Book Review: Priory of the Orange Tree
In the spring of my adulthood, I’ve challenged myself to once again take up a book and read during my down time. What was once a fruitful pastime in my childhood died off during my high school and college years, and now I’m ripe with curiosity about all the books I’ve been missing out on. Thanks to the influence of social media recommendations, one of the first adult fantasy novels I took up was titled The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. It is here that I would like to discuss the 804 page novel’s merits, shortcomings, and overall themes that made it a spectacular choice for a first-starter. Spoilers ahead for those who have yet to read this wonderful tale of feminist fantasy.
Praise for The Priory
Per my education in creative writing and critique, I prefer to begin by praising the work it took for this author to create and accomplish a feat such as finishing a novel that coasted well over 250,000 words. Growing up, I much preferred diving into a tale of young adult fantasy where magic was the lifeblood of a story. As an adult, completing the challenge of reading the Priory made me feel like I was twelve again, living with the characters of this fantasy world outside of my comparatively drab reality.
The lands of East and West, divided by the Abyss — an ocean of endless black — felt truly lived in. With the help of the map at the book’s front, I was easily able to build a picture in my mind of the small island of Inys and its uptight religiosity, the mirage of the deserts surrounding the Ersyr, and the packed incense-scented streets of Seiiki and the Empire of the Twelve Lakes. Shannon as an author showcases a clear enjoyment in her writing as well as the world she’s created based off the research of all sorts of myths and legends of our own world.
One of the first solid bits of storytelling in this book came across through the use of multiple POVs. Eadaz, a mage gifted magic called siden via the fruit of an ancient orange tree, gets the most page time throughout the novel. Considering the young woman of 26 traverses the entire Western continent and the Abyss by the novel’s end, it makes sense that Eadaz would conquer so much real-estate on paper. Additional narrators come to us via another Westerner named Loth, a young pious man who holds his close-minded religion of Virtudom in the highest regard. Niclays Roos, an alchemist who had been banished to the East prior to the story’s beginning, also receives a brief share of the POV as a way to explore the science behind the magic of the world Shannon has built.
Lastly, and my personal favorite, is the first introduced narrator named Tane (pronounced Tawn-ay in my head). This young Easterner is an aloof and exceptionally skilled dragon-rider who makes incredibly human mistakes and has, what I believe, to be the most human voice out of all four narrators. The bond Tane shares with her ancient dragon, Nayimathun, coalesces alongside the other narrators into an overarching theme of what it means to be human that is explored throughout the novel.
As the great dragon is quoted saying, “To be kin to a dragon…you must not only have a soul of water. You must have the blood of the sea, and the sea is not always pure”.
Coupled with an array of diverse storytellers, Shannon has incorporated her own twist on fantasy legends we may have heard as children. Where heterosexual white men with golden hair once held the spotlight as dragon slayers, Kings, adventurers and wizards, The Priory of the Orange Tree welcomes a cast with people of color and female-led narratives to explore her fantasy realm. There is the Queendom of Inys, the Knights of the Body — charged with the protection of Queen Sabran — made up of both male and female warriors, as well as an ancient history dipped in feminist lore. While western / American culture thrived in saving the “damsel in distress”, the Priory focuses instead of women saving themselves and becoming warrior Damsels that their countries need.
Where The Story Came Short (even with its whopping 804 pages)
I will start off by saying that the book itself was too long — and I know Lord of the Rings is at least twice the length . Having 260,000 words or 804 pages of a novel doesn’t necessarily mean it’s too long in and of itself, however, once I finished Priory, I understood why many readers had to place this book on their DNF (did not finish) pile. Much of the story exists in a “telling” over “showing” mechanism, where most writers and novels tend to swing in the opposite direction. I do believe this sort of story-telling functioned well in the universe Shannon created, but it’s important to note that a vast majority of the story was spent in cramped hallways and bent over books or stooped in whispering conversations that were more expository rather than emotionally or visually descriptive. I spent a majority of my own imagination’s reserves on filling in the blanks of the shapes of people and their individual characteristics while the book itself focused on explaining to the reader where and when they were in time in order to catch us up on what we missed while reading another POV.
Another shortcoming of the novel comes through in its pacing. During moments of action sequences, where Nayimathun is fighting for her life while being abducted by pirates, or the scuffles between the mages of the Priory or hell the final battle itself, my eyes were glued to the page. I felt anxiety alongside the characters, and I felt their triumph upon the finality of their war. However, these fast-paced moments were few and far between and unfortunately, rather short lived when they occurred.
While perusing online, I read many critiques that mentioned that the Priory could have perhaps been at least two books rather than one massive undertaking. I disagree. I believe that this book stands strongly as a single novel, but I believe that Shannon’s editors could have used more of the “kill your darlings” mindset during the trimming of her word count. There were long, long, long stretches of the story that, in my opinion, served little to the story’s whole theme.
One example that comes to mind is the sabotage side story featuring a Lady of Justice, Ingrain Crest. From the story’s onset, Queen Sabran is faced with the threat of assassins at her door which makes our narrator Eadaz theorize that whoever is behind the attacks, is not hoping to kill the Queen, but to frighten her into submission befitting a Queen of Virtudom (ie not sleeping with women or people ‘below’ one’s station). While the treachery surrounding a grandmother figure being the one behind your mother’s deaths is rather significant, unfortunately there are several other pieces of the story that better serve Sabran and her coming around to the “heretics” and their beliefs like Eadaz. Sabran’s struggles during the book revolve around her faith coming to a screeching halt at the tainted revelations of its origins, her Queendom coming under attack by Draconic beings of pure evil, and the burden of a prophecy that hangs heavy on the Queen’s shoulders. Sabran’s rule is no cakewalk by any means, and as compelling as her Lady of Justice / grandmother-figure is, it truly served little in the grand scheme of Virtudom and the World vs Draconic Evil. In my opinion, the page space allocated towards Ingrain Crest’s mutiny towards her Queen (with the idea that she would plant her daughter on the throne since Sabran never conceived a child), could have been better spent on diving into the deep and fascinating lore that is the backbone of the conflict. As a reader, I would have loved to read more about the Orange, Hawthorn, and Mulberry trees that offer magic and eternal life to the sisters of the Priory, and the effects those trees have in regards to the balance of sterren (star) and siden (earth) magic against the evil beings of the Abyss.
Queer Romance in The Priory
Before I picked up this massive five pound novel, I had heard a few tidbits from other readers on social media about the LGBTQIA+ representation in the book and how refreshing it was to see it in adult fantasy. Going into the novel, I had certain expectations based on the reviews and commentary regarding the LGBTQ rep throughout the book, and to be honest it basically met rather than exceeded expectations.
Queer love is already tough to come by, in reality and especially in fiction where each and every word on paper is policed by a myriad of people pre- and post-publication. As an asexual person myself, it’s honestly pretty incredible anytime I see my own representation on screen, and so I understand the draw in reading and writing queer characters. I commend Shannon for including diverse narrators, queer romance, and even an aero-ace character (though this was only mentioned in an interview rather than in-universe), and I also compliment the author’s inclusion of queerness within the story without calling outright attention to it. Never once does the book feel as if it’s going “look at me, I have gay characters look at how gay my characters are being gay”. Rather, it’s a fleshed-out world that has gay characters living inside it, giving it an authentic lived-in vibe.
A common complaint I’ve read in several critiques of the romance in the book itself, comes down to the lack of length the intimacy between the gay characters is given. A “fade to black” technique does seem to be frequently employed in the novel when sexual intimacy instigates between characters, but that wasn’t an issue for me personally. Being asexual, those sorts of scenes I can take or leave already, so my bias is a bit in the way when it comes to commenting on the queer representation in the book. To be frank, the only ‘complaint’ I would have regarding how the LGBTQ storylines were handled would be that I was told by the author when there was connection brewing between characters, rather than being given the opportunity to experience it naturally through character actions and dialogue / body language etc. Queen Sabran and Eadaz have a gentle, warm, and compassionate love that blooms from their differences, and I believe that Shannon did well incorporating their love into the story despite some shortcomings in its presentation.
My Final Thoughts
All in all, I truly enjoyed reading this novel and I do not regret spending my half hour before work splayed out in bed trying to read as much as I could prior to my shift. Samantha Shannon’s love for the fantasy genre is tangible as soon as you read the first page, and the care she put into building the world and story as a whole rings clear from page to page. The Priory of the Orange Tree is a spectacular female-led fantasy book, retelling a familiar story of man versus dragon in a way that young women can look to as a source of inspiration and growth. Although I would not name this book THE feminist/LGBTQIA+ fantasy novel of the century like many social media influencers, it stands strong on its own and serves its storyline well and with lovely prose that rounds out a world of fire, magic, and romance. I would highly recommend this novel to adults and teens that are trying to expand their reading collection into an adult-driven fantasy. The book is a beast in length, but well worth the time and effort both as writer and reader.
Thank you for taking the time to read my critique! Writing is my passion and lifeblood, and exploring other creative realms only helps me better myself and my own technique.
