The Priory of the Orange Tree Review

Title: The Priory of the Orange Tree
Author: Samantha Shannon
Date Purchased: 10/14/2020
Price Paid: $2.11
Date Finished: 6/4/2022
Rating: 4/5

Over the past several years, the fantasy and science fiction genres have seen a glut of books that are part of a series. Trilogies, duologies, sagas, cycles…no matter what you want to call them it seems like authors can’t keep a story contained within a single book.

Now, I do understand that some of this might be well beyond their control – I’m sure there are plenty of standalone stories that a publisher will sink their teeth into and then decree “well, we like it, but can you make it three books instead of one”. There’s a business aspect to this that cannot be ignored.

That being said, I still have the occasional yearning for that single-volume standalone experience. One and done, as they say. Too frequently a good story will suffer from scope creep and wind up a diluted mess. So when I saw The Priory of the Orange Tree, a standalone fantasy novel, go on sale? I had to check it out.

Even though this is a standalone novel, let’s not pretend that this is a slim volume of text. Clocking in at almost 850 pages, author Samantha Shannon has created a world steeped in history and filled with a large variety of characters. The real question becomes whether she was able to tell the story she wanted to within one book while still satisfying the reader.

Spoiler alert: for me? Yup. She did it.

Priory is very much a character-driven story, which I feel has become a lost art. I think back to the whole Game of Thrones mess – you had some books which were amazing character-driven tales that were turned into a television show that ended as a plot-driven mess. While I have no problem with a plot-driven story, I tend to feel a bit of a disconnect from the characters, and that is one of the shining parts of this book.

I would love to discuss with Shannon how the writing process for Priory went – as a multiple point-of-view story can be a bear for the reader, I can’t imagine what it’s like for the author. The first quarter of the book has a much more sedate pace as we get to meet all of the characters and learn more about the history of the world.

But once we get through the introductions, we find a story that hops on rails and takes off. All of the characters are well fleshed out and vivid, with very few throw-away characters. I found myself drawn in to the stories of each main character and found myself skimming forward through chapter names to see when I would return to them once the POV changed.

I enjoyed the world that was built, and felt there was a very rich history woven throughout the story. Perhaps my favorite part was the exploration of divergent faiths built upon the same history, and the conflicts that arose from those differences.

When it was all said and done, I really enjoyed this book. I was quite happy with 95% of the character endings, found the plot to be very engaging and well wrapped up, and was fully invested in the characters of the book. And I don’t have to wait for books two and three…I’m all done!

Final Thoughts: A long read, but well worth the effort.