Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Rebellion on the rise

The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

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In the last novel, Paige realized the only way to change the system was to lead the system so she put her name in the ring to be the next Underqueen and won the battle. She also allied with the Ranthen (the faction of Rep that doesn’t want to oppress humans) and exposed the existence of the Rephaim to the London Syndicate. While she may have won the fight and has a loyal contingent of mime lords under her, there is still grumbling in the […]

Back to a life of crime

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

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After the events of the last novel, Paige is back in her old life in the Syndicate, London’s Underground crime ring of clairvoyants. She wants to fight back and do something about what she witnessed in Oxford and expose the oppressive authoritarian government but she doesn’t know what to do next: no one would believe her if she just told the truth as it sounds too fantastical, and the leaders of the Syndicate, who could make a difference, don’t want to hear her – too […]

Crime syndicates, clairvoyants and angelic figures

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

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I remember meaning to read The Bone Season when it came out but then before I got around to it, seemed like the reviews and reactions from people whose judgement I trust was pretty middling so I didn’t prioritize it, and never got around to it. I quite liked A Priory of the Orange Tree (and the prequel novel) so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Samantha Shannon had gone back and revised The Bone Season for its 10th anniversary and it was Narfna […]

Entire epic fantasy in one novel: cbr12bingo “Orange” – Bingo!

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

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“Orange” square completes my first Bingo! The Priory of the Orange Tree was the featured speculative fiction pick of the month by Mysterious Galaxy when it was first released.  One of the booksellers, who is a huge epic fantasy fan, was eagerly waiting to read it because it’s the type of fantasy that has appendices.  At the time it came home, I didn’t have space space in the TBR.  However, it was the perfect fit for the orange square, which gave me the push to […]

Full of Highs and Lows

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

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My experience with The Priory of the Orange Tree perfectly illustrates the pitfalls of reading on a tablet. I was happily reading along, thinking how much I was enjoying this book with its refreshingly updated take on fantasy, when all of a sudden, I thought, “Hmm. I’ve been reading this for a long time now and I still don’t know where any of this is going.” It was then that I checked and realized I’d been reading for at least two weeks, and was only […]

Room Enough to Spread a Dragon’s Wings?

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

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  The Priory of the Orange Tree is a kind of book that might be as rare as hen’s teeth these days: it’s an epic fantasy story full of magic and dragons that happens to be a standalone novel rather than just one part of a sprawling series. This is not to say that the story contained within the novel isn’t substantial; at over 800 pages, The Priory of the Orange Tree sits somewhere between A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords in […]



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