The Priory of the Orange Tree (Roots of Chaos)

Product Information

Having signed another book in the Roots of Chaos cycle with Bloomsbury, we can expect more daring names and more insight into the world of the Priory from Shannon, but not before she has finished working on the fifth instalment in The Bone Season and her reimagining of the Greek goddess Iris. “There has been such a move towards not only writing Greek mythology retellings, but also reclaiming women’s stories from history,” Shannon says as she contemplates joining the “movement” with the likes of Pat Barker, Natalie Haynes and Madeline Miller. I’m sure she will be welcomed into the fray.

However, with this I do venture to make a comparison. I do venture to concur with the blurb Laura Eve has provided this book with; this is a “feminist successor to The Lord of the Rings” because it is a story told with grace and infused with rich history and lore in its gloriously huge scope: it is magnificent in every regard. It’s all about the girl power here! I recommend this to readers who enjoy female driven fantasy that is also carefully paced like the works of Robin Hobb, Tad Williams and Chris Wooding.Wow! I have no words. I am blown away, spellbound, enraptured in this incredibly beautiful and complex world. I thoroughly enjoyed Samantha Shannon's The Bone Season series, but this was something else entirely! We don’t get Sabran’s POV in this book and so her mind remains half in shadow until the right confidante appears— Ead Duryan. Sabran and Ead were each other’s person, each other’s place. Their moments together put so much heart in me. But Ead and Sabran are two separate planets, each with its own gravitational pull and orbit, and the weight of their duties piled like mountains atop their shoulders. Shannon’s insistence on their agency never quells, but I love how she also doesn’t disallow them the ineffable and aching experience of love and affection. The biggest disappointment, for me, was that almost every climatic moment--almost every big twist, every big emotional scene--was sloppy. I think this book falls for the idea that a completely suprising plot twist is the same as a good one. That's a common misconception. A good plot twist is one that doesn't feel contrived, and still either surprises or delights the reader--to a degree. I would prefer a well set-up plot twist that I guessed earlier in the book than one that feels contrived. But the biggest annoyance and disappointment about The Priory of the Orange Tree is that this was supposed to be a feminist story. IT ISN’T. Making most of your characters female doesn’t automatically make a story feminist. Making two of your characters lesbians doesn’t automatically make a story feminist. Switching gender rolls only to engage in the same sexist tropes certainly doesn’t make a story feminist. There is NOTHING empowering or inspiring about this book!

Piety can turn the power-hungry into monsters. They can twist any teaching to justify their actions.” LGBT+: POT’s world is a rare one where sexuality is not something people fuss over, openly accepting this aspect of humanity. This leads to a bold, refreshing book brimming with queer characters and relationships, all portrayed so tangibly. It’s written with Ye olde English dialogue that feels corny and inconsistent. It is purposefully archaic at times but totally modern-sounding at others. The lines of dialogue feel like high schoolers trying to recite Shakespeare. It all felt so inorganic. Also, one random side note: there are a plethora of palanquins in this book. Despite taking place across different countries that are mostly cut off from each other, with different cultures and different terrains, nearly everyone in this story travels by palanquin. It makes no sense. 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. The ending was poorly executed and, for me, was a huge let down. My dissapointment was akin to the heartbreak suffered by millions of fans when season 8 of Game of Thrones ended.And the actual truth is kept hidden for no self-evident reason whatsoever (why would you keep secret something that really happened if not because of the feeling of power and superiority this gives you?) which is the main reason for the whole incoming disaster, which is uninventive and, dear me, involves dragons.

When I finally had the time to dive in I was pleased to find the writing style to be beautiful and easy to read. The different kingdoms, religions, hard-to-pronounce names and creatures became easier to remember as I went on.A well-written high fantasy with multiple amazing characters with strong female power, an epic war between good and bad and lots of magic, dragons! So what are you waiting for? This is intriguing, exciting, entertaining formula of best fantasy book needed to have!