This review is going to be a short one. I'm not going to give a summary of what this book is about because I do feel that it's the sort of book you jump into.

The main problem with A Day of Fallen Night is its inconsistent pacing. After an exceptionally slow start, the plot sputters in fits and starts but never rises to the same level of intensity as in The Priory of the Orange Tree. Every time I felt like the story was gaining traction, it would be interrupted by an ill-timed chapter break and associated change in perspective. Rather than sequencing chapters to help build momentum or reinforce certain aspects of the story, the alternating perspectives give the novel a disjointed feel, compromising the flow of the story. Norse mythology: Odin and Valhalla ➾ for Galian in Halgalant, the heavenly court, and the Great Table It was the stuff of legend, a tale destined to be enshrined in song”. and a song that needed to be sung. And so from the realm of the Orange Tree we travel east and west, to reveal how the lives of Ead, Tane, Niclays, Loth and Sabran become so dependent on each other as they face an evil buried for a thousand-years. A world on the brink of destruction. A world divided for many years.

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The sheer effort and commitment in writing such a comprehensive book is to be commended, but it does not stop there because Shannon also provides the images of the global landscape, an explanation of the characters and their roles and even a glossary of terms to help the reader. All of the characters are incredible, complex and alluring, and their plotlines are all captivating as they intertwine and parallel and subvert. Unlike Priory, you will be completely immersed in every single character's perspective as your love and adoration for each character only ever grows. Love, pregnancy, greed, ambition, betrayal, survival, war, dragons, magic, grief, chaos and adventure is what you get from ‘A Day of Fallen Night’.

What about the story itself, the pacing and such? I don't know, while reading I just kept thinking that it might have been a better idea to make this a series as then you would have more time to give characters personality and growth while also immersing the reader into the world. The story was filled with tropes and it was highly unoriginal if you keep in mind the bigger picture of fantasy genre as a whole. I get that it is hard to make something completely original these days, so it doesn't bother me as much. This book could even be a not-entirely-terrible start for someone who wants to get into fantasy. However, the first third of the book was incredibly slow but it's fiiiine, I know, the author had to set up all the things. But later it became so fast-paced that even the more important events lost their meaning because there were so many things happening at all times that you couldn't discern between the important ones and the fillers. An exceptionally gifted author that brought sincerity to the characters many of whom were strong but flawed, combatants but compassionate; deadly but loyal. A series of plots that were so intricately woven you can only admire the author for being able to keep all this in her head when writing this epic fairy tale. Then finally the world building that I missed when I finished this book. It was simply brilliant. Samantha Shannon has done it once again! I enjoyed A Day of Fallen Night even more than The Priory of the Orange Tree, it was such an incredible read. In a book with such an epic scope it's hard to find a place to start when reviewing, but I will nevertheless attempt explaining how infatuated I am with this book in my mere words. With a very divided East and West who are refusing to forgive the past, one or all of the four must force the unlikely alliance of all kingdoms as the forces of evil are slowly arising from their thousand-year sleep, and the mythical creatures in the East and West start to lose their powers. But I still rounded up my 3.5 stars to 4 because even the book is too long and there were some pacing issues I still liked the idea to create a feminist fantasy with its queens, warriors and priestesses. The rich, resounding worldbuilding of the author (reminds you of the UK and Japan), diversions between religious and the mysterious atmosphere were perfectly developed.There's enough here that if you're thinking about reading this book, go for it. It's a compelling fantasy story and the world is intriguing. I do think it had the potential to be much better. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. The intricate world building mainly from the east to west was so impressive. This was such an ambitious tale that expanded the story into spherical regions with their own traditions, political landscape, religions and practices, myths as well as cultures. The ending was poorly executed and, for me, was a huge let down. My dissapointment was akin to the heartbreak suffered by millions of fans when season 8 of Game of Thrones ended.

The book was well structured and divided into parts that could easily be read as separate books without feeling the need to finish in one go. The writing style was perfect for the genre, and although some of the names like ‘the nameless one’ could have been more imaginative, this book overall was an explosion of imagination. A Day of Fallen Night is a standalone prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree, you can read either one first. I would say Priory is the gentler read and is a softer introduction to the world, however ADOFN is (in my opinion) the better of the two. It is truly such a brilliant read and I now love Samantha Shannon and the world of Priory even more. A Day of Fallen Night is a standalone prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree. It’s set just shy of five centuries before Priory and covers the period known as the Great Sorrow, or Grief of Ages. please don’t hate me for this review. as someone who loved priory of the orange tree, it pains me to rate a day of fallen night so low. Ok, ok. I fully admit that I’m in a cranky mood, because I wasted so much time reading such an awful, boring, clichéd book. This is one of those cases where I wonder if I read the same book as everyone else did, because what I just read bears no resemblance to the book that people are gushing about.Most of the original cast aren’t born yet, but some of the new characters are their distant relatives, which I hope will give you a sense of connection to them. After a millennium of peace, rumors of the Nameless One’s return—gliding vulture-like in the skies above—had finally descended and sunk in their claws for good. The faith of the Virtues of Knighthood is predominant in several nations of the West, collectively called Virtudom. The faith of the Mother among the Lasians believes that rather than Sir Galian, it was Princess Cleolind Onjenyu who banished the Nameless One. The people of the East revere dragons as gods. A Day of Fallen Night continues Priory’s themes of religion and the role of religion in defining history. If anything, Shannon uses this story to develop those themes even further, exploring the ways that religion influences the lives of every character in her world. Her characters all embody faith in different ways. Glorian Berethnet, the sole heir to her throne and the fifteen-year-old figurehead of her religion; Tunuva Melim, who has dedicated fifty years of her life to the Priory and to her goddess; and Dumai of Ipyeda, whose journey and relationship with the slumbering gods of the East will go on to define history.