Because of the huge numbers of pages, the English edition of The Priory of the Orange Tree has, the German publisher decided to split the book into two volumes. So don´t be confused if you read my review about the second part and the different rating.
Der Orden Des Geheimen Baumes Die Königin*
by Samantha ShannonKönigin Von Inys Dilogy #2
Translation Wolfgang Thon
Original Title The Priory Of The Orange Tree**
Publisher Penhaligon on October 19, 2020
Genre Fantasy
Pages 537
Format Hardcover
Source Penhaligon
Goodreads
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Three heroines. An Enemy. The nameless awakens.Queen Sabran is trapped in her own palace. She tries everything to escape, but only when the magician Ead returns from the monastery of the secret tree and supports her, does she manage to escape. Together they set out to track down the magical sword Ascalon, the only weapon that can kill the nameless dragon. But in the forbidden forests, they not only find hope, but Sabran also has to realize that her entire life is based on a terrible lie. Does she still have the right to call herself Queen of Inys? (personal translation by ©Vi at Inkvotary).
Story
Ead is back at the palace and finds herself in a dangerous position. Her sisters, the members of the Priory of the Orange Tree are not happy that she went back against the order of The Mother to help Sabran. And with the task, to tell Sabran the truth about her life and the lie she was living all the time, her best friend Loth must step in and help the Queen in her fight against their enemy.
Style
At first, I had my troubles with the story. I couldn´t really get into the novel and it took me a few chapters to get back into the plot. The reading pace was slow, and some scenes were a bit boring to read. That changed after a few chapters and from then on, I found myself in a swirl of emotions, great action, tension, and great characters. The author hasn´t changed her style of writing or her tone or how she describes things. But with all of the bloody scenes and the fact that she´s now brought together all of the storylines she used to tell the story in Part One, I had my reading pleasure and literally enjoyed every page of the novel.
Unexpected twists and turns and a few surprises, good and bad, made me turn the pages almost impatiently and eagerly read on. I could literally see what was happening right in front of my inner eye. Seeing Ead become what she dreamed of and have another character stripped of her status was very entertaining. And the running story revealed things that surprised or shocked me out of the blue.
Characters
Ead is back at the palace and in a dangerous situation. Her sisters do everything to make her keep her mouth shut. The way how she handles it and how she sacrificed everything for only one person, was wonderful to read. The author knows how to bring her various figures into a difficult situation. The lies, the intrigues, and the cruelty Ead and all the others have to face were amazingly great.
Conclusion
Good, the end was a bit weak for my taste. But the novel until that was one hell of a fantastic read. This second book of the dilogy was great entertainment and one reading pleasure. Highly recommended.
Happy reading
*This book was kindly provided to me by Penhaligon in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thank you. Therefore, the cover of the German edition is shown first in this review.
** Note for all international readers: This book has been split into a dilogy by the German publisher because of the huge number of pages the English edition has. The English edition was published by Bloomsbury London on February 26th, 2019.
Deutsche Rezension
Stil
Zuerst hatte ich meine Schwierigkeiten mit der Geschichte. Ich konnte keinen wirklichen Zugang zum Roman finden und brauchte einige Kapitel, um wieder in die Handlung einzusteigen. Das Lesetempo war langsam und einige Szenen waren etwas langweilig zu lesen. Das änderte sich nach ein paar Kapiteln und von da an befand ich mich in einem Strudel an Emotionen, großartiger Action, Spannung und großartigen Figuren. Die Autorin hat weder ihren Schreibstil noch ihren Ton geändert oder wie sie Dinge beschreibt. Aber mit all den blutigen Szenen und der Tatsache, dass sie jetzt alle Handlungsstränge zusammengebracht hat, mit denen sie die Geschichte in Teil eins erzählt hat, hatte ich mein Lesevergnügen und genoss buchstäblich jede Seite des Romans.
Unerwartete Wendungen und einige Überraschungen, gut und schlechte, ließen mich die Seiten fast ungeduldig umblättern und begierig weiterlesen. Ich konnte buchstäblich sehen, was direkt vor meinem inneren Auge geschah. Zu sehen, wie Ead zu dem wurde, wovon sie geträumt hatte und dass eine andere Figur ihr Status genommen wurde, war sehr unterhaltsam. Und die laufende Geschichte enthüllte Dinge, die mich aus heiterem Himmel überraschten oder schockierten.
Charaktere
Ead ist zurück im Palast und in einer gefährlichen Situation. Ihre Schwestern tun alles, damit sie den Mund hält. Es war wunderbar zu lesen, wie sie damit umging und wie sie alles für nur eine Person opferte. Die Autorin weiß, wie sie ihre verschiedenen Figuren in eine schwierige Situation bringen kann. Die Lügen, die Intrigen und die Grausamkeit, mit denen Ead und alle anderen konfrontiert sind, waren erstaunlich großartig.
Resultat
Gut, das Ende war für meinen Geschmack etwas schwach. Aber der Roman bis dahin war eine verdammt fantastische Lektüre. Dieses zweite Buch der Dilogie war großartige Unterhaltung und ein absolutes Lesevergnügen. Sehr empfehlenswert.
Samantha Shannon
Samantha Shannon is the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Season series. Her work has been translated into twenty-six languages. This is her fourth novel and her first outside of The Bone Season series. She lives in London.
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