hannahpings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
at the same time though, for me it's cursed with having been a good book that also could have been better. overall, priory's pacing is good––it comes out swinging and still manages a good amount exposition, the action is well-timed, it's engaging every step of the way––but there are significant gaps and skips throughout, and especially so in the final third. journeys that once took immense narrative tolls and lasted close to 40 pages are reduced to quotidian, one-sentence tasks that seem to exist only because not mentioning them would render the plot unadvanceable. characters make choices that, while you can see how they might make sense given the adequate development, are complete opposites of their intentions up until that point without the text taking the time or putting in the work to achieve that development. things that are given immense weight and word counts early on are not held to the same standard later and are treated like whims, if they're acknowledged at all. (the story's climax is overly convenient too, but it was an emotionally satisfying one, even if a little more mess was to be desired.)
samantha shannon has created a worthy fantasy epic; it's a wold i don't want to leave, a necessary addition to the genre, and one both accessible (even for folks who don't like fantasy or who may be revisiting it for the first time in years) and that made me excited to have to flip to the map or appendices every few pages. all the same, it's hard not to feel that by the end of the book, shannon was ready to be done with it, and glossed over chunks of the narrative accordingly. priory is a story and scope worthy of three, 300–400-page books, and it's hard to understand why it wasn't given the adequate time to breathe and grow into itself.
ultimately though, that's not my decision, and in the end i'm still happy with what we got: something relatively well-written, intercultural and anti-hegemonic, compelling and whose characters it's impossible not to root for, and to whose world i can't wait to return.
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Animal death, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Bullying, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Gore, Incest, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Blood, Classism, Death, Racism, Infertility, Medical content, and Sexual content
Moderate: Rape, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Torture, Trafficking, Suicide, and Panic attacks/disorders
incest/rape:Spoiler
one character adopts and raises a baby boy as her own, acting as and ultimately becoming his mother. when he gets older, she decides she is interested in him both romantically and sexually, pursues him, and he rejects her advances, telling her he would never consent to either. she is a shapeshifter, and takes on the appearance of the woman in whom he is interested. under the impression that she is someone else, he begins a sexual relationship with her, they marry, and she has a child. she then reveals her true identity to him.Spoiler
kalyba and galianfanboyriot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Death, Infertility, Child death, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Violence, Murder, Grief, Gore, Death of parent, Torture, Sexual content, War, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Genocide, Bullying, Outing, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Classism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Incest, Infidelity, Addiction, and Gaslighting
Minor: Dementia, Sexual assault, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Rape, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, War, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Blood
Moderate: Classism, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Animal death, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Sexism, Confinement, Torture, Medical content, and Sexual content
Minor: Incest, Child death, Pedophilia, Suicide, Excrement, Self harm, Vomit, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity
Illness, epidemic.adrianacheerios's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Miscarriage
Minor: Rape
americiumam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Dementia, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, War, Classism, Infidelity, Outing, Racism, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Slavery, Addiction, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Minor: Stalking, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Incest, Genocide, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Racism
schnaucl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I thought the cultures were both interesting, although not necessarily well balanced.
Spoiler
I'm not sure what the West got right, aside from the fact that Ascalon was the sword that could wound the Nameless One. But they were wrong about the part of all the participants, their entire religion was based mostly on a lie, and they were wrong about the dragons of the East.I also liked the characters, particularly Ead, Tane and Loth.
Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infertility, Confinement, Pregnancy, War, Death of parent, Infidelity, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Animal death, and Violence
Minor: Vomit, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Sexual assault, Suicide, Rape, and Mental illness
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, Violence, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Rape, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Death of parent, Incest, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Infidelity, Dementia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Torture
carmine_b's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Gore and War
Minor: Toxic relationship, Rape, and Suicide
tea_overload's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Rape
rosequarterdrifting's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Spoiler
"This Jannart—the man you loved,"
she said, looking him dead in the eye. "Do you think he would want you to give up, or carry on?"
"I don't want to carry on! Do you not understand? Does nobody in this world understand, damn you? ls no one else haunted?" A quiver of wrath entered his voice. "Everything I did—everything I was—everything I am, is because of him. He was someone before me. I am no one without him. I am tired of living without him at my side. He left me for that book and, by the Saint, I resent him for it. I resent him every minute of every day."
i liked the setting and characters but imo it was badly underedited and i didn't feel like the final battle had any stakes :( the characters had
Spoiler
defeated the oddsGraphic: Miscarriage
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Dementia, Gore, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia