I have controversial/complicated opinions on Priory of the Orange Tree because of its relationship with falling action and the standalone nature of the title. I was pleased to get more of this world from Shannon, and was satisfied much more throughout this one. Likewise, I think it had to do with being more established withing the world immediately. I look forward to more from her and this world in the future, I hope. My qualms with Priory could easily be retrospectively corrected.

Part of me doesn't want to compare this book too much to The Priory Of the Orange Tree. While it is a part of the same series it is also its own story entirely. That being said, I know that if you liked ;The Priory Of The Orange Tree, that you will love this book. I wont say its better because again I don't want to compare but I can say that it is equally as good.
The story follows Characters from the north, South, and East on their journeys as they face a deadly threat. It was so easy to not only fall in love with these characters and their stories but also be able to sympathize with them and the difficult decisions they all face throughout the book.
Glorian's struggle with not fully wanting to following in her ancestors foot steps was so heartbreaking. feeling as if your own body doesn't belong to you and not having a way out is so sad.
The sisters of the Priory always ambitious and also very strict with their rules. I know they have their reasons but that doesn't stop me from getting somewhat annoyed with certain characters at times. Which is another thing I love about this book. If all stories were only filled with morally good and perfect characters then it would be boring.
Dumai's story really pulled me in from the beginning of the book. Her character is so brake and took all the necessary ;and maybe some unnecessary, risks.
Overall, I loved this book and I cant seem to get enough of this world. 100% recommend!!

An epic tale of dragons, magic, intrigue, and love, A Day of Fallen Night is written by Samantha Shannon and published by Bloomsbury USA. A Day of Fallen Night is the second book published in the Roots of Chaos series.

Almost five centuries before the events of The Priory of the Orange Tree, it is the time of the Grief of Ages or the Great Sorrow. Hundreds of years ago, Sir Galian Berethnet defeated The Nameless One, the evilest wyrm of all. But now, the Dreadmount, his birthplace, has erupted again. Wyrms are terrorizing towns, and strange twisted creations half animal/half wyrm are popping up. In the West, unease grows as rumors spread that the royal line of Berethnet queens is no longer enough to keep the Nameless One at bay. And in the East, the great dragons that helped defeat the wyrms the first time they arose have been sleeping for over 200 years.

The books’ various narrators introduce readers to the world as they tell their stories. These narrators include Glorian Hraustr Berethnet, princess of Inys, Dumai of Ipyeda, godsinger, and dragonrider, Wulfert’ Wulf’ Glenn, housecarl to King Bardholt, and Tunuva Melim, daughter of the Priory. Telling a story from the point of view of so many characters is a great way to organize the many plot threads within a book as expansive as A Day of Fallen Night. Shannon excels at giving each character a unique and distinct voice.

While present in Priory, queer romance, and queer characters in general, are far more present in A Day of Fallen Night. Queerness is simply a normal, accepted part of this world. Esbar and Tunuva have a long-term relationship, and Wulf has two dads. Dumai is attracted to women. This isn’t to say that stories of fighting for acceptance aren’t valid or essential, they are, but sometimes you want to read a story where queerness is a nonissue in society.

The primary threat within A Day of Fallen Night is the eruption of the Dreadmount and the reemergence of wyrms. But within that are potentially less world-ending but still significant problems. Namely, the marriage and conception of a new queen by Glorian Berethnet and Dumai’s quest to awaken the dragons in the East. Glorian and Dumai are very different at first glance. One is a girl raised from birth with the burden of keeping an entire kingdom safe; the other is raised on an isolated mountain, guiding pilgrims to a site of great religious importance. But ultimately, both of them have to accept the roles they never wanted to play: Glorian must bear a daughter, and Dumai must accept her royal roots and her responsibility to the people of Seiiki.

Glorian and Dumai’s journeys tie into a prominent theme within the book; how does one stay true to themselves while growing and adapting to the changing world? Similarly, Wulf and Tunuva both deal with upheaval in their own lives. Wulf continues trying to prove his worth, to create a name for himself outside of the nasty rumors of him being a witch’s child. Meanwhile, the sisters of the Priory must carry out their divine purpose, causing Esbar and Tunuva’s relationship to strain.

The big question with A Day of Fallen Night is, should you read Priory of the Orange Tree before or after? Fallen Night is a prequel to Priory, but reading it first will spoil some of the surprises in Priory. Personally, I recommend reading Priory first because it gives you a broader understanding of the world of The Roots of Chaos. But Shannon has said that each book can be read as a standalone, should you finish one and have no desire to read another. Though I cannot recommend both books enough.

Shannon’s worldbuilding and character creation are top-notch. It’s easy to get acquainted with this world, and you won’t want to leave when the story ends. At well over 800 pages, this is an absolute brick of a book, but every single page is well worth it. A Day of Fallen Night proves that Shannon can take what was originally a one-off story and expand on it in a seamless and spectacular way.

A Day of Fallen Night is available on February 28th, 2023, wherever books are sold.

If you go in realizing this is not a prequel in the sense most use, you will really enjoy this. The beginning was a lot of information to retain, but by the time the plot started moving I was fully hooked. I lovely addition to the universe I loved in Priory.

Samantha Shannon has universes inside of her mind, and I feel so lucky to be privy to the mythologies, poetries, and magic she brings forth through her writing. This book is in the top five favorite fantasy books of all time for me, which is really saying something since I read around 300 books per year… most of which are SF/F. A Day of Fallen Night is a masterpiece, and I will be recommending it to every single person willing to discuss books with me.

This fantasy work is the book that women+, femmes, and women who love women deserve. Every female character is deeply cultivated and nurtured in terms of character development and page time, which I cannot say for most fantasy books being written these days. A wide range of ages is represented from girlhood to elder years, and that is so very meaningful since many fantasy works are more skewed toward a teenage audience. While there is nothing wrong with a market for younger readers, we need a place for people above the age of 23 to be able to self-actualize and find themselves through the books they read. Women of all ages are heroes, and they deserve to be seen in all their glory, regardless of the season of life they are in. As one of Shannon’s characters says: “If women are flowers, we are not roses, but day’s eyes- blooming not once, but over and over, each time the light touches us.”

Although any male/men+ characters who appear in the book are crafted with care and attention, the emphasis is less on romantic (and sexual) love between men and women, but rather is centered on friendship. Though men in Shannon’s book are meaningful and heartfelt, they never steal the show from the women+/female characters. The real romances and complexities of passion are given to the women—the sapphic element of Shannon’s book(s) being one of the most appealing to me. Even though this work of fantasy is far from being all sunshine and roses, it feels like a safe space to explore relationships between women with all their nuances and challenges.

The thing about big fantasy books is that they can also be slow burns. Some people enjoy a slow, but methodical approach to storytelling, but I would be lying if I said I was one of them. Shannon’s book is a BIG ONE, but I failed to find a single dull or boring moment the entire time I was burning through it. As with many fantasy works, the story is told from the perspectives of a few main characters (mostly women), with the occasional, important side character added in as the book progresses. (There are nonbinary characters too with they/them pronouns!) With many big (nearly 1,000 pages) works like this, I usually find myself loving one or two characters, but being bored with the others… sometimes feeling like I want to skip the chapters with perspectives of the characters I find less interesting. I loved every single character in A Day of Fallen Night and found myself re-reading passages because the prose was just that beautiful or pivotal. There is something to enchant you in every paragraph whether it is amazing poetry, deep wisdom, or a juicy unfurling of one of the beloved characters. In short, Samantha Shannon has a rare gift, even in a market as massive as fantasy storytelling. Every word is potent, and every chapter is as inviting as the last. There is no filler or sense that she is trying to rush through the plot. Every moment is purposeful and delightful, and my hat is off to Shannon for her skillset.

You may be thinking at this point: “Sounds great! You didn’t really tell me much about the book’s plot though.” The truth is that I can’t dive too deeply into the details because this is one of those books that is best enjoyed when almost every morsel is allowed to flower in the moment. Simply put, it would be all too easy to ruin something for another reader, and I do not want to steal that experience from anyone. What I will say is that as much as I obsessed over The Priory of the Orange Tree, this book is even better (It’s hard to imagine, I know.). A Day of Fallen Night takes place about 500 years before the events in Priory of the Orange Tree, so if you read POTOT first, you will find some easter eggs and “aha!” moments in this prequel. For those who might read ADOFN first (since they can be read in any order), I am pleased to tempt you/them with the knowledge that there are talking dragons, adventures in the peaks of the high mountains, magic, and so many beautiful moments that give you chills when you realize where Shannon is going with a plot idea or character connection. So, if you want to give yourself the best treat in the world and live several lifetimes within the span of a book cover, this is the number one book you will want to read in 2023.

Lastly, I am so grateful to the publishers and creatives at Bloomsbury and Netgalley who sent me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. To you lovelies, it may have been another approval request on a Wednesday, but you wielded the kind of magic nestled in the realms of humans and transformed my week into something beautiful and enrapturing. Thank you so much.

This is such a great prequel! Loved every moment of it! Was so well done and emotionally gut wrenching

I'm working through the Priory of the Orange Tree now but I'm excited that this prequel can also work as an introduction to the series! Will definitely be handselling selling this - the worldbuilding is astonishing!

Samantha Shannon has done it again.

An amazing prequel to The Priory, Shannon builds on it the beloved world we were first introduced to.

The four parts of this stunning world are developed even further with more intricate plot building.

I’m honestly still speechless and impressed by this unique world. And now I need more.


Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for this digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

An absolutely flawless prequel to a staple of the genre. A Day of Fallen Night does everything your average author hopes to do with their work -- and more. Concluding this book felt like a piece of me was missing, and immediately send me into a reread of the original work, Priory of the Orange Tree, to cling to the setting, the characters, the lore. Samantha Shannon is a miracle.

Another beautifully written novel filled with all aspects of fantasy that makes you want more: intrigue, romance, knights, battles, and of course dragons! There's so much packed into the novel that it warrants a second reread if not more. So much happens, and yet the pace never feels rushed. The characters are fleshed out and feel human; you can't help but empathize with, hate, or love each character. Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC. I cannot wait to own a physical copy to reread multiple times.

So I can honestly say that I liked this one better than Priory of the Orange Tree and that is saying a lot because priory was amazing.

It took me until around the halfway mark to really get into it but it really picks up at that point. I read the second half of this book in one day because I just couldn’t stop.

Once again Samantha Shannon gives an amazing work of fantasy.

Of the characters I loved Glorian and Dumai’s storylines the best. It was fun to see some of the connections and background to the first book.

If you love fantasy and enjoyed Priory I definitely recommend picking this one up. It’s large but worth it!

Wow this was an epic high fantasy novel!

I was definitely intimidated by this book, but I'm so glad I tried it! There are definitely a ton of characters, and I feel like you need a character list, glossary, and family trees to really understand it. But at the same time, the writing will grab you and make you keep reading. It feels grounded by the characters emotional journeys and relationships.

I love this series!

How do you make a sequel to something intended as a stand-alone novel? Fans of the series demanded a new book, but things were fairly contained within Priory of the Orange Tree, so how do you square the circle? I quite like the author’s approach here; rather than making a direct sequel to the events of the first book, she marched 500 years into the past and created another stand-alone. Fans get their sequel, there’s no expectations to live up to, and you can continue building out the (extensive) lore you introduced in the first book. A win all around, that I think the author knocked out of the park to boot.

Despite being an all-new cast of characters, there’s just enough familiarity here to hit the ground running with the (many) different viewpoints. Glorian, daughter of Sabran the Ambitious and King Bardholt of Hróth, is having a hard time finding her feet and her place within the role forced upon her. All her life she had her own ideas of how she wanted to live her life, but the older she grows, the more she realizes that duty comes before all else in the Queendom of Inys. Over at the Priory, we’re introduced to Tunuva and Esbar, sisters training to slay wyrms that haven’t appeared in generations. Discontent is rumbling through the Priory as some younger sisters start questioning why the Order still exists. When Siyu escapes the stifling confines of the Priory, Tunuva is sent to bring her home, but her return brings unwelcome change to the Priory. Finally, in Seiiki, Dumai of Ipyeda is a godsinger at the High Temple of Kwiriki, daughter of Unora of Afa, and heir of more than she knows. When her family comes knocking, she’s compelled to leave the mountain home she knows and loves in order to serve the kingdom. But as the world starts to tremble, it is her godsinger heritage that ultimately calls her to duty in service of the sea dragon Furtia.

The scope of this book is quite a bit larger than Priory of the Orange Tree I think. Lots more places, tons of minor characters and references, but not to the point where I felt overwhelmed and lost. I think reading Priory of the Orange Tree first gave me the structure I needed to be able to sort through everything thrown at me here. There’s quite a bit more politics in this one as well, particularly in the Inys sections, but I’m such a sucker for grand political fantasy that I loved it all. It has a bit of a slow start, and I was starting to wonder where things were headed initially, but about a third of the way through things start ramping up quickly and I had a hard time putting it down. The ending was incredibly satisfying as well, and while a lot was happening at once, it didn’t have the same frantic feel as I thought Priory of the Orange Tree had at the end.

I hope the author decides to do more stand-alone books within this universe, because I thought this one was fantastic. Everything had a purpose, the writing was excellent, and I loved basically everything about it. Great fantasy, great work.

The prequel to Priory of the Orange Tree lives up to its predecessor.

The formula is much the same- we have a slow buildup to the action as we get to know our characters. The relationships and politics/religion of the book truly make it.

While Priory is not necessary to read this, I almost wish I had done a re-read to immerse myself again. While we go into world building in Fallen Night, it’s a bit lighter on it.

With how much I loved Priory, I was nervous going into this. There was so much to live up to, but I should've just trusted Samantha Shannon because, per usual, she stunned me yet again. This book was beautiful and so well thought out. It was a teensy bit longer than Priory, but just like Priory, it didn't feel long, certainly not too long. The characters and the story were so intricate and each detail given felt like it was done so with care. The story is fascinating and the world building is as striking as it was in Priory. Though this takes place 500 years before Priory and is still in the same world, there was a lot that was different and this story felt like its own unique thing. I loved all the characters and I loved getting to have so many POVs so we got different aspects of the story. This book is so gorgeous and will stay with me for a long time.

I wanted to read this book so badly that I read it in PDF--something I very rarely do, as most of the time I just won't request a title if there isn't an .epub available, unless it's nonfiction--and it was completely worth it. As other reviewers have said, I wasn't sure A DAY OF FALLEN NIGHT would measure up to the extremely high standard set by PRIORY, but it absolutely does. I even preordered a personal copy in hardcover--another thing I rarely do, since space on my physical shelves is at a premium--because that's how much I love these books. I can't wait for this one to be out so I can tell everyone to read or listen to it in their preferred format!

A Day of Fallen Night is set about 500 years before The Priory of the Orange Tree. It’s a mutligenerational, multi-POV political fantasy that’s very intricately detailed and a little bit longer than the first book. Priory is one of my favorite books of all time that I have not stopped talking about or hyping up since I read it the month it was released. I cannot tell you how excited I was to learn that there was going to be more books written in this world, since Shannon originally planned it as a single book.

I want to point out right away that you do not need to read Priory prior to reading Fallen Night. In fact, if you haven’t read either book yet, I would start with this one. I feel like this story is the kind that is best told in chronological order but with the knowledge that the author wrote the books in reverse chronological order, that she already had everything planned out ahead of time. Both books, though, are standalones with different characters, so you could read them in either order you like.
It was very interesting to see the subtle changes to the world that we knew in Priory. Of course history changes over time, and this is seen in the slight changes in spelling between some of the city names in the two books. I love that this small detail made the world feel so much richer and more realistic.

We have four POVs but way more than four main characters. Our storytellers are:
—Dumai: 27, a godsinger at the High Temple of Kwiriki in Seiiki (the East). Daughter of Unora, the Maiden Officiant, and Emperor Jorodu.
—Tunuva: 50, tomb keeper for the Priory and guardian of the remains of Cleolind Onjenyu, who founded the Priory in Lasia (the South).
—Glorian: 15, daughter of Sabran VI of Inys and Bardholdt I of Hróth. Sole heir to the Queendom of Inys (the West) and figurehead for their religion.
—Wulfert: 18, a sailor from Inys and childhood friend of Glorian. He comes from mysterious origins.

I don’t want to say too much about the storylines for the individual characters because I don’t want to give anything away, but if you know your history of this world, this installment takes place during the time of the second great eruption of the Dreadmount, which released the five High Westerns and their wyverns into the world and caused the Grief of Ages. Each character must deal with the effects of the Draconic Army wreaking havoc on their land while also dealing with a lot of personal trials and political machinations in their own nations.

Three of the four POV characters have someone come in to their lives who they aren’t really sure if they are a friend or a foe. It was very interesting to read about these characters becoming close to these outsiders, only to wonder if they were going to be betrayed or not. This book definitely punches you in the heart at times.

Somehow I loved all of these characters and their relationships even more than those in Priory, which I didn’t think was possible. I especially loved seeing how intricately linked they all are to each other and how their stories intertwine.

I loved this book so much and I have already preordered two copies because I will reread this for the rest of my life. I love this rich and detailed world that Samantha Shannon has created, and I am so excited that she has a third book planned!! It will be a few years before its release, but it’s another prequel and I really hope it’s the story of Cleolind and Galian and the first great eruption of the Dreadmount. I will read anything that takes place in this world because I love everything about it so much. If you love epic fantasy, rich worldbuilding, flawed and relatable characters, dragons, and excellent writing, then do yourself a favor and read this series.

Note: Do NOT look up this book’s characters in the glossary in The Priory of the Orange Tree because it does spoil some critical scenes that happen in A Day of Fallen Night. I wanted to see if this book’s main characters were listed there, and they were. But then I made the mistake of reading their bios and I thought, “welp, I guess I know how this character is going to die, and what decision that other character is going to make about this big thing” etc. So yes, save yourself the spoilers and finish this book first before you learn how the characters were remembered in history. It’s very awesome, however, to see how much of this story that Samantha Shannon already knew was going to happen when she crafted Priory. The lore and history of this world is so incredible deep and rich.

Everything I loved about Priory of the Orange tree and more is in this. More complex and interesting characters. More lore and adventure. More love and emotion. The way the characters’ differing storylines converge and intertwine in such a huge world is a marvel to read. I think a reader would be able to follow this story even if they hadn’t read Priory of the Orange Tree first, but it’s much more rich to experience the story knowing what the future of this world holds. I’d recommend to any fantasy lover, anyone looking for more queer fantasy, or anyone tired of the typical white dudes’ epic fantasies.

I really didn't think Samantha Shannon would be able to write something better than Priory, but ADOFN may be it. WOW. Such well-rounded, complex characters. Phenomenal world building. Beautiful representation of historically underrepresented communities. I will read anything Shannon produces at this point because I know it's going to be a masterpiece.

For those wondering whether they should read ADOFN or Priory first, I honestly don't think it matters. There are certain things that are "spoiled" by reading Priory first and others that are "spoiled" if reading ADOFN first. I think regardless of the order read, there are some fun Easter eggs readers will notice and appreciate. I cannot wait to return to this world again and again. Shannon writes fantasy (a complicated and oftentimes confusing/overwhelming genre) effortlessly, and I have a feeling she's going to go down in history as one of the best at her craft. She's brought so much diversity and originality to the fantasy genre, so I will never pass up a chance to read her work and recommend it to others

The greatest book I’ve ever read. I feel in love with the Priory of the Orange Tree and this is the greatest addition to this excellent series. I’m so excited to see where this world goes.