“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 book