The Priory of the Orange Tree

A prime example of why the phrase ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ frustrates me. The stunning cover of this novel is the reason I picked it up, and I am so glad I did. This was the first Samantha Shannon novel I read and what an introduction! A re-imagined feminist high-fantasy novel that I cannot recommend enough. The size (800 pages) may look intimidating, but I promise by the end you’ll wish it was longer.

(Spoilers Ahead)

As with most fantasy novels, setting must be discussed. Shannon crafted a perfectly unique, immersive world in Priory. Each new location has a distinct feel and was so intricately described I could smell them. The characters, though travelling, also reflect the place and the status of each character allows for different perspectives. The four protagonists, Ead, Loth, Tane and Niclays are totally realised characters with different motives that allow their paths to cross. Tane and Niclays perhaps the most obvious example of this, lives intertwining without knowing. This gives the reader a nice inside track and prompts us to turn the page to see their realisation/meeting, which was as satisfying as I hoped. I have seen criticism about the ‘weak’ male characters in this novel. I do not understand this criticism. Both Loth and Niclays hold significant roles in the story. Furthermore, they are complicated and multi-layered, something rather unique for high fantasy. They both represent the highly apparent theme within these novels of questioning beliefs, be they religious of not. Niclays is also the most interesting character in terms of morality. He provides a very grey area there, ultimately, I think his heart is in the right place. I assume this criticism comes as a result that it is Ead and Tane that have the most traditionally heroic roles. I loved this. It was refreshing and very satisfying to sink into a world of gender equality. Besides, Sir Kitson Glade did not risk his life, purely out of loyalty, for you to say the men in this story were ‘weak’. (I am still not quite over his death.) Furthermore, Chassar is another a great male character! Tane’s story was so interesting it could occupy a novel of its own but having this alongside the other stories allow for this to somewhat serve as an origin story. This works perfectly as a stand-alone, but also feels as though it could build to something more. Ead, in Sabran’s court, was my favourite section of the novel. The weaving of the political aspects of the West into the story were very interesting. Shannon’s dragonkind was also a very refreshing take on the fantastical creature. Having the divide between dragons and wyrms/fire-breathers. This was a clever tool as had the dragons simply been the antagonists, the human’s beating them would have been unrealistic. On the other hand, having dragons be on the side of the protagonist and having only human antagonists would lessen the stakes. I loved seeing the bond between Tane and her dragon. Another great addition to this world was the Priory. A significant place that doesn’t appear until Loth is there, serving as an outsider, just as the reader. It is great to see it from Loth’s viewpoint before Ead’s as it allows the reader to view the corruption within it. One very interesting character in this book is Queen Sabran. While we only see her through the eyes of Ead and Loth, she is well developed. It was an interesting move on Shannon’s part not to have chapters from Sabran’s viewpoint, but in concealing parts of her it allowed the reader to unfold her character along with Ead. Their relationship development seems natural and you really do feel for Sabran.

I could go on and on about story in this novel. There are so many characters, backstories, histories and plot points I’ve not even touched upon which is a testament to how much is packed into this novel. However, what I think deserves recognition now is Shannon’s use of language. Part of the reason this world is so brilliantly fashioned is through the exquisite language. While there are far too many beautiful lines to list them all, I noted down a few that made me swoon. (Apologies, I did not note down the page number. Dreadful, I know.)

“Her name had been lost to time, but the fear of her enchantments, and her malice, had knitted itself into the bones of the Inysh and seeped through generations.”

“Dawn cracked like a heron’s egg over Seiiki.”

“Her room looked over a courtyard, where a fishpond was churned to bubbles by the downpour.”

“The sky was bruised with cloud, but the sun left a finger-smear of honey.”

These are all perfect examples of how word-choice is crucial in great writing. Shannon does not need to over-describe because the words she uses create such a strong image. One notable element Shannon wrote of often throughout this story was light. Her use of light to display mood and atmosphere, or to highlight certain things was very well done. It sets her world in a hazy orange hue. (For the most part.) The images she created in doing so made me imagine the scenes coming to life in a beautiful animation reminiscent of Studio Ghibli’s films. (I mean, imagine how stunning that could be!)

While there are smaller conflicts running throughout the novel, the main conflict remains the Nameless One and his return. This fear is developed well through the story, the smaller battles are difficult enough to heighten the tension for the final one. It is the immense build up to this final scene that makes it somewhat anti-climactic. I thought the execution of the battle was good, it was simply just quite short. This did allow for a quickened pace however, reflecting the action. Despite the fact these characters struggled to obtain weapons in order to vanquish the Nameless One, the defeat just felt a little too easy. That is perhaps the only quandary I have with this novel. It is also what makes me feel as though it is more an origin story. In terms of high fantasy, this is one of the best novels I’ve ever read and will continue to push it on my friends and family. But that’s just my humble opinion.

p.s. If anyone has any recommendations to novels similar to this one, please let me know!

Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom

Where to begin! This has quickly become one of my favourite YA series of all time. It’s gripping, gritty and wonderfully entertaining.

It moved away from what has become expected of YA fantasy. Even in the last series I discussed, Shadow and Bone, Bardguo relied on certain tropes (love triangle etc.). In SoC and CK she almost inverts these tropes. Yes, the characters still ‘couple up’, but I don’t see that as unrealistic especially due to their age.

What is most outstanding about these novels is the character work. Bardugo creates phenomenally unique voices for each of the six protagonists. This is aided by having close third-person narration and swapping perspective from chapter to chapter. This is something more common with adult fantasy. It is one of the techniques that allows these novels to feel slightly more mature than the trilogy before it. Each character is distinctive, and each relationship is different and complicated, and just feels real. Jesper is my personal favourite. A twitchy sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a bet. His character ark is great as we learn he is Grisha and starts to learn how to use his power. Matthias and Nina both grow to learn each other’s prejudice and I really like the way parts of their history are interspersed as the team make their way to the Ice Court. As it was a path they trod together previously, it did not feel as though it was an exposition dump, it felt well placed and these memories would realistically be at the forefront of their minds while in Fjerda.

Bardugo truly created an immersive world that is set up in the Shadow and Bone trilogy and furthered brilliantly in this duology. Ketterdam is an excellent setting for this story and the characters. A melting pot of barrel thugs and wealthy merchants. The claustrophobic, gritty streets of Ketterdam create a stark contrast to the clean-cut Ice Court.

The construction of story in this series is something to be marvelled at as well. The intricate plot is interconnected with the scheming mind of Kaz. Using the different character viewpoints allows for certain gaps in the readers knowledge and allows Bardugo to pull the rug from under us many times. The tense scenes are written with such pace it gets your heart racing and these are matched with the backstory scenes often adding to the context of the scene and allowing for character development. Each character has a sad or horrific backstory emphasising the dark tropes in the story. Bardugo doesn’t shy away from hard topics like corruption, class division, racial issues and murder. This only adds to the cathartic feeling the reader receives at the ending. The realism of the ending is improved by the fact not all of them make it out. Having a Matthias chapter to show his death was particularly painful, but also done beautifully.

This is a fairly one-sided review, perhaps I will revisit these stories in the future and see if my opinion changed but for now I think these stories are pretty untouchable! But that’s just my opinion!

The Shadow and Bone Trilogy

Yes, I am late to the party on this one! I’ve been making my way through my YA fantasy TBR list during quarantine, and this trilogy felt like a good starting place.

This review will include spoilers!

Overall, I enjoyed this series. It definitely feels like one complete story, but at the same time it also feels like it is setting up future stories. Bardugo does both things very well. If this were the end of the story, it had a definite ending. As we know, however, we see other characters and their journey beyond this trilogy.

Certain aspects of SaB embrace YA cliches. Such as the ‘dull/plain’ female protagonist who goes through a transformation and the love triangle (or quadrangle?). I don’t think these were handled in a bad way, but, for me, they added layers to Alina’s character that made her less relatable and less likeable. That is just my opinion and there were times in the novels where I really warmed to Alina and sympathised with her, despite the cliches.

Alina and her love interests are where the big cliches end. Bardugo has created a really unique universe, which is bleak and beautiful. You get a real sense, even in this early trilogy, that she knows every inch of the whole world she created. The Grisha and their powers are detailed so wonderfully, and of course made far more immersive by the use of a ‘fish-out-of-water’ protagonist, who experiences it all with the reader.

Character is something I will explore more when discussing Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology but there are some great characters in Shadow and Bone. I found Alina unlikeable at times, but she is an interesting protagonist. I particularly liked her pull to power, I would have liked this to have been explored further. Alina believes it’s Morozova’s amplifiers that give her that want for more power, but I would suggest it stems from childhood feelings of powerlessness and weakness. Which is totally relatable! Each character holds some duality in them. Tolyar and Tamar are fiercely loyal but deceive Alina. Genya was Alina’s only ‘real’ friend but betrayed her. David did the Darkling’s bidding but then aided Alina. Not one character is wholly good or bad. This duality is highlighted by the two stand-out characters. Nikolai literally has two personas. The prince and the privateer. And like Alina, I could never quite decide what I made of the Darkling. He had such polarising moments that had me hating him and then wanting to root for him.

The ending, I felt was a little underwhelming. I really wanted to see Alina all-powerful but perhaps that was just me. Mal’s sacrifice had me all sorts of emotional, which was a little unexpected as I didn’t really warm to him as a character. It was also made a little less significant when he came back to life. But I don’t dislike that and it plays nicely into the religious theme running throughout. It was a bittersweet ending altogether, it just felt a little lack-lustre to me.

It’s a good story and a great introduction to the Grishaverse, and I am excited to see the Netflix adaptation.

Just my humble opinion.