A Sweeping Epic

Unquestionably an epic story for fans of THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE, or of high fantasy in general. Having such a large and complex cast makes for an engaging reading experience in this deep, action filled world of politics and gods.

There are plenty of characters to get attached to, including the powerful Tunuva Melim, Princess Glorian and her friend Wulf, and Dumai, a young woman raised on a temple who must confront the world and its increasing dangers. They are all allowed complicated plotlines that allow them to expand and grow in refreshing ways until their inevitable collision. I enjoyed Wulf and Tunuva's plotlines the most, especially when the revelations began. They are all vulnerable and strong, and one does not outshine the other in my opinion.

As with PRIORY, this is a complicated world with a dense political plot and rules. It took a little bit for me to recall everything from PRIORY to remember some of the teases to the initial book, yet I deeply never felt that it was too much for any reader who enjoys high fantasy. This is helped by the clear and elegant prose.

The story is long, with each subplot taking the readers on an adventure with characters and the overarching threat. This takes place over a span of years, but I never felt anything was left out for the sake of time. Sure there were moments I would have liked to see grow, but given how big this book is, I can understand why certain things needed to be sacrificed for the sake of time.

There are plenty of action scenes to keep the flow of the pace, all leading to a powerful ending that is filled with emotion and raw power from the main characters. It was an excellent ending to a book that asks for time and dedication to be thoroughly enjoyed.

And I did enjoy it. A DAY OF FALLEN NIGHT is perfect for anyone who is looking to scratch that high fantasy, political itch. It's a stunning tale filled with everything from conspiracy to romance to sacrifice, and is not to be missed!

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Worth every minute!

I know this is almost 40 hours long, but just do it! I paced myself by listening 1.5hrs a day during my commute (and occasionally during chores and mundane tasks at work) and it took me about 3 months to get through and I am honest to goodness contemplating starting it all over again because I enjoyed it that much! The 4 narrators absolutely SLAY their roles. I wish all narrators put this much love and effort into their readings. And this beautiful, sapphic, slow-burn epic is worth every minute.

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Excellent read

I am satisfied with this read I had a hard time putting it down. I highly recommend the rwad

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Wow!

Wow! Intricate world! Compelling story! Amazing queer representation!! POV characters of different ages and life stages! I am way too invested! This one easily falls in my top 10 favourite books. Just Wow!

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An overall fantastic listen

The narrators were brilliant and made it so easy to know who we were with. I'm not usually drawn to prequels, but I loved the other so much that I had to try. Despite knowing how everything turns out, at the end of the other book, this story still had me intrigued and interested! A beautiful tale with ups and downs and love and loss... just perfect!

I think that recognising names and places and things, and knowing what the results of their decisions would be, just made it all the better, like I was in on a secret that the characters don't know.

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1 person found this helpful

a vast world and an epic story

I really enjoyed this prequel, the narration being split in 3 was a great idea and helped quite a bit in this sprawling story.

Each narrator really embodied the characters.
the only gripe would be that the switch can sometimes be jarring when it happens within the same chapter.

The story starts slow and steady but honestly I never felt bored and the ending is sweet and heart wrenching.

I am fascinated by this world and the women who inhabit it

Just like Priory, the story left me wanting more.

This is definitely a story i will be listening to again and again.

Be warned that the prononciation of multiple words is different from Priory. Samantha said the first narrator, having no guide, winged it and did a great job, but for this book they had a prononciation guide and that being set 500 before Priory the language has evolved and changed since

happy listening

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An Epic Story Done Well!

I love books in the fantasy genre. This author does a great job illustrating this world and its background; myths, legends, and history. It is quite a sizeable listen, and for me, it did require playback to get the characters' names in order. The PdF was helpful too. This was only the case at the start of the book. Once the character started building up in my mind, it was easier to navigate. Reading or listening to books of this length is an adventure and joy because i love the genre. The storylines are very well developed and robust. The relationship were given depth. There were many themes and parallels between characters that were interesting to follow and very moving scenes that resonate with most people. I enjoyed the narrators too. They really brought the characters to life. Well done. I highly recommend!

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sam shan does it again

Samantha Shannon writes the coming together of the multiple POVs in her fantasy books so well. I feel like it’s on PAR with John Gwynne for me. Like Priory, this had a North, East, South and West POV, through out. I really enjoyed that in Priory and it was no different in ADOFN. All of the the little reveals and connections through out the book are epic. I always write chaotic notes for books I plan on writing reviews for: I wrote CHILLS down so. many. times. The human connections in this one, whether it was familial, romantic or friends had me in my feeeeelings. I swear Glorian and her Da were my most highlighted interactions. I love this world Sam Shan has created, it’s so queer and diverse and special and I’m obsessed with it. If you love a slow burn I have no doubt you’ll enjoy a couple of the romances in this. I’m still not sure how I felt about the ending, need to sit with it, but regardless is was an easy five stars for me.

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Wow……!!!!!

I read the hardcover version of Priory of the Orange Tree and loved it, I was hesitant to pick the prequel up in the audio version. However, ZERO regrets, what an absolute masterpiece of a story and performances. This book has taken me on the most magical, epic adventure and the narration was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I had a hard time pulling away from this story and found myself constantly sneaking in even short listens on breaks from work. Highly, highly recommend

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Even better then the first book!

Having multiple narrators for this book really helped, my biggest criticism from the other book was that it was 1 person trying to voice so many characters. This time is was much easier to follow and their voices were beautiful!

Because I had just finished the first book I knew what to expect, these books are like running a marathon they are so big but if you are patient and just go slowly you will get through it.

The writing is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, there’s so much rich culture in the story and the different perspectives. This was the first book I’ve ever come across that had strong lead characters that were in their 50’s. So much great representation in this book. You have so many beautiful love stories, straight, bi, lesbian they all felt so natural to the story. There were so many different versions of mothers and the choices that women have or the lack of choice some women feel from society as to what their duties are.
There were dragons & the red sickness (trigger warning for anyone who lost loved ones during Covid)
We also met some of the other creatures that were talked about in the first book.
There’s so much going on this book was absolutely incredible!

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