[New post] A DAY OF FALLEN NIGHT by Samantha Shannon
atakefromtwocities posted: " The stunning, standalone prequel to the New York Times bestselling The Priory of the Orange Tree. Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms – but none have appeared since the Nameless One, an" A Take from Two Cities
The stunning, standalone prequel to the New York Times bestselling The Priory of the Orange Tree.
Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms – but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation is starting to question the Priory's purpose.
To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hróth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian, trails in their shadow – exactly where she wants to be.
The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seiikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. Now someone from her mother's past is coming to upend her fate.
When the Dreadmount erupts, bringing with it an age of terror and violence, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat.
Intricate and epic, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the world of A Priory of the Orange Tree, showing us a course of events that shaped it for generations to come.
Title : A Day of Fallen Night Author : Samantha Shannon Series : Roots of Chaos #0 Format : eARC Page Count : 880 Genre : Fantasy Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing Release Date : February 28, 2023
Reviewer : Micky Rating : ★ ★ ★ .5
Micky's 3.5 star review
Headlines: Complex characters, connections, lands and strategy Strong women, still beholden Celestial awakenings
Well, this has been an epic undertaking of an epic tale. I was a stalwart fan of Priory of the Orange Tree and this precursor landed the reader in familiar settings but with a host of new characters with similar traditions. I didn't like A Day of Fallen Night as much as Priory but it does sit well as a companion. In retrospect, I still think the best reading order is Priory first.
The story revolved around four main POVs, sometimes they were long and sometimes shorter. At first, I felt like I was just getting to know that particular character when it flipped around the compass. Shannon excels at deep characterisation. I went from favouring Dumai to finding both Glorian and Wulf to be final favourites. Glorian found her strength and her stride around half way and she was utterly courageous. I loved Glorian's father too. There were side characters (and some main characters) that never really pulled me in like Nikeya, Esbar and Tuneva. Queer relationships abounded and were woven beautifully into the world.
The story pitched contrasting beliefs and traditions but all the lands found themselves at the mercy of awakening fire breathers. The strategy was difficult to follow sometimes but overall, I managed it. It took time for the stories to connect but honestly, I didn't mind that as most were interesting on their own.
The read overall was slow moving. I really appreciated listening on audio for pronunciation and multiple POV/multiple narrators. The narration was well acted but really slow so I had to speed up way beyond my usual to get a normal pace. It took me about 6 weeks to navigate this one.
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