Review: The Priory of the Orange Tree

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While Samantha Shannon takes a bit of a break from the Bone Season series - I think the fourth book's been put off till 2020 and still doesn't even have a title announced, right? - here she gives us a standalone (for now) epic fantasy, an 800-page brick with one of the prettiest packages on the market in all of history. It's a long, sprawling story, spanning several nations drawing inspiration on medieval periods in numerous parts of our world's history - Europe, Japan, China, hints of Arabia, etc. Though the plot is a little on the thin side for a book this size, it's the characters that really shine, bringing the characteristic complexity of Shannon's style as much as they can. That, plus the fact that by design, this book subverts the typically white, straight, hetero, and male nature of fantasy novels with the spotlight on numerous women, PoC, and/or queer characters - many of whom are in positions of power. It's a lush fantasy world written with 2019 sensibilities in mind, and I'd be very happy to see a film or TV adaptation that captures Shannon's unique style perfectly!

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