Title: The Day of Fallen Night
Author: Samantha Shannon
ISBN: 978 1635 5779 21
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Pages: 880
Source: Jonathan Ball Publishers
In A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.
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.
Official Summary
18 April 2023
Thank you, Jonathan Ball Publishers, for sending me a review copy of this book.
When I requested this book, I saw that it was a prequel to ‘The Priory of the Orange Tree’ and I had seen nothing but praise for this book. So, I figured the first book was so big that starting with the prequel would be a great way to dive into the world. My only mistake was assuming the prequel would be smaller.
The Priory’s existence is threatened, the dragons that have been asleep for a long time are awakening, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King, in the hope to save both realms, Dumai must awaken the gods and protect herself from the person intent on destroying her and when Dreadmount erupts these three women must be prepared and capable of protecting their people from its threat of extinction.
All I can say is WOW! A lot of things happened in this book. At first, it started out extremely slow, just like any other fantasy book. The world-building, although crucial to the story in the long run, was a bit tiring to get through. However, once I got past the first hundred and fifty pages or so, that is when things really sped up. Considering the size of this book, I read this one fairly quickly. I do think this is now, the thickest book I have read.
Speaking of world-building, this world was amazing! Some of the places in this book were described with such detail and care that I swear I was in those landscapes myself.
I honestly loved the three main female characters in this book. If they each got their own books, I would read them in a heartbeat. I loved how their stories all joined together and how they perfectly fit. I loved the strong feminist energy this book had.
I will say the one thing that I will forever find funny, is the names of things and people in fantasy books. I swear they get more and more outrageous. This book is no stranger to that, as there were times when I had no clue how to pronounce some of those words. I am still lost with the character’s name, Aubrecht.
Overall I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good and detailed fantasy world to dive into.
Also by Samantha Shannon
The Priory of the Orange Tree
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 dragon rider 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.
About The Author
Author Bio from the Author’s Site
Samantha Shannon is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author. She was born in West London in 1991 and started writing in abundance when she was twelve. She studied English Language and Literature at St Anne’s College, Oxford, from 2010 to 2013, specialising in the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Principles of Film Criticism.
In 2013, at the age of 21, she published The Bone Season, the internationally bestselling first installment in a seven-book series of fantasy novels. Its first sequel, The Mime Order, was published in 2015, and the next, The Song Rising, in 2017. The fourth installment, The Mask Falling, is her most recent work, published in 2021. Her first book outside the series, The Priory of the Orange Tree, was a finalist in the Lambda Literary Awards 2020. Its prequel, A Day of Fallen Night, will hit shelves in February 2023.
She is currently working on the fifth book in the Bone Season series.
Samantha is represented by David Godwin at DGA.
Thanks for reading, let me know what you think in the comments below.
Goodbye…….
