The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon is a behemoth of a book (848 pages!). I've read The Bone Season by this same author and didn't love it, but this book is on r/Fantasy's Top Books by Women and I dove right in.

We are introduced to a world divided. The West despises dragons. The East likes some dragons. But the Nameless One, a really bad dragon, is rising again, and will destroy both East and West if something isn't done. We follow several points of view, but let's just say that a Western queen, her handmaiden, and a dragonrider from the East must work together to save the world. 

I'm quite torn on this book. On one hand, I thought The Nine Realms was better, but it was also twice as long. On the other hand, who am I do deny feminist fantasy tales?  

There's a lot to like about this book, but I think I'm going to just say that it wasn't exactly a book that resonated with me. I liked the world building, I liked the dragons, and I liked what the story was trying to say about women in power. However, I thought that we just didn't spend enough time with the characters for me to truly understand them and their motivations. Since I felt slightly removed from all the characters, I just didn't really enjoy the book. I almost wanted this to be longer (maybe two or three 500-page books instead of crammed into one giant book) so I could really spend time with the characters and get to know them. I really felt like all I was doing was reading about people trying to save the world without actually caring much if the world was actually saved.

The Good: The writing, the world, the dragons

The Bad: The superficial characters, not enough of the talking mongoose

Overall: Eh. 3/5 stars

Lines of note:

"Sometimes I feel very small, and very dull, as if even the ceilings are more magnificent than I will ever be." (page 37)

Ha ha. How often I feel this way.

How suddenly a life could crumble. (page 46)

It's a truth, I guess, that we're all just one car accident away from an entirely new life.

A portrait of the Saint gazed down from a wall. Sir Galian Berethnet, direct ancestor to Sabran. Raised aloft in his hand was Ascalon, the True Sword, namesake of the capital.
Ead thought he looked a thorough dolt. (page 78)

Ha ha. I liked the juxtaposition of the description of this old artifact and a character's immediate criticism. 

"You have not seen death, my lord. You have only seen the mask we put on it." (page 127)

I think this is one of the main problems with the COVID response in the US. Too many people are removed from what the process of death really looks like.

"Arteloth, we are courtiers. We have no useful instincts."
Loth had no counterstroke. (page 127)

It's like being an academic!

"...I do not fear that which I do not understand." (page 460)

Is this bravery or stupidity?  You decide.

"...Yes, Papa, I'm here. I'm sorry to have left you for so long." She kissed his hand. "Forgive me."
He lifted her chin with one finger.
"Margret," he said, "you are my child. I forgave you all your sins on the first day of your life." (page 580)

I thought this was a charming passage of parental love - there aren't a ton of good parental role models in this book, so it sort of snuck up on me.

"Just because something has always been done does not mean that it ought to be done." (page 604)

Right! Tradition can often lead to terrible things.

"Change the way things are."
"You speak as if nothing was ever easier." Sabran shook her head. "As if custom and tradition have no hold on the world. They are what shapes the world." (page 608)

It's important for leaders to think about how the world will receive their orders, isn't it?

"My mother always said it was best to receive bad news in winter, when everything is already dark. So one can heal for spring," she said...(page 610)

As I read this in the heart of February, all I could think about was how very dark the world is.

This was why Niclays had never understood Jannart's obsession. History was miserable. (page 664)

After just having read How to Be a Victorian, I get this. The past doesn't seem very romantic, does it? 

Things I looked up:

wyverling (page 13, and then a million other times): A young wyvern and a wyvern is a two-legged winged Draconic creature.

Source. 

carcanet (page 35, and then several more times): A jeweled chain or necklace. 
lucent (page 35): Glowing with, or giving off, light.
sanctarian (page 39): I think this is a synonym for sectarian, but a lot of google searches just end up coming back to this book, so my understanding is based mostly on context clues and the existence of the Sanctarian National Times. 
opriment (page 58): A deep-colored orange-yellow arsenic sulfide mineral found around volcanoes and hot springs.
amphiptere (page 71): A type of winged serpent, often found in European heraldry, but actually existing in this book's world. 

Source. 

ophitaur (page 71): A creature that is part bull and part serpent. Maybe it's the creature on the cover of the book?
jaculus (page 71): A small mythical serpent or dragon.
gorbellied (page 72): Corpulent, with a protruding belly.
pomander (page 126): A ball or perforated container of sweet-smelling substances such as herbs and spices, placed in a closet, drawer, or room to perfume the air or carried as a supposed protection against infection.
loach (page 147): A type of fish.
masque (page 171): A form of amateur dramatic entertainment which consists of dancing and acting performed by masked players.
baselard (page 191): A dagger or short sword.
decoction (page 200): The liquor resulting from concentrating the essence of a substance by heating or boiling, especially a medicinal preparation made from a plant.
setwall (page 200); The valerian plant, valued highly for its restorative properties. 
baldachin (page 238): An ornate canopy.
ichneumon (page 256, and then a lot more): A mongoose - the enemy of the dragon in medieval literature.
bodmin (page 289):  A (fictional) wildcat. Its fur is war and expensive. 
clement (page 291): (Of weather) mild. 
armillary sphere (page 303): Known as astrolabe, a model of objects in the sky, consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on the Earth or the Sun.
moil (page 311): work hard
waff (page 311): To wave or flutter or to cause to do so. (Synonym for wafted?)
corncockle (page 314): Plant that is pretty and poisonous. 
swallet (page 314): Underground stream.
quarl (page 353, and then a few more times): A jellyfish.
tabor (page 378): A small drum used to accompany oneself on a pipe or fife.
rutilant (page 420): Glowing or glittering with red or golden light.
calignous (page 439): Misty, dark, obscure, dim.
liana (page 455):  A woody climbing plant that hangs from trees, especially in tropical rainforests.
eldritch (page 463): Weird and sinister or ghostly.
olyphant (page 494): More common spelling is oliphant, meaning elephant or a hunter's horn made from an elephant tusk.
spoor (page 515): The track or scent of an animal.
attifet (page 548): A headdress worn by women that dips in the middle, lending it a heart like shape.

Source. 

charnel garden (page 549): A place where bones are buried, usually attached to a sanctuary. 
perry (page 578): A sweet pear cider. 
inglenook (page 579): A space on either side of a large fireplace.
gyre (page 647): A spiral or vortex.
cicely (page 717): An aromatic white-flowered plant of the parsley family, with fernlike leaves.
mereswine (page 803): A dolphin or a porpoise. 

burbot (page 551): A type of fish.