The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon: A Book Review
Genre: High Fantasy
The Priory of the Orange Tree looked like a daunting task to read. Being 800+ pages, I figured it would take me FOREVER to read. In hindsight, it took me about 22 days when my average is about 8 so… it did kind of ruin my streak. (I got it back reading the next in a day – but still!) Thankfully, it didn’t seem like reading The Priory of the Orange Tree took forever though. It also helped that I couldn’t see the progress I made well since I was reading using my Kindle to try and make my bag less heavy.
In its very basic form, The Priory of the Orange Tree was a book based on religion and religious intolerance. You have the religion of Virtudom that follows “the Saint” who drove away “the Nameless One”; the Priory that follows “the Mother” (also known as “the Dansel” in Virtudom) to protect the world from “the Nameless One”; another that follows “the Nameless one”; and last those that worship Water dragons. For the last religion, I must stress the water aspect, as there are two types. The water dragons and the firey wyerns that belong to “the Nameless one”. All in all, all the religion stories are eerily similar, just with the focus on different people or objects. Yet, no one can really talk about another religion without being called a heretic. This actually causes a lot of problems in the story.
The story follows 5 characters who are key in the story. Of the 5, I really enjoyed 3: Ead, Tane, and Loth. Of those, Ead has to be my favorite character. Part of the Priory of the Orange Tree (in which lies the name for the book), Ead was sent by the leader (the Prioress) to protect the figurehead of Virtudom, Queen Sarban. Virtudom believes that the queen is a descendant of “the Saint” and “the Dansel” after “the Saint” defeated “the Nameless one”. As long as “the Saint’s” line continues, Virtudom believes that “the Nameless one” is unable to return. On the other hand, while the Prior knows for a fact that it was actually “the Mother” who defeated “the Nameless one” while “the Deciever” cowered only to return to the kingdom and claim the action as his. However, since “the Mother” (the one who also started the Priory after defeating “the Nameless one”) disappeared for a short time afterwards, they are unsure if Virtudom’s claim of being run by a descendant with the descendant being the only thing holding “the Nameless one” from returning is true. (Man, that was a mouthful). Long story, short. Ead is technically a spy whose mission is to protect the enemy. As such, Ead is a bada**. Skilled with weapons and magic, she is shown as more than capable of saving Sarban.
All the characters were really well written though. They all invoked a strong connection to me as a reader where I was rooting for them, crying with them, and upset on their behalves. Each character brought something new to the story. They all had their flaws and secrets, but they also all made sense. They all screamed human – even if their abilities didn’t.
I also really enjoyed the fact that there was no SEEN villain. In fact, “the Nameless one” doesn’t actually make his grand entrance until the very end chapters – although his gooneys are in the picture from almost the very beginning. HOWEVER, its clear that “the Nameless one” is the villain of the story. It is because of him that the story progresses as it does. There are a few secondary “villians” that are normal, but their threat in minimal and typically is done just because the are “bag people”.
The Priory of the Orange Tree does have LGBTQ+ themes. Ead and Sarban do end up in a sexual relationship and it is also implied that there are same sex marriages. It was kind of confusing waddling through that idea as rather than “spouses” the term “companion” was used. To me, that also could mean friend (which in theory – your spouse should be your best friend), though. Again, however, it was strongly implied that same sex relationships were common place. When it came up, it also wasn’t forced. Even with the relationship between Ead and Sarban, you could clearly see the relationship form first. You can also sense Sarban’s preference when talking about sex.
I really would have liked to see Loth end up with someone at the end. I felt like a lot was taken away from him, and the things given back weren’t really what he wanted, but some thing he was more bound to by duty. I think it would have been nice to give him back a couple things to ease the pain of lose. I also have the feeling that his story isn’t exactly over yet. In fact, I feel like the whole story isn’t exactly closed – and I am all for it. I would love a sequel.
Who would most enjoy the work and who should stay clear (if necessary):
Enjoy:
- Epic Fantasies
- Religious discourse
- Dragons
Stay Clear:
- Not a strong reader
- Multiple central characters confuse you
- Do not like anything religious
Other books like the one reviewed:
The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
Summit by the Sea by Michael Lajoie
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
| Plot: | 10 / 10 |
| Characters: | 10 / 10 |
| Writing: | 10 / 10 |
| Editor: | 9 / 10 |
| Total | 39 / 40 |
Title: The Priory of the Orange Tree
Author: Samantha Shannon
Edition: eBook
Published: 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 9781635570281
If you want to get it: Amazon; Barnes&Noble
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