The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Ead is a member of the Priory of the Orange Tree, a sacred order dedicated to protecting the world from the Nameless One, an ancient wyrm who will rise after a thousand years of capitivity. Posing as a lady in waiting to Queen Sabran, Ead has sworn to protect her against attempts on her life. But she starts getting closer to Sabran than she anticipated.
Meanwhile, Tané is a young woman training become a dragonrider, but after a secret of hers is revealed, she must grapple with her place in society and discover the legacy her ancestors left behind for her.
Genres
Queer, epic fantasy
Description
A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.
Review
Ead is a member of the Priory of the Orange Tree, a sacred order dedicated to protecting the world from the Nameless One, an ancient wyrm who will rise after a thousand years of capitivity. Posing as a lady in waiting to Queen Sabran, Ead has sworn to protect her against attempts on her life. But she starts getting closer to Sabran than she anticipated.
Meanwhile, Tané is a young woman training to become a dragonrider, but after a secret of hers is revealed, she must grapple with her place in society and discover the legacy her ancestors left behind for her.
I haven't read a fantasy epic in a while, and Priory reminds me of why I love them. I picked up this book because it was described as a "lesbian fantasy." I was not expecting to take on an 800-pager, but I am grateful that I did. Priory is everything I love about high fantasy, without the regressive elements so common to it. In this world, gender equality is a given. There's no expectation of men going to war while leaving women behind, and same-gender relationships are normalized. The problem with Ead and Sabran's relationship isn't that they are both women, but that they come from two different parts of the world which are embroiled in religious conflict.
Dragons are a well-worn trope, but Shannon puts her own spin on them. There are two types of dragons, the fire-breathing wyrms of the West set out to destroy civilization, and the peaceful, wingless, water-dwelling dragons of the East. The descriptions of the Eastern dragons are lovely, bringing out their full majesty and beauty.
The world is expansive, with many nations and towns in complicated and hostile relationships with each other. Yet it doesn't get confusing. They are woven into the story in a way that makes it all feel real. It's a believable, fleshed out world that reads as one with great history and realistic diplomatic conflicts.
This is a world of characters with complex motivations, who make grievous mistakes and choose to overcome or fall to them, of wondrous creatures, of rich, detailed mythology and history, of countries struggling to overcome religious differences in the need to unite against a common enemy, of achingly slow-burn romance, and passionate quests for redemption.
A fantasy epic with all the complexity of its forebears, but centering the stories of women and queer people. And the stimmy cover is a plus!