Is The Priory of the Orange Tree The Ultimate Standalone Epic Fantasy?

It’s taken me a long time, but I’m glad I finally got around to reading Samantha Shannon’s Epic (with a capital E) fantasy novel, The Priory of the Orange Tree. Although standalone, Priory is a hefty doorstopper of a novel. You won’t get much change out of a thousand pages. But it’s worth the effort. 

Women of the West

Shannon’s sprawling world is split in two, with a dark ocean called the Abyss dividing East from West. In the (North-) West, the island of Inys is ruled by the latest in a long line of Berethnet Queens. For a thousand years, the Berethnet women have each given birth to just one child, a girl, the future queen. They are the self-appointed leaders of an alliance of Western nations known as Virtudom, who all follow a creed based on an intricate system of knightly chivalry. The power of the house of Berethnet stems from their historic claim to have defeated The Nameless One—imagine the devil in dragon form—and his Draconic army. 

As long as a Berethnet Queen is on the throne of Inys, The Nameless One will be unable to escape his prison under the Abyss, or so they believe. Unfortunately, the current Queen of Inys, Sabran, is childless, and reluctant to wed. Worse, her life is under threat from scheming courtiers and a succession of would-be assassins. Seeking to protect her is Ead, a Southern convert to the ways of Inys, who is one of four point of view characters. Another is Sabran’s close friend Lord Loth, who is dispatched to a neighbouring kingdom on a fool’s errand which soon turns into a deadly trek across the western world.

Dragonriders of the East

While Westerners despise all dragons, the two Eastern nations (Seiiki, and the Empire of the Twelve Lakes) revere sea dragons (though not the flying kind) as Gods, and even train young warriors to ride them. One such rider is Tané, who has worked hard to attain her position but puts it all at risk by breaking the law to help hide a stranger who arrives unannounced on the shore of her island. In trying to hide her crime, she is threatened by Niclays Roos, an alchemist who is living in exile having been banished by Queen Sabran.

The story of Ead, Tané, Loth, and Roos—alongside a vast parade of side characters—takes a while to get going, but eventually builds an unstoppable momentum. I’d planned to take a break part way through this one, reading something shorter and lighter in between, but the more the plot and characters developed, the more I felt compelled to continue without pausing. Although somewhat predictable towards the end, the plot takes some twists and turns before the main characters settle onto a path to the final confrontation with the the forces of The Nameless One.

How to build a fantasy world

There’s plenty of neat worldbuilding which draws on familiar ideas—forbidden fruit, a vengeful witch lurking in the woods—while weaving in some original ideas. The East and West feel distinct, with vastly different politics, religious beliefs, cuisine, and social attitudes. The courtly manners of Virtudom felt especially well realised. I also liked the way the various members of The Nameless One’s army were divided into distinct species, such as wyrms, wyverns, and High Westerns, while the elegant and wise Eastern water dragons were different again. In Shannon’s world, there are no generic ‘dragons’, but instead a whole menagerie of related creatures.

As you’d expect, this is a world replete with magic, though Shannon opts for what you might call a ‘soft’ magic system without clearly defined rules. That’s fine by me—it’s the approach I like to take in my writing, by and large. As much as I admire Brandon Sanderson (the best-known proponent of rulebound, ‘hard’ magic systems), I gravitate towards stories where the magic serves the story, rather than the other way around. Shannon makes it clear that magic does have limitations and magic wielders can run out and lose access to their powers. (I won’t say how exactly, to avoid spoilers). 

Romantasy?

There is a sweeping romance at the heart of the story, which has led some to describe this as a romantic story first, fantasy second. I disagree, although I understand why some would see it that way. Priory came out before the current explosion of interest in ‘romantasy’; perhaps if it was released now it might be marketed in that sub genre, but I feel that would risk being misleading. The romance sits within a tale with many moving parts, and even the characters themselves allude to the fact that their love will have to take a backseat while the Draconic threat remains. Those who enjoy romantic and LGBT subplots will find plenty to enjoy, but those looking for a traditional fantasy adventure shouldn’t be put off either. 

A doorstopper worth your time

A could write a lot more about the world and characters—especially the eponymous Priory itself—but doing so would risk spoilers. And really what’s the point? This book has galloped towards modern classic status for a reason. 

For my money, the pacing is deliberate but not slow. The story wears its detailed worldbuilding lightly, and the few occasions I found myself getting bored were quickly interrupted by moments of high drama. Although it takes a long time for The Nameless One himself to make an appearance, his draconic minions continue to reawaken throughout the book, leading to some fun showstopping encounters. There are only four point of view characters, which made it easy to keep track of the main players (although I often had to resort to looking up side characters in the extensive cast list at the back of the book).

The Priory of the Orange Tree is a big beast, to be sure, but taming it was a lot of fun. The perfect book to take on holiday and enjoy when you have plenty of time to devote to reading.

If you’d like some other standalone fantasy recommendations, check out my five favourite standalone fantasy novels.