The Priory of the Orange Tree

848 pages

English language

Published May 14, 2019

ISBN:: 978-1-63557-029-8

(1 review)

A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction - but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

4 editions

Kida reviewed The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Fantastic standalone fantasy

5 stars

I’ve long been intrigued by Samantha Shannon’s ‘Bone Season’ series, but couldn’t quite bring myself to start such a long, as-yet-unfinished saga without at least getting a sense for whether I liked the author’s style. Shannon publishing a standalone fantasy novel seemed like a good opportunity to find out.

Initially I got bogged down a bit by the intricate world-building and high number of characters in this book, but once I adjusted, I was hooked. Ended up devouring the rest in short order and loving it. Truly epic standalone fantasy novels seem rare these days; finding one I enjoy this much is a gift.