The Priory of the Orange Tree

I held off on this one for a while due to the length, but I'm glad I finally gave it a go.

There are a LOT of character introductions throughout the book, and listening to this on audiobook, I had to frequently pause to try to remember who was who. I would probably recommend pairing with the book itself to help with tracking if that's usually an issue for you as well when listening. It got a lot easier once some of the characters started dying haha.

I'm not usually one for high fantasy just due to the overall reading time that is usually involved. But I really appreciated that you have the whole story wrapped up in this book. While it is a part of a trilogy, this is very much a standalone book. I think if I had realized that, I would have picked it up sooner. Definitely glad that I gave it a chance.

This book is often compared to "Lord of the Rings". I think that's somewhat misleading because while there are some superficial parallels it's very different. While LotR is an attempt to create a modern saga, Priory of the Orange Tree is a modern take on high fantasy. It has something in common with LotR: I devoured it in the span of a week, just like when I first read LotR. The world-building is tremendous and must have required years. The book has everything: knights, royalty, pirates, dragons, vikings and witches and takes place in several distant places at once. I also liked the author's depiction of the various religions and how none of them had the complete answer. The characters are flawed but in a realistic way - good people in odd places who have to overcome prejudices and preconceptions. The scope of the tales is epic and even though the book is long I felt it could and perhaps should have been longer. Not all of the fascinating places and characters in this story get the attention they deserve. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and immediately proceded to the prequel.