4.5 stars

I really am cursed to fall for doomed characters huh?

A Day of Fallen Night, the prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree was a behemoth of a book. Clocking in at 860 pages, it's more complex and denser than Priory. The length of the book didn't really daunt me. I had loved Priory when I first read it in the depths of the pandemic and I was ready to devour anything Shannon wrote set in the same world. While I still ended up liking Priory more than Fallen Night, the prequel stands bold and firm on its own.

Fallen Night is a complex tale chock full of adventure, action, heartbreak and mystery. It's just as queer as Priory, and rekindles my love for this amazing world Shannon has created. The first 100 or so pages is the Prologue which effectively serves as a short history recap that sets the stage for the events of the book. Some might be intimidated by that, but Shannon utilizes every single page in enriching the world building and developing and tangling the character relationships. By the end, even the supporting characters are exceedingly well-developed.

The cast of characters is huge, and at first, it gets difficult to keep track of who's who, but the glossary and dramatis personae accompanying the book are very very helpful. Among the 4 main characters of the tale, Wulf and Dumai were easily my favourites. I loved Tane's chapters in Prioiry primarily because of all the cool water dragons and that remained the same for Dumai's chapters in this book. I loved how much lore we uncovered about the Age of Fire and the Age of Night, as well as her wonderful dynamic with Nikeya. Their romance was very very slow burn but the payoff was wonderful. I loved how tender and emotional her scenes were.

I also firmly believe Dumai didn't die and she was the Maiden Officiant that gave Nikeya the golden comb at the end. Just as a firmly believe Tane was fine at the end of Priory

Wulf's story arc might have been the best in the entire book. The mystery surrounding his birth and how witchy all his encounters would be lent a great deal of mystery to his character. and the reveal of his backstory was skillfully handled. I loved his dynamic with Glorian and Tunuva and his lith. He served as a great character that tied all the different narratives together, and I had the most fun reading his chapters. It's been a while since I read Priory but I don't remember if he was ever mentioned in it, or what he ended up doing later on.

Glorian Shieldheart, ancestor to our beloved Sabran IX in Prioiry was such a tragic character. I found Sab's story very sad in Priory, the way she had to suffer the lies of her ancestor and the grief she had to bear in order to continue the lies. The tragedy stretches back to Glorian. It was interesting to see a character on the asexual spectrum deal with the pressures of queendom and producing an heir. I really felt for Glorian, and it seems like Shannon reserves the greatest pain for her Berethnet queens, and my hobby is crying over every single one of them.

I think my favourite thing about the prequel is that we actually get to see the Priory for more than a couple of chapters. We get to see their lifestyle and the different members of the priory and how they wield their magics. Tunuva's chapters might have been my least favourite in the book. I just didn't like the continuous Odessey-esque narration it had. Tuva spend almost 500 of the 800 pages travelling from one place to another and that just wore me out. I loved her scenes with Esbar and Siyu and

Wulf!

. But I just wasn't interested in those chapters. A shame since I enjoyed Ead's chapters in the South in Priory

In terms of the plot, I found it slightly weaker than Priory, mainly because a lot of the characters don't have much agency and much of the book is action and fighting dragons and lots of suffering and waiting around for the comet to come and solve everything. I guess writing a prequel can be restricting, and it can be difficult not to retcon stuff, but I would have liked some more planning and wit on the character's side, instead of just suffering horribly.


However, reading the prequel has me itching to reread The Priory of the Orange Tree, since I've forgotten a lot of what happened. And at the end of the day, I think that is the mark of a great prequel. One that has you wondering about what else could happen in this world. In that, Shannon pretty much succeeded and I look forward to reading the 3rd book she has apparently sold the rights to The Roots of Chaos. Cue another 4-year long wait!