Reading this book as the initial first book to what looks like an amazing series, the world building and characters keep you wanting more. I haven't read the first book yet, "Priory of the Orange Tree", because I wanted a different experience in reading this saga.

Samantha Shannon is on to something with this universe. As a bookseller, these books are going to be compared to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and possibly challenge them for reigning fantasy novels.

A day of fallen night

This is the prequel to the Priory of the Orange Tree. However, it can be read first or as a stand alone novel. My review is based on reading it this way (having never read the priory).

The first 200 pages or so are primarily world building and I mean WORLD BUILDING. I have never read such a high fantasy before. The plot, characters and world were so developed you could tell why it is an 800 page novel.

This is the longest book I’ve read and I think that should say something about how it can hold your interest! The beginning, middle and end all packed a punch with so many plot points surrounding the dragon war. However, there were many political insights spread throughout each kingdom that you could make present day references too.

I absolutely loved this one! RE-READ WORTHY. I think I might have to in order to digest everything. Thank you for the ARC Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review! I will post my full review on my Instagram page on publication day.

Https://www.instagram.com/homebodyreads

I adored my time with A Day of Fallen Night. This is epic fantasy at its finest, with a story spanning years and continents and dozens of characters. While I enjoyed The Priory of the Orange Tree, I found A Day of Fallen Night to be even stronger in its storytelling. I fell in love with each of these characters and didn't want the book to be over—and as I came to the end, I actually cried.

I also want to note how well the representation was handled in this novel. Samantha Shannon clearly took so much care and research to depict a whole swathe of cultures and sexualities and genders, and all of it felt vital and essential to the story. This is how it's done.

I am so grateful to have read this book, and though I'm sad to say goodbye to the characters, I know it isn't forever, because I'll be rereading very soon.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for an early review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

as a HUGE fan of "the priory of the orange tree," I was stoked to have gotten a chance to read an ARC of this prequel! it has all the aspects that'll have high fantasy readers completely in love with the story and its characters, from the characters themselves to the dragons to the world politics. I went in with high expectations and the goal to have zero comparisons to 'the priory' considering this is a prequel set 500 years before 'the priory' takes place, but I just wasn't too invested. I felt really overwhelmed with the characters and the vague introductions to each of them as well as the sloooow pacing (the first 100-175 pages was so hard to get through which is understandable considering this book is almost 900 pages). I was definitely struggling to keep up with the slow story and the characters that just weren't catching my attention. but a major aspect of this book that kept me reading was the world building/politics and samantha shannon's writing!!!! I may not have vibed too well with this one, but I'll never say a bad thing about samantha shannon's ability to create a world like this one and do it WELL.

A Day of Fallen Night is just as epic as The Priory of the Orange Tree but takes a while to get going.

This prequel takes place 500 years before the events of The Priory of the Orange Tree. Each of the four geographical regions has its own historical, religious, and political beliefs. All of their beliefs are at odds with each other.

There are rumours that the Dreadmount has erupted, spewing forth wyrms and other destructive creatures. The Nameless One has not been a threat for centuries. Now, these creatures are wreaking destruction wherever they land. It’s up to each leader to decide the best way to defeat these dreadful beasts before everything lies in ruin.

When I read Priory, the story immediately sucked me in, and I felt an instant attachment to nearly every character. I rooted for most of them every step of the way. However, with this book, it took a while for me to become invested in some of the characters’ lives. And there are a lot of characters in this chunky book (although there is a helpful character list at the back). I eventually came to cheer for all the big players and might have even been teary by the end. Wulf, Glorian, Nikeya, and Dumai all have wonderful character arcs.

The pacing wasn’t as consistent as Priory, either. In that one, it felt like things were always happening, so the book never seemed slow despite its length. But even though this one had a slow setup, it was totally worth it. Samantha Shannon knows how to hook her readers. The first major twist had me gasping; the story really took off from there.

Since this is a prequel, it can be read first or as a standalone. But, I’m glad I read Priory first for the context it provided. This one might have been a tad daunting without having some background on this world.

I don’t want this review to sound lukewarm because there were many instances where I was completely hooked and stayed up late to read it. It’s just hard to live up to the expectations set by the first book.

Nevertheless, let the wait commence for the next Roots of Chaos novel.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me with physical and digital copies to review.

https://booksandwheels.com

Samantha Shannon helped rekindle my love for fantasy with The Priory of the Orange Tree that I finally managed to finish by midnight of last year. I was fortunate enough to be so late to getting back to my fantasy roots that A Day of Fallen Night was going to be released in two months from finishing Priory. I don’t know what I would have done if I had to wait years for another chapter of this legend of a story.

Another tome, one that I know I will have to reread, once I reread Priory because it’s definitely a must. I’m sure I missed small details, and some things in Priory make more sense now having read ADOFN.

If you love history and mythology, you’ll love this story. If you love badass women, you’ll love this story. If you love well developed characters weaving together their own story, you will love this. The author has a way of taking such care with every single word she puts onto paper, and you will find yourself holding your breath to see what comes with her very next line. We are truly lucky that ADOFN was released in one volume. What a ride. You literally have women from all directions on a map creating the foundation for all that is to come.

I don’t want to give anything away. But just know that if you loved Priory as much as I do, you will not be disappointed. And I do hope that there is another installment in The Roots of Chaos Series. I could live in this world of high fantasy, dragons, women who love women, and so much lore.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

thank you to netgalley and bloomsbury publishing for the advanced reading copy of a day of fallen night by samantha shannon. this long awaited sequel to priory of the orange tree. a beautiful and long books about magic, spys, dragons, royalty, exiled peoples. you could not ask for more with this beautifully written novel that has been destined for many years. four women must find the strength to protect human kind from the threats that plague their lands. an absolute must read sequal.

I'm saying it now! Samantha Shannon is a master at writing standalone fantasies! A Day of Fallen Night will suck you in right from page one with its excellent world building and some of the best pacing I have ever seen. Not one POV was better than the others. Every single one was full of action, intrigue and hints of romance. I finished this 850 page book in only two days. If that isn't a testament to how good this novel is, I don't know what is!

As a prequel to the Priory of the Orange tree I knew this would be a wonderful book, but I doubted it could be a better book. . . I was wrong. I am so grateful to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for access to an eARC in exchange for this review. This was my most anticipated read of 2023 for certain.

While Ioved it, I should clarify that the first 1/2 was a challenge to read, especially as an ebook without a clear map of the world and easy access to the list of characters in the back. Despite it's size, this would have made for easier reading if I could have held a physical book and easily flipped back and forth early on to keep track of the worlds and it's key players. It is a lot to take in. In reading Priory I also had the assistance of the audio book to keep me on track in the early chapters, whereas here I did not. So to me it makes sense that it took almost two weeks to get 50% in. I was allowing myself time to absorb, time to read other books when I felt like it, and time to get to know the characters. I knew we were headed to a point where it would click, an indeed it did. I read the second 50% in two days!

The book follows 4 main POV Characters through over 2 years, culminating in a last stand of sorts between multiple kingdom and queendoms to save their world from the evil beast that are waking up and wish to destroy them. The book has its share of epic battle scenes and fantasy quest tropes, but what makes it so beautiful is the characters. Shannon has found a way to build characters such that you feel the impact of their experience in ways you might only get previously from following then through a long series. We see their fault and growth and come to care for them deeply, all within a single stand alone book. Their stories are generously interwoven though many of these characters never appear together. All make sacrifices and experience loss, but do so because there is "some good in this world worth fighting for" and yes , this is worthy of a LOTR allusion here. The story is also beautifully inclusive, embracing love in just about every capacity, all while scathingly problematizing the politics of religion and birthright and the heartless demands governance through and heir requires.

If you love fantasy - read this book.

Samantha Shannon has done it again! A Day of Fallen Night is an expansive, explosive prequel to one of my favorite fantasy stories of all time. I wasn’t sure how she was going to top The Priory of the Orange Tree, but I shouldn’t have doubted her powers because ADOFN is somehow even better than its sister.

From the world building to the characters to the general lore, Samantha Shannon has proven herself to be a masterful and exquisite storyteller. The level of detail given to the individual stories was immaculate. I will forever be impressed by her ability to write such well-rounded cultures and people that somehow stand-alone as their own stories while all working towards the narrative as a whole. And as in TPOTOT, the moment where everything coalesces into that *moment* of clarity was absolutely breathtaking.

I don’t know what else I can say besides that if you love seamless, expansive storytelling and fantasy worlds that are so well developed they feel viscerally real, A Day of Fallen Night is not to be missed.

I don't know how Shannon did it, but she absolutely captivated my full attention with A Day of Fallen Night, which wasn't the case for Priory. Don't get me wrong—Fallen Night's predecessor was an imaginative, sprawling epic in its own right, but none of its characters ever truly grabbed at me, meaning I wasn't invested in any of the relationships and didn't care by the end of it. The same couldn't be more wrong for the prequel story.

A Day of Fallen Night features expertly crafted characters and rich, beautifully realized relationships—all of which I cared deeply about: Glorian, Wulf, Dumai, Tunuva—and perhaps the greatest unsung hero of them all, Unora—I cared so deeply for all of them, and for all the painful losses racked up on every side. There is nonstop tension and terror, harrowing action, immense loss and tragedy... and so much profundity around womanhood and motherhood and empowerment packed into its 800+ pages that it often caught me off guard. It tempts me to reread Priory to see if my feelings about that book have changed given the weight of everything that came before. Simply put, A Day of Fallen Night left me awestruck.

The reason I don't rate this 5 stars is that there was still something off with the pacing that was perhaps exacerbated by all of the time jumps. Several times while reading I had to sit and figure out how old people were and how much time had passed, and often I was very wrong. Perhaps a personal nitpick, but it did keep knocking me out of the story, which made it more challenging to collect my bearings. But despite that, I thought A Day of Fallen Night was a masterful story, more so given it is a prequel.

A must-read for epic fantasy readers.

This book was so unexpected and amazing. Shannon did an excellent job building tension throughout the novel. I was so unexpectedly surprised at how often I was at the seat of my pants. This book stands alone as a strong world builder for the land that Shannon created and the characters she bases future histories on. The high fantasy elements are so clear and well down, a perfect immersion into the world while still focusing on plot and character growth. Each of the characters were wonderfully mixed and complex, and I felt for each of their choices and battles they fought within.

I will say that I wasn't the biggest fan of Priory, I felt like the pacing on it was a bit off and it lent itself to too much world building and not enough character and plot development and then rushed the end. I can say this book sometimes rushes over parts, but it makes more sense in this novel. Reading Priory first let me have some foreshadowing that I didn't before, it let me see some characters for who they really were, and it let me have fun knowing what would come in 500 years. But I don't think it's necessary to read Priory first. This book is excellent if you want to read about the world Shannon created, but want it to be a bit more fast paced and a bit better about the overall trajectory of the story. Overall, I am so impressed with the characters. I want a novel only about the East now, because in both novels their story stood out as the strongholds. Shannon, you convinced me. This book is amazing. 4.25/5.

A Day of Fallen Night

Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
Genre: High Fantasy

Effortlessly flawless. This novel is an impecable high fantasy modern classic. Let’s start by saying I am new to this author (I missed the Priory train when it came out) and I’ve fallen in loved with this world and Shannon’s writing style. I am a convinced fan of her’s now and will read Priory ASAP.

World building: Impeccable! This world deserves all the hype and appreciation other High Fantasy novels like Game of Thrones or The Witcher get. Honestly such a good complex magic system, societies and people with strong and detailed differences. The author really takes time to walk you through the intricacies of politics and customs. I got a bit lost at the beginning but it becomes gradually easy to follow.

Characters: The one thing that stands out to me the most is that the author chooses to present a wholly complex set of characters without getting to many people on the page. That’s something I hadn’t found in a while in High Fantasy, where normally we follow so many characters that I become easily distracted. The three main characters are wildly different from each other and also so similar in the problems and relationships they encounter. I was fully invested with all of their stories and journeys. It is so easy to root for them.

Samantha Shannon’s prose has a lyrical quality to it that makes her descriptions and emotional scenes beautiful and breathtaking. The plot takes you by the hand from page one and won’t leave your mind for days after you finished.

Seriously, I feel like this is a book I’m prepared to make everyone read, by force if necessary 🤌🏻 It is worth every drop of hype it is getting and more.

LESBIAN DRAGON BOOK PART 2

I have accidentally become a Samantha Shannon groupie. I don't know if I'm proud of it, but here we are. It's a running joke among my friends that I need to propose to her (I'm sorry, Samantha, I love your work). She's alarmingly smart and extraordinarily talented, and this absolute doorstopper of a book is every bit as good as I'd dreamed it would be. Also, that cover? Goddamn

I am in utter awe of this book. And can’t believe it’s over, and there’s a part of me that is also surprised that what feels like an entire , epic era managed to fit in self into 900ish pages.

Priory is a well loved tale, and for so, so many good reasons. I won’t drone about that too much, but I do mention it so as to say: somehow, this was better.

A Day of Fallen Night gave me everything I could have imagined and have ever wanted from a high, epic fantasy. It felt even more engrossing, and much more fast paced than it’s predecessor (some of this may be because the reader is now familiar with the world, and doesn’t need to *learn* it, however, from an objective standpoint, there is a ton more action that keeps things moving along.)

I fell so deeply in love with these characters. I’ve tried to name favorites, but honestly all of them fill my heart to the brim. Glorian’s arc was absolutely stunning, and the message about monarchy and the violence that comes with expecting all women to bear children hit me very hard. As we knew her to be “the most beloved” of the queens of her line, this story absolutely fulfilled and surpassed my imaginings.

Wulf & Dumai were everything to me as well. I loved Wulf’s honor, his vulnerability, his strength and his loyalty, his kindness. I loved Dumai’s courage, her determination, her hard edges and soft center. We got SO much time following her on dragon back in this book, and Shannon’s writing makes the imagery of this (and everything else) cinematic and potent.

The battle scenes were aplenty, and never repetitive. I felt the threat of the Grief of Ages very fully, in a way I didn’t quite experience with Priory. Really, this book just brought *more* of everything. The characters are even more complex, the threat is even higher. We get MORE DRAGONS! And more potential for tears and heartbreak.

I’m not sure how to end this review, because it feels like I could go on forever. What I will say is: do not fear the big shoes this book had to fill, and if you haven’t read this world yet, this is your sign to do it. I read priory immediately before, and it feels like this world is a part of mine now in some strange way. I am endlessly grateful to Bloomsbury publishing for the opportunity to read this book before publishing, and I can’t wait til the rest of the world gets there hands on this.

Of course this standalone prequel is great. I think most people aren't surprised, but it's certainly a relief to know this lives up to the 'Priory' standard that Shannon already set up.

Another beautiful, lush, and unapologetically feminist high fantasy from Samantha Shannon. I will forever insist that the Roots of Chaos series is her best work and magnum opus. She really has created something beautiful in this universe.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I so enjoyed Priory of the Orange Tree, but this book is just an unwieldy journey with too many details, too many storylines and not enough tying them together to make a cohesive whole. This might have been forgivable in a sequel where I was already invested in the characters, but this story is set 500 years before Priory.

In the end, I just wanted to be done so I could move on. And that makes me sad.

Samantha Shannon always writes such beautiful prose and wonderful world building and the most enjoyable slow burn queer relationships.

I just love Samantha Shannon’s writing and this one did not disappoint. It took a while for me to get into but I’m glad I stuck with it!

Thank you for the digital ARC.