A Day of Fallen Night (The Roots of Chaos)

The New York Times bestselling stunning, standalone prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree.

“A magnificent, sweeping epic. Shannon has created a world rich in intricate mythology, beautifully realized and complex.” Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne

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.

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880 pages

Average rating: 7.67

6 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Anonymous
Mar 13, 2024
8/10 stars
Priory of an Orange Tree felt complicated and obfuscated. So I'm not sure why I read A Day of Fallen Night except that I was in the mood for getting lost in language and that is something that Samantha Shannon can do for me. I am certainly glad that the library conspired to drop this gem of a novel on me. The story was easier to follow and the characters were likable. I felt at home with them. I liked that I was being told three separate stories steeped in their own lore, culture, and religions. It was interesting to see how each responded to the same environmental struggles.
Anonymous
Jan 27, 2024
8/10 stars
finally finished this monster oh my GOODNESS it's been almost a MONTH

ok!!! wow!!!! 3.5 - this was so vibrant and well-written!! i loved many parts of this sooo much, especially glorian and tunuva <3333 and all the worldbuilding and setup for the events of priory as well. mostly i love how absolutely gay this book is, THIS is what we (i) want in terms of gay fantasy !!! it doesn't feel tokenized at all, it's just such a natural part of the world - authors have such freedom to do what they like with fantasy, this is how you should use that power!!

-Spoilers Ahead-

favorite parts: LOVED glorian's whole arc, from being the teenage girl filled with self-doubt and scared of her duty living in the shadow of her mother, to a queen thrust into dark times after her parents are killed, forced to take charge to protect the people she loves while also grieving and dealing with the magnitude personal responsibility she has to fulfill. shannon truly impressed me here because i did not think it was possible to make this transformation happen without it being a little ooc at times... but she did it !!! definitely one of the more interesting and satisfying parts of the story.
also i loveeeee tunuva melim and the priory
rtwilliams
Jun 28, 2023
6/10 stars
A coming of age story about a 15-year-old Nigerian boy who has family troubles is in love with a white girl named Eileen and is best friends with a Muslim girl named Fatima. The writing is good, the storyline was ok. I have some questions about the ending.

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