world building that I missed when I finished this book. It was simply brilliant.

A multi cultured and multi-layered story that was captivating, immersive and unforgettable by an author who managed to breathe heart and soul into Fantasy. Dazzling and now we can sing that song!!!.