The Priory of the Orange Tree is a classic fantasy epic, mixing the complications of competing governments and stringent court life with mystical dragons and a fascinating mythology. We follow multiple characters as their lives begin to converge, mashing warring cultures together as the world changes around them. Political intrigue abounds, pulling you into the drama of court life and the dangers of trying to rule a country where conspiracies are brewing.

Our lead characters come from different backgrounds, one on her way to becoming a noble warrior, one sitting at the hand of a mighty Queen. We also follow an old alchemist no longer in good graces and a young Lord bent on saving his country from dark deeds. Together, they weave a tale packed with magic, religion, and a fierce race of giant dragons. These beasts are beautifully imagined, with their sheer size and beauty on display. If you’re looking for a fantasy tale that promises a world of wonder, adventure, and danger, this is it.

I've had The Priory of the Orange Tree on my to read list ever since I saw its gorgeous orange cover. Also, when I saw that Samantha Shannon, author of The Bone Season, was writing this epic tome of a fantasy novel, I was also instantly drawn in. I don't tend to read epic fantasy tomes à la G.R.R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, etc. (a.k.a. written by men), but ones written by women: that's another story! (Sorry guys.) Especially ones written by women who are closer to my age.

Shannon's The Bones Season was not without its problems for me. While it pulled me in instantly with its fairly unique world and characters (I read it really fast, having to know what was going to happen), the writing style left a lot to be desired (i.e., info dumps galore). But, as it was Shannon's debut, I could forgive her. Thus, I've been reluctant to preorder The Priory of the Orange Tree, because I wasn't sure I was going to like it.

After reading this excerpt, however, of the first six chapters of The Priory of the Orange Tree, I know that I'm going to want to read it when it comes out next year. (Hint to publishers: keep giving me excerpts. I'm more likely to preorder/buy/take out from my library/read a book, especially from an author I'm not familiar with, if I am provided with an excerpt.)

The world is intriguing, split between a Western European-like civilization and an Eastern Asian-like civilization (at least, that's how I interpreted the excerpt I read). I'm already invested in what happens to the characters, especially Ead. And I want to know more about the dragons. Shannon's writing has also improved. The info dumps are less info dumps and more seamlessly woven into the text. One reviewer pointed out the over use of passive voice, which I usually catch right away, but didn't as I read this excerpt. Somehow I slipped into Shannon's world without paying nearly as much attention to her writing style as I typically do when I read, which is a good sign.

This is definitely going to be a slow, plodding, build-up sort of a book, which is what I expect of a massive fantasy tome. But it is refreshing that it's not the typical male, D&D-style, adventure story. It's about a Queendom after all! And did I mention dragons? I love dragons.

Wow! I am so excited for this to release! From the minute it started I was captured into the story! This will be another hit for Samantha!

I said this on the other excerpt, but I'm so incredibly excited for this book release! These extracts are making me wish my book could come faster.

This sample made me even more excited to read the book! I can't wait to get my hands on it. I love The Bone Season series, and this looks like it's going to be just as amazing.

Fascinating opening -- I didn't read the whole excerpt, as I hate getting cut off right when I get to a good bit. I'll be buying this one, though. The book I was reading was not what I was expecting from the title!

I love Samantha Shannon's Bone Season Books and the world she creates. The Priory of the Orange Tree is another amazing world. While this world is based in a world of dragons rather than magic it has all the hallmarks that make Bone Season great. An amazing cast of characters and a totally believable, fleshed out world. I can't wait to read all of this massive book!

I really enjoyed this excerpt and am sad that’s all it is! I am fascinated by the variety of creatures - dragons, wyverns, wyrms - and enjoyed the complexity of the several strong, driven, female characters. I am intrigued by the world-building and the concept of how one religion views a “deity” as a damsel in need of saving and the other views her as the savior herself. The only detriment for me was that I felt that there were so many characters and I had difficulty keeping track of who was who. Overall, I cannot wait to read it in its entirety.

I saw this book all over the internet. Synopsis was amazing so naturally i wanted to read it. When i saw the excerpt on netgalley i wanted to gave a chance because this book is huge. It has nearly 800 pages. It is definitely a commitment. But it was perfect. I can't wait to read the whole book.

Wow! This book has been on my need it now list for a while already but after reading this excerpt it is cemented firmly at the top!

A feminist fantasy involving dragons, written in captivating prose with characters well and deeply developed early on, in an epic adventure full of politics, danger, and magic, The Priory of the Orange Tree will certainly be one of the best books of 2019! Author Samantha Shannon has created something truly special and I absolutely can't wait to read the entire glorious masterpiece!

Exceptional. This has been pre-ordered since the moment it was possible to do so, and I've just splashed out and ordered the Goldsboro edition because I have no self-control. If this is the quality throughout I have no doubt that this is going to rocket into my all-time favourites. I cannot wait to read more.

I'm sure I wasn't the only one who downloaded that however many page excerpt from NG. This is my wee review and or rambling thoughts of it.

All the hype has me so excited to read this book and with the preorder going live today I decided to dip my toe into the teaser. I wasn't blown away, that's for sure, but this was also only a tiny (though surprisingly long) bite of a much bigger pie. It was definitely picking up some steam (so many mixed metaphors..) by the end of the file but it didn't suck me in the way I hoped.

Definitely still curious. Definitely a bit cautious. And totally looking forward to seeing more reviews from trusted buddies in the coming months.

An intriguing beginning to a book. There are dragons and an array of female characters. I loved the writing but I found it hard to cope with multiple POVs. Maybe that will change once I read beyond the chapters in the excerpt.

I look forward to reading the entire book.

Even just in this extract (which is pretty substantial), you can already tell that this fantasy has an epic, classic feel, but the main thing that stands out even over the quality of the writing is the sheer number and variety of female characters. It's the sort of fantasy I've always wanted and have struggled to find - plus, there are dragons!

I often find fantasy with multiple points of view to be difficult to balance, and I end up preferring one storyline to another, but here I was equally intrigued by all the different viewpoint characters, and I can't wait to see how the various plot lines entangle and entwine with each other.

I'm really, really excited for the release of this!

Just finished reading an excerpt of this book and it gave me CHILLS. The Priory of the Orange Tree promises to be a sweeping high fantasy, especially since it's almost 900 pages! I cannot wait to read the entire book; I can already tell that I'm going to be completely sucked into this world. The author's note at the beginning of the book tells us that she is inspired by cultures and events in our world, which thrills me to pieces. Dragons? Strong female characters? Yes yes YES. I cannot WAIT to read this book!

BONUS: If you pre-order the book, you can get an exclusive signed poster! Simply submit your receipt at this link. The cover is just GORGEOUS. You definitely want that poster!

Whoa. This is a masterpiece. Samantha Shannon is the definition of talent. I cannot wait to read more!

Oh my word! I can’t wait for the book to be released! This teaser isn’t enough, I want more!
This has been highly anticipated by many and for good reasons!

This book, from what I read, is such an amazing read. The world building is out of this world, the characters are beautifully portrayed, and the overall premise of where this book is looking to go is enchanting. I didn't want to put The Priory of the Orange Tree down.

The opening chapter of this story pulls you in instantly and you immediately want to know what's going to happen next. You kind of go back and forth to different places but it's easy to stay with the plot and Shannon writes it in a way you can vividly see what's going on.

I can't wait to get my hands on the actual book! I'm really excited for this release.

I do read epic fantasy like this fairly often, so I wasn't too put off by the length of the book, and ultimately I have to say that it is completely warranted. At worst there are a few pages in the final section that are a bit repetitive, but I don't think I would have noticed if I was not reading at such a rapid pace. The pacing and the plotting demands a book of this length to create one cohesive story. I don't think it would have been possible to separate it into multiple books, and I am very happy it was presented this way. It's a wonderful standalone piece.

Let's talk characters! Over the course of the 800+ pages, you get to know a few characters very well, though there were some I would have liked to spend more time with. Samantha Shannon dug deeply into character motivations in this book. We don't just have a queen, we have a queen afraid of her court's expectations, with depression, who is also a brilliant strategist. Not only is Ead a highly skilled wyrm killer, she is also suffering from abandonment issues. The mental and social motivators for characters are always at the forefront, which isn't something I see enough in my epic fantasy and I loved it. Also, a lot of the characters are LGBTQIA+.

Of course the other major set of characters everyone wants to know more about are the dragons. There are a lot of dragons, however, you don't see a whole lot of them. Fear not! I felt I knew all I needed to about their role in the end, and if they had been more present it would have been difficult to maintain a sense of real peril and conflict. Dragons are notoriously over-powered, and I think Priory found a way to solve that problem well. I personally fell in love with a new fantasy creature I had never heard of before, and I'm so excited for more people to meet the Ichneumon!

The plotting and pacing overall were very good, I would give them alone 4 stars. The opening section of the book is so fantastic. Things just keep happening, rapid fire, and you are really pulled into the action. The subsequent sections slow down a bit and you are able to get more comfortable with the characters. I will say that the travel sequences absolutely flew by, and I am usually very bored with traveling. The basis of the story feels very familiar (people with dragon must save the world), and somehow simultaneously unique and new. There are several elements from popular mythology that made surprise appearances and kept me going.

Unsurprisingly, Samantha Shannon doesn't back down from using this book to take on some pertinent social issues. She deftly villainizes toxic masculinity, normalizes queer relationships, questions organized religion, and encourages globalization. None of this felt forced, or distracting to the story. They were simply issues that also existed in her fantasy world, and I really enjoyed seeing how her characters dealt with them.

I know a lot of this has been quite vague, but I really do think it's important to approach this with an air of the unknown. I think any epic fantasy reader will find characters to relate to and enjoy within this tome. February needs to hurry up and get here so I can talk to more people about my new favorite characters!

This was so good! I can't wait for the full book! It's so long though, I'm not sure I'm ready! Thanks for the extract.