As part of the Bloomsbury Australia blog tour, I'm celebrating the release of The Priory of the Orange Tree by celebrating the the magnificent females of acclaimed author Samantha Shannon's Queendom.
The Priory of the Orange Tree
Written by Samantha Shannon
Adult, Fantasy, Dragons
848 Pages
Gifted by Bloomsbury Australia
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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 all her life to be a dragonrider, 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.
Eadaz Duryan
Eadaz is a young woman placed within a foreign kingdom to safeguard the Queen. Eadaz resides within the palatial compound, her forthright sincerity winning the favour of the Queen as she is elevated to a lady of the bedchamber and secretly safeguarding Sabran against cutthroats. Although committed to the mages of the Priory of The Orange Tree, Eadaz is conflicted by her affection for Sabran. Her close proximity to Sabran will endanger the Queendom and her life.
Queen Sabran Berethnet
The Nameless One, a dragon that brought upon the Grief of Ages that decimated Queendoms is rousing once more, the prophesy leading Sabran, a young Queen coerced into matrimony for political alliance to conceive a daughter. Sabran is an independent woman and although tenacious and resolute, her anxiety and affliction is palpable. Suitors for her affections are presented to the court, Sabran expected to choose a notable partner and conceive to protect her Queendom against the slumbering dragons. She is plagued by nightmares of children lost within the forest, of mages who practice forbidden magic.
Without a Berethnet heir, the Queendom will be overthrown.
Tané Miduchi
Tané Miduchi is a young woman born of a lowly caste and an aspiring dragonrider. On the eve the Choosing Day when riders will learn heir fate, she rescues a young man that emerges from the ocean and risking the Draconic Plague, arranges the stranger to be concealed illegally upon the island peninsula. In her position as student, Tané has experienced blatant socioeconomic and classist prejudice. Degraded and tormented as a successful young woman on the threshold of entering the prestigious Dragonriders.
Females Of The Queendom
The Donmata Marosa, Crown Princess of the Draconic Kingdom of Yscalin.
The Dowager Duchess of Zeedeur. Kalyba, the Lady of the Woods.
The Pirate Captain, sovereign of the Sundance Sea with forty thousand pirates under her command.
Mita Yedanya, The Prioress.
And, Dragon Nayimathun of the Deep Snows.
Who run the world
Of our matriarchal societies. Of women in authority. Women who aspire. Women who achieve. It's diverse women. It's women who love women. It's females who are vulnerable, resilient and determined. It's women at our finest. The heroine. The villainous. The Priory of the Orange Tree is a celebration of women. Let queendom reign!
No woman should be made to fear that she was not enough.
I can't help absolutely loving that cover :D <3
ReplyDeleteIt's absolutely stunning isn't it! The actual cover shimmers with foil accents too.
DeleteThis looks amazing and I love this cover!
ReplyDeleteAsh @ JennRenee Read
I'm almost finished, only a few small chapters to go but I can't remember the last time I had read such an incredible and all encompassing fantasy novel. It's considered adult fantasy due to the ages of the characters, ranging from early twenties to early thirties but mature young adult readers will absolutely love this one too.
DeleteI am seeing/hearing so much buzz about this one. I'm excited to start seeing some reviews.
ReplyDeleteIt's a mammoth book Tanya but gosh, it's absolutely incredible! I plan on writing a detailed review soon but really wanted to share how remarkable the female characters are. Rarely do we almost all positions of power within fiction that are ruled by women and it's glorious!
DeleteWow, the characters sound incredible. I've recently started seeing some great reviews for this book and really want to read it.
ReplyDeleteI've almost finished it and my goodness Suzanne, what an empowering read! The world building, characterisation, the storyline are all phenomenal. I can't remember the last time I'd be so enamoured with a fantasy novel. I would love to see what you think of it!
DeleteI've been hearing good things about this one. I love that it's full of fierce women. I have to say though, I don't how to pronounce any of these names. LOL
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
There's a list of the characters in the back of the book but sadly, no pronunciations. Hopefully someone listening to the audio book will put together a guide. Usually the way I'm pronouncing them in my head is so far removed what what they actually sound like but I've been pronouncing them as E-daz, Sah-bran and Tan-yay for the three main female characters. I've more than likely butchered those though.
DeleteThis sounds awesome. But 848 pages? Did it take you all month to read? I love your breakdown of the main players. I want to know more about The Nameless One now. Putting this on my radar!
ReplyDeleteRebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
I'm on the verge of finishing it now actually but wanted to write a prereview for the blog tour. Ten days it's taken with only minimal reading each day. I could have probably finished it over the course of a weekend but sadly life needed my attention.
DeleteThat last bit -- is it a quote from the book? Bc damn do I love it! This sounds fabulous -- and I am loving that these women really do run this world/.
ReplyDeleteIt is! The women each in their own right are absolutely remarkable and the world Samantha Shannon created was incredibly empowering.
DeleteThis book seems epic. Love that women are at the forefront in this one.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
You managed to finish this beast? Awesome! :D
ReplyDeleteI've obviously seen this is coming out (the world would allow no one to forget it was coming out I've seen it everywhere) but I haven't actually seen many reviews so I didn't bother buying yet. Now I want to march out and purchase immediately because who doesn't want a powerful feminist read in their hands? I am all for books about women showing they are powerful and awesome.
ReplyDeleteI really want to read this one, but it's a beast! 848 pages?! What if I dropped this one my face while I was reading in bed? I could give myself a black eye! Haha. I do like that this post is celebrating the female characters in this book, and I know I will inevitably read it. Maybe I'll wait for the audio... no broken noses. ;)
ReplyDeleteLindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬