a day of fallen night by samantha shannon

But for its author, setting A Day of Fallen Night in a time period so far removed from the events of the series’ first novel was strangely freeing. Set centuries before the events of that novel during a tragic period known as the Grief of Ages, when deadly wyrms rise from the earth, leaving destruction and a deadly plague in their wake, its characters have long since passed into the realm of legend by the time Priory takes place. “Ī Day of Fallen Night is technically a prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree.

It might be like, don’t know, says that you have a very cold country-how do people keep warm? Or vice versa for a hot country, how do they keep cool? If it’s a desert country, how are they getting water? I just keep asking myself questions and the more I come up with answers, hopefully, each one of those answers is like a little stitch in a tapestry, giving the world depth and texture. “But in terms of worldbuilding-and I do this with my Bone Season series as well-the way I build worlds is essentially by asking myself questions and forcing myself to come up with the answers. “I’m going to completely horrify you by saying that I just have a really good memory,’ author Samantha Shannon laughs when asked how she keeps the specifics of her sprawling universe straight. The history of the Nameless One and the various figures connected to his initial rise and defeat is but one example of Shannon’s rich, detailed worldbuilding throughout this series, which fuses half a dozen seemingly disparate kingdoms and central characters into a cohesive whole, grounding them in centuries of the sort of history and myth that feel as though they belong in a college-level antiquities class. (Though what those protective measures should be will also depend on who you ask.) The various legends surrounding his creation, eventual defeat, and subjugation all vary depending on the culture of the historians telling the story, but one thing is clear: The threat is ever present, and vigilance is required. Beautifully written and meticulously plotted, both The Priory of the Orange Tree and its prequel, A Day of Fallen Night ground sweeping, potentially apocalyptic events in emotional, deeply human stories of connection, love, and family.Ī story of dragons and queens, warrior mages, and religious scholars literally spread across the four corners of the world, both books essentially focus on the age-old conflict between humankind and the monstrous servants of a great wyrm known as the Nameless One who sleeps at the center of the earth. Samantha Shannon’s Roots of Chaos series is the epitome of everything that’s right about the fantasy genre right now: A rich, sprawling, female-focused tale that spans centuries and kingdoms, these are doorstopper old-school fantasy epics that are tremendously easy to get lost in.

A day of fallen night by samantha shannon