The Priory of the Orange Tree
by Samantha Shannon
fantasy
copyright 2019
read in September 2019
rated 8/10: really quite good
A complex plot with complex characters. Too many characters for me, I soon lost track of all but the key players. The plot was complex but... I could follow most of it. Most of the time.
Characters & situations did seem to appear with little warning. Not deus ex machina but too many, too conveniently. Perhaps a second reading would make it clearer? At 800 pages I can't see me re-reading!
The back page compares Priory to Lord of the Rings, the front page compares to Game of Thrones. Perhaps yes to GoT, no to LotR...
Priory is a massively imagined world. As big at GoT, broader yet shallower than LotR. Perhaps the GoT comparison is valid, there are many competing factions, the very satisfying conclusion still leaves plenty of room for further stories. The overall plot is not as clear as LotR, there are too many threads for a valid comparison.
Priory takes a more modern approach to epic fantasy: cast of thousands, many interwoven plot threads, characters in many shades from good to evil. Probably makes for a "better" book but I'm still a fan of LotR :-)
A major difference from GoT is, nearly all of the Priory characters are "good". The villains are -- mostly -- clearly evil. The main challenge of Priory is to convince the well-meaning characters to fight with the good team. At the climactic battle -- there is no doubt who is good and who is evil. I like that.
The comparison to LotR is that Priory is, "A feminist successor". I guess it is. In a sensible fashion. Most of the major characters -- good and bad -- are female. Yet the male characters are not denigrated; they play important -- though lesser -- roles.
As a male I was not cringing... after some initial confusion of expectations I simply saw the characters as good or bad or likeable or not. Though with some sympathy for the fighting females who often wore billowing skirts over multiple petticoats.
I read Priory in fits and starts but always wanted to come back to it. It's familiar yet unique. I enjoyed it.
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
... Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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So-cratz: "The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing". Ted: "That's us, dude."
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