Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

15 reviews

clovetra's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i find this book so hard to rate. on one hand, this is probably the best fantasy book i’ve ever read, and i immediately want to read the prequel. on the other hand, i did find some issues with this. anyways im gonna break my thoughts down & maybe that’ll edge me into a decision:

- i loved ead. i would marry ead if she was real. i love her. her overall characterisation was sublime, and although her ending is bittersweet, it is overall good.

- sabran underwent one of the best arcs i’ve read. going from a mean, arrogant, stubborn women to a

forgiving, understanding and someone open and actively causing change

was amazing to read. her ending was perfect, as was her dialogue. no notes

- i found myself getting… bored at times with tané. i like her sure. but compared to ead’s main story, not as much happened here. her story only really felt as though it picked up like 65% into this book. which for a book that is 800 pages….. that’s too long

- loth was ok! like it was written well, but i didn’t grow beyond anything to just liking him, and found his story often to be a waste of time

- roos can go choke. i don’t care. i don’t even care if the intention was to have a main character so insufferable. i hated him & his chapters and i wish him pain and suffering even though he’s not even real.

i would say the overarching plot was so intriguing. it felt perfectly paced, and had plot twists galore. so much kept changing, so i was constantly on the edge of my seat. i saw a review saying this book rambled a lot and honestly, i disagree! this book absolutely needed the pages it did. it would not be as good of a book as it is. i mean yeah it could’ve been split into multiple books but i felt like it defo needed all its pages. 

but, it wasn’t perfect. for one, so much was going on all the time, meaning i would forget shit. like this is the first book ive actively had to note take just to grasp. that also ties in with the fact nothing is explained!!!! i mean obviously a lot is explained, but many crucial foundations to this story are not explained, and either thrown into the glossary & timeline. that is all fair & dandy, but i should not have to search ur book to remember who crucial characters are! sure if they’re random side character A ok u don’t need to explain them, but when you don’t explain what the fuck virtuedom even is, or the dukes court (i don’t even remember the name oh my god). like i still could not remember who was the duke spiritual, a crest, a goldenbirch, or combe. like please set some foundations. ur big bad should not be explained in the fucking glossary!!!!!!!!!!!! also come on not explaining simple things like what an ichneumon is. (edit: google is confusing me as to whether these are even real. but seriously what happened to death of the author. i should not have to consult anything BUT the text to know what’s going on imo).

that is the biggest “issue” imo holding this book back for me. it just expects you to be aware of how its world works. like yes should i have glanced at the glossary & timeline before beginning? yeah. did the glossary & timeline also have a shitload of spoilers? YEAH. like ??????

i very much did love this book, i would literally die for ead, sabran & tané, and wanted to cry when i realised i was done. but idk the lacklustre worldbuilding foundations were infuriating. goinng further with the worldbuilding e.g. the story of cleolind, the priory, etc. was great! the layers needed to build up to that though were…. lacking. 
edit: i lied even tho i said this book did flop in parts i actually don’t care because this book made me so emotional & it feels wrong not having this as a 5-star based on how much it made me feel

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Dementia

kelisabeth's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

hannahpings's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• 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

i grappled with the rating on this one a little bit, because in terms of likability and recommendation, this book is a solid four to five stars: i loved it! i was engaged the whole time! i dragged my feet finishing it because i was sad it's over! i still am!

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, and Death of parent

incest/rape:

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.

if you would like to know the characters, they are

kalyba and galian

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bessadams's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Racism, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic

snackattackisback69's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• 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

The rich world building and character development of this story were phenomenal. The multiple POVs and the shorter chapters made the story flow and made the length of the book much more digestible. The sapphic romance in this book was also incredible. My one issue is the finale of book felt a little anticlimactic due to how short it was in comparison to the large build up throughout the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

themelleh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• 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

It took me a while to read this because I was moving and hit a slump. Also the first half is pretty much world building and setting up the second half. But then I have been voracious and determined to clear the books in my still reading pile and I’ve manage to hack away at this over the last two weeks.

I was so invested to the point where my hand gripping my hair and audible gasps had my partner asking if I was okay (I was not). 

Very much looking forward to the next one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Torture, Blood, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and War

americiumam's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

Minor: Genocide, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

3.5 stars, in an extraordinary--albeit unfortunate--case of 'it's not u, it's me.' the priory of the orange tree is a technically remarkable epic fantasy that deserves all the praises it's gotten, but also one that i regrettably lack any personal chemistry or sparks w/, and yes it hurts me to admit that.

never have i read a story so vast in scope, detailed in its lore & legends, steeped in religion. additionally, it's imaginative and fresh, and manages to expertly weave all its scattered narratives tgt (sidenote: this book actually reminds me of the poppy war in its worldbuilding, historical inspo, and fire vs water magic). unfortunately, i think its vast scope's a double-edged sword. bc of its sheer range, we constantly jump around from one location and narrative to another; coupling this lack of prolonged focus w/ the (understandable) 3rd person pov, no character--even the main ones--is explored deep enough for my liking, and ultimately i dont feel any real connection w/ them. this affects my enjoyment--or rather my experience of the book: i couldnt fully immerse myself in the book, despite all the adventures, new lands, dragons, escapes, and court intrigue. it was like i was watching it all happen from a detached distance, and didnt rly feel anything no matter what's happening, despite all the countless times the main characters were imperiled. and that's...not fun bc i highly value emotional connection and evocation in my books. another quabble, although a minor one, is the ultimate dragon-wyrm showdown, where i felt like the power imbalance didnt make sense: the wyrms could breathe fire while the dragons could only fly, and for the dragons to be at a disadvantage during the battle even tho they were water creatures literally fighting in the damn ocean???

honestly, this book's rly good. i particularly enjoyed the thought-provoking exploration of religious differences, themes of open-mindedness and duty, many morally gray characters (not loth tho, thats why i have a soft spot for him), worldbuilding, and feminist msg. it's also prolly the first book w/ pet-human bond trope that melts my hard heart. unfortunately, it didnt rly click w/ me, and the lack of emotional connection--that frustrating absence of some spark, a lil sth--makes this a rly-good-but-not-yet-great read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, and War

Moderate: Biphobia, Chronic illness, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Death of parent

tieflingkisser's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Gore, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail